How physicians make referrals.

The physician is an important gatekeeper in the "buying" process for many health care services. Consulting physicians and tertiary care hospitals depend on physician referrals for much of their patient volume. A field survey of more than 1,000 physicians uncovered their attitudes and choice criteria pertaining to referrals. Physician referral attitudes are used as a basis for creating four physician segments. The authors explore attitude and behavioral differences among the four segments and discuss several physician marketing implications.

Influencing decision-making of referring physicians.

As marketing budgets for physician liaison departments increase, health care marketers are being held more accountable for their efforts by managers. Market researchers at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF) have developed a health care organizational information dissemination model that provides an understanding of how referring physicians choose a referral center for their patients. Interviews with 89 new referring physicians show patient influence and interpersonal media to be the two most influential channels of information. Financial analysis of referrals shows that a true physician referral generates significantly more revenue than a patient-influenced referral. CCF managers and marketers have used the data to understand better the effectiveness of their current programs targeted at physicians.