Survival of the hospital emergency department: strategic alternatives for the future.
Diverse and pervasive environmental forces are reshaping hospital emergency services as hospitals strive to respond to consumer preferences related to cost and convenience. Complacency can no longer serve as a standard operating procedure for hospital emergency departments competing against lower-priced, consumer-oriented, free-standing facilities. Strategic alternatives, a five-step strategy for survival and growth, and a projection of future models of hospital emergency services are examined.
D004465:Economic Competition; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005249:Fees and Charges; D005376:Financial Management / Q000379:methods; D005544:Forecasting; D008389:Marketing of Health Services / Q000379:methods; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010934:Planning Techniques; D014481:United States