Hospital Imaging Research Articles

Hospital Choice Factors

In an attempt to test the robustness of the numerous American findings related to hospital choice in the context of another country, this study examines the factors affecting hospital choice decisions of 869 patients in three public and one private hospital policlinics in Ankara, Turkey and attempts to determine their importance levels. Identification of these factors and determining their effect levels is important in concentrating management efforts on these key areas and in formulating effective marketing strategies to retain and expand hospital patient bases in the future. Our findings highlight the importance of accessibility of hospital services to consumers in hospital choice as well as the role of hospital's image, its physical appearance, and technological capabilities in informing such choices. American health care managers can use these findings to further understand how patients make choices related to health care facilities and to develop marketing strategies that may more effectively market their facilities.

Addressing the phenomenon of disruptive physician behavior.

This timely article provides current information on an age-old issue of disruptive physician behavior within the hospital setting. Documented in medical literature over 100 years ago, disruptive physician behavior has been an ongoing challenge to the hospital staff and the quality of patient care in the hospital. Covered in this article are the negative consequences of disruptive physician behavior and the call to respond. If allowed to go unchecked, a physician exhibiting disruptive behavior may threaten a hospital's image, staff morale, finance, and quality of care. Failure to respond undermines the leadership of the hospital and the trust of the community in the hospital's mission. Included in this article are suggestions obtained from the literature and from the author's experience in responding to disruptive physician behavior. Of emphasis is a methodology that includes supporting bylaws and policies to manage disruptive physician behavior.

Restructuring and Organization: Managementʼs Role in Defining Organizational Culture

The lights are on late in evening in executive suite of St. Swizzlestick Hospital as Executive Team meets to consider organization's future. All along, management has recognized that there have been huge shifts in volume of activity, and while pleased with their hospital's competitive position, it was very clear that its main revenue stream-inpatient care-was gradually being diminished. They always knew that future would see fewer people working within organization, and they expected to deal with this lower volume in some thoughtful, deliberative way. Recent financial reports, however, have shaken their belief in more prolonged, leisurely pace at which they anticipated reducing size of organization. In fact, last several months had yielded major losses-something that until Executive Team had yet to face, and something that certainly disappointed trustees. The problem was further compounded when Executive Team recognized that many of managed care contracts they had successfully negotiated, which called for a per diem arrangement, had turned out to be financially disastrous, as length of stay dropped precipitously by as much as 30 percent over last year and a half. The team finally had to realize that economic downturn of hospital was not a temporary phenomenon. Combined with a lesser volume and prejudicial managed care contracts, hospital's revenue, in immediate and long-term future, was likely to be significantly less than anticipated. The team's choices at this late-night session were difficult. It was clear that failure to stop bleeding could have disastrous results. Most obvious was that it would begin quickly to damage hospital's financial ratios, which could possibly call into question its bond covenants and, if unchecked, ultimately weaken its credit worthiness. This would have disastrous long-term results, not only financially but for hospital's image. The truth of adage the future is now sunk home with this group of executives with startling reality. The desperateness of situation caused significant tension in room. It was clear that this group could no longer avoid obvious. While no one wanted to be accused of a knee-jerk reaction, clearly some immediate attention was absolutely necessary. The proposals were quickly and quietly outlined on blackboard. They included such obvious opportunities as limiting travel policy, canceling special events, and reviewing all purchasing decisions. It was quickly realized that monetary effect of these changes fell far short of what was needed to reverse situation. The management team was then faced with fact that in an organization whose expenses are from 50 to 60 percent personnel related, any effective reaction would necessitate a cutback of employees. There, in that executive suite, managers came face-to-face with most dreaded decision that employers must make, particularly if they have a sincere regard and affection for their employees. The future viability of organization was very much in question, and failure to act would have longterm consequences. Yet realization that a significant number of employees could be cut back was a very unhappy thought. This scenario is being repeated in executive suites of hospitals and healthcare systems across this country. In some cases warning signs were present for years and management simply failed to acknowledge or address them. In other cases, financial fortunes reversed much quicker, and while it was always management's intent to deal with issue, it was caught off guard with rapidity with which financial situation deteriorated. In either case, need for action is evident. Downsizing, Reengineering, and Restructuring: Long-Term Implications for Healthcare Organizations deals analytically with elements involved in reducing labor costs and reviews most recent literature and experiences researchers have had with these cost-cutting tools. …

Hospital wellness centers: strategic implementation, marketing, and management.

Fitness and wellness programs can be a strategic extension of a hospital's services, assist in attracting totally new patients to a facility, and help improve a hospital's image.

The measurement, analysis and implementation of a corporate image program: The case of a psychiatric hospital

This study uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to measure a psychiatric hospital's image. The methodology is illustrated using one of the hospital's public — the consumer public whose data is used to illustrate the development and implementation of an image program which stresses multi-public awareness, preference and utilization of the hospital's services viz-a-viz the hospital's mission statement. The advantage of this study lies with its environmental congruency, the way by which image measurement tools are developed — from the publics themselves. The data for this study came from 381 households in metropolitan Saint John and 204 psychiatric hospital employees.

The structure of a hospital's image.

The study is intended to elucidate the factors that affect the creation of a hospital's image in the eyes of the patient and their relative weight in producing that image. The image of a hospital is important for enhancing the patient's reassurance and relief from possible anxiety that is hazardous to the health, which may result both from the patient's subjectively perceived seriousness of his condition and from his inability to judge the efficacy of the medical treatment in promoting recovery. A study was carried out among a representative sample of expatients of one of Israel's most prestigious university hospitals. Data ascertain the centrality of the physicians' and nurses' affective behavior in the creation of the image. They also show that the crucial factors that predict that image in the patient's eyes are the nurses' affective behavior and the hospital's perceived competence level, which is based predominantly on the patient's satisfaction with the medical treatment given by the physicians. That, in turn, is, to a great extent, predicted by the extent of satisfaction with the physicians' humane attitude toward the patient.