As hospitals continue to incorporate web technology into their overall marketing and communications strategies, they face several issues which we explore in this paper. Hospitals' effectiveness in dealing with these issues will affect the benefits received from this technology. We provide an exploratory analysis of current hospital web sites and develop implications for future web site development. Likewise, recommendations based on our research are also provided.

As a way of controlling the rising costs of health care, most managed care companies have implemented drug formularies. A drug formulary is generally defined as a listing of medications the health plan will cover for reimbursement. Some medications may need authorization from the health plan before they will be dispensed. This paper argues that drug formularies contain cost while causing no physical harm to the patient. The method of research used is descriptive. The paper will examine the issue from the side of the physician, the health plan and the patient. The research includes personal interviews, anecdotal records and reviews of available literature. The findings will show that patients still have access to a wide range of therapeutic medications and do not suffer physical harm as a result of a drug formulary.

This present article investigates conflicting community attitudes and formal survey results. The survey results suggest that patients viewed their physicians' and nurses' competency and care very highly, as well as receiving satisfactory care in specialized departments. The results further suggest that hospital meals were less satisfactory in terms of patient enjoyment of meals and with the services of the dietitian. However, one major area of concern was the low number of survey responses and the recommendations that are made for improving the response rate. Demographic inconsistencies in the survey results are reviewed as evidence of lack of validity lending support to the contrary community perception of low health care quality at the hospital. Suggestions are made for improvement of the survey instrument and procedures to insure greater validity and reliability.

Microcomparison, or single-component analysis, of health care systems offers a potentially better basis for reform than traditional macrocomparison analysis of aggregate elements. Using macroanalysis, available evidence shows that Germany provides cheaper but more effective hospital care than the United States. To find the causes for this outcome, we developed a microanalytic model of hospital administrators' perceptions, financial ratios, medical outcomes, and pharmaceutical costs. However, only data on pharmaceutical costs were available, and these were similar in both countries. Our significant outcome was development of a microcomparative model that gives world medical care providers new criteria for analyzing and improving cost to care ratios.

This research examines consumers' value perceptions and their role in hospital choice behavior in rural and suburban markets. While health care markets are "local," this study confirms the broad efficacy of a value-based approach to understanding consumer choice of providers.

This article develops two previous research efforts. William J. Winston (1994, 1995) has proposed a set of strategies by which health care organizations can benefit from forging strategic alliances. Raadt and Self (1997) have proposed a classification model of alliances including horizontal, vertical, internal and osmotic. In the first of two articles, this paper presents a model of horizontal alliances. The subsets include transregional, service mergers, networks, venture capital investments, trade and professional organizations, and promotional alliances. Advantages and disadvantages of each are discussed.

As marketing organizations move toward the 21st century they are becoming concerned with the development of self-directed work teams. Marketing organizations that have informed, motivated, skilled, trained, and committed employees will out perform organizations which operate in the traditional manner. Many self-directed work teams have grown out of the quality circles. The goal of these teams is to increase employee involvement in decisions of the organization to the greatest extent that employees' knowledge and training allow. In fact, today's marketing organizations need to be able to respond quickly to change driven by internal and external customers. The winning organizations will be able to produce more product with better quality in less time by staying lean, flexible, and implementing self-directed work teams. Marketing organizations that can commit to self-directed work teams will benefit by having customer and employee satisfaction, money saved, and excessive bureaucracy eliminated.

Cold and allergy remedies are one of the most confusing markets to consumers. There are several reasons why there is confusion among consumers when forced to select a cough/cold/allergy product. This paper examines the over-the-counter cold/cough/allergy products market specifically with respect to: (1) What are the common pharmaceutical active ingredients in cold/cough/allergy products? (2) What percentage of products are single ingredient, two ingredient, three ingredient or more? (3) What are the common combinations of pharmaceutical ingredients present in cold/cough/allergy products? The answers to the above questions could help health professionals such as pharmacists in rendering services such as counseling consumers when approached with questions about cold/cough/allergy products. The results could also help retailers in developing better shelf placement and positioning of cold/cough/allergy products.

If marketers wish to communicate the positive characteristics of purchasing the private hospital experience, the marketers need to be able to identify which of the participants in the purchasing process is acting in the role of decision maker. Research was undertaken of doctors in the rural setting. Potential respondents were selected from Orange to Broken Hill; from Coonabarabran to Young. Two private hospitals are known to be located within this region--one in Orange and one in Dubbo. In most cases, patients in the rural setting are having the final say as to which hospital to attend. They are filling the role of decision maker. The factors that potential patients are considering in their decision include the services provided by the hospital--specifically factors relating to accommodation, services and cost. These observations are those as interpreted by the doctors who see these patients. Based on the findings of the survey a number of recommendations have been made: (1) Any marketing communication by hospitals should target primarily patients and then doctors. (2) Further research should be undertaken to attempt to accurately determine what characteristics are considered when patients and doctors refer to hospital services. (3) Research should be undertaken to determine the identity of all parties involved in the purchasing decision process. (4) Further research should be undertaken of the general population to determine what factors relating to a hospital are considered when making the hospital purchasing decision. (5) Further in depth analysis should be conducted with the raw data.

This article develops two previous research efforts. William J. Winston (1994, 1995) has proposed a set of strategies by which health care organizations can benefit from forging strategic alliances. Raadt and Self (1997) have proposed a classification model of alliances including horizontal, vertical, internal, and osmotic. In the second of two articles, this paper presents a model of vertical, internal, and osmotic alliances. Advantages and disadvantages of each are discussed. Finally, the complete alliance system model is presented.

This research reviews the factors affecting the pricing or rate schedules of home health care agencies. A large number of factors affect costs and thus rate structures. The major factors include reimbursement structures with accompanying discount structures, administrative burdens, and risks. Channel issues include bargaining power, competition, and size. Staffing issues affect pricing and product through the provider level, productivity, and quality outcomes. Physician and patient issues include quality concerns and choices. These factors are discussed in light of overall marketing strategy and the interaction of pricing with other marketing controllables such as product, place/distribution, and promotion. Economic and accounting principles are also reviewed with consideration to understanding direct and indirect costs in order to enable negotiators to effectively price health care services.

The use of "alternative" medicine has become increasingly popular in the United States. Books devoted to alternative medicine, e.g., Spontaneous Healing and 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, have become best sellers. Nevertheless, relatively few research studies have focused on the subject. This study examined the role of alternative medicine among college students. Issues addressed included students' familiarity with, use of, and perceptions regarding unconventional health therapies. The study substantiated a phenomenon health care providers across the country are discovering: a growing number of Americans with interest and financial resources support the development of "mainstream" alternative medicine programs. Results of the study also suggest that well-respected traditional health care organizations would not suffer reputation damage if they were to offer such programs.

The authors used a relatively new advertising medium to increase public awareness of their children's hospital. They found that street pole banners, a form of outdoor advertising, made a measurable, positive impression on consumer consciousness. Banners effectively supplemented a product awareness campaign that included more traditional media. This study is the first documentation of the use of banners to market health care services. Using a two-phase approach, respondents were surveyed via telephone before and after exposure. Results of the follow-up survey show significant increases in levels of awareness and preference. The authors hope their report on the successful use of street pole banners will spur further research on the use of this innovative media.