title: Channel systems: an idea whose time has come in health care marketing.
abstract: Channel systems is beginning to emerge as a strategy that binds various entities in the delivery for health care, particularly hospitals and physicians. Hospitals are beginning to organize their efforts to help physicians in a channel systems context by focusing on value-added services to doctors that differentiate a hospital from its competitors and bind the doctors to the value-added hospitals. At the same time, doctors are beginning to realize their opportunity to leverage their admissions, purchasing, and patronage power in terms of obtaining value-added benefits and services that can help them compete more effectively in an increasingly aggressive health care marketplace.
mesh_terms: D006739:Hospital Administration; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008389:Marketing of Health Services / Q000639:trends*; D010558:Personnel Loyalty; D010559:Personnel Management; D010816:Physician Incentive Plans; D010934:Planning Techniques; D011216:Practice Management, Medical / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States