title: Referring physician satisfaction: toward a better understanding of hospital referrals.
abstract: Customer satisfaction literature has contributed significantly to the development of marketing strategies in the health-care arena. The research has led to the development of hospital-driven relationship marketing programs. This study examines the inclusion of referring physicians as partners in the hospital's relationship marketing program. In exploring this relationship, medical and hospital facility characteristics that referring physicians find important in making patient referrals to specialty care hospitals are identified and analyzed. The results lead to the development of strategic initiatives which hospital marketers should consider when developing relationship marketing programs designed to satisfy their referring physicians.
authors: Department of Marketing, West Virginia University, Morgantown 26506, USA.
authors: T G
authors: TG
authors: Ponzurick
authors: K R
authors: KR
authors: France
authors: C M
authors: CM
authors: Logar
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006302:Health Services Research; D018578:Hospital-Physician Relations; D006801:Humans; D008389:Marketing of Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States