Marketing a physician referral service.
A recent survey of 670 CEOs revealed that 51 percent had already established physician referral services and 65.2 percent were involved in various activities geared towards strengthening physician relations, one of which was increasing staff personnel to perform these functions (Hospitals March 20, 1987). It is apparent that PRPs have gained wide acceptance and have proved helpful in bettering relations between hospitals and physicians and, at the same time, helped both of them to offer better health care to the public. These programs can be very beneficial to patients and help make the referral system more organized and formal, based on relevant data and knowledge of patients' needs and physicians' needs, qualifications and specialties. Current literature on PRPs is appearing more frequently. Enough hospitals have begun such programs that a new PRP director should be able to research the subject quite thoroughly and become familiar with the possible strengths and weaknesses. Software for PRPs has been developed by various companies which should make the program more useful in terms of data collection, follow-up and provision of feedback. In my opinion PRPs are needed, and if they are marketed correctly, to the physicians initially and then to patients, such programs will prove extremely advantageous to all involved: hospitals, physicians and patients.
D003710:Demography; D006739:Hospital Administration; D006744:Hospital Bed Capacity, 100 to 299; D008389:Marketing of Health Services / Q000379:methods*; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D008923:Missouri; D010934:Planning Techniques; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012922:Social Change; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors