A model of strategic marketing alliances for hospices: horizontal alliances.

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.

A model of strategic marketing alliances for hospices: vertical, internal, osmotic alliances and the complete model.

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.

Quality measures in health care.

This article discusses measurement of quality in health care. The authors attempt to answer the following questions: why measure quality, and what will quality measurement do? The current quality measurement system is described including definitions of the measurable aspects of health care and current measurement tools. Finally, suggested benchmarks for various health care measurements are included.

The utilization of employee wellness programs by government, business and industry: a strategic evaluation.

This study ascertains the extent of use of employee wellness programs by a cross section of organizations in the United States. Nearly one-thousand organizational personnel professionals responded to a mail survey asking if their organization provided specific wellness services within five areas: (1) incentive programs, (2) exercise and fitness programs, (3) health screening and prevention, (4) nutritional aid, and (5) educational programs. Organizations were then categorized using Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes. The results are strategically valuable to both users and providers of wellness products, providing bench-mark data which: (1) allows comparisons of wellness offerings among similar organizations and across organizational types, and (2) provides product development and segmentation guidance to hospitals and other providers of wellness products.

Wellness and prevention programs as internal marketing programs for hospitals: the current status.

Employee wellness programs are demonstrating promise in helping abate America's health care cost crisis. It also would appear natural for hospitals to play a leadership role in the important development of this new product category in health care marketing. By offering Health Care Programs to employees, hospitals could develop and improve several offerings. This study investigates the nature of the problem and extent of employee wellness leadership provided by hospitals as compared to 900 other companies and organizations representative of American industry. Hospitals may provide the appearance of leadership through volume of services offered but may falter in the reasoning behind such services and financial commitments for further development.

In search of the "well-being" company--1989.

This article presents the findings of a survey of over 900 organizations concerning their offerings of physical fitness, health assessment, nutritional aids, and health education for their employees. The relationship of several organization demographics is discussed.

A preferred provider organization (PPO) case study for mental health and substance abuse.

The Preferred Provider Organization concept is quickly becoming more popular because of its relative cost-effectiveness and recent successes. Managed care through means of this mental health and substance abuse PPO may well serve as the prototype for the general health care cost containment efforts of the future for the self-insured insurance plans for Alabama state employees and teachers. The first year also revealed several problems in the original proposal especially with respect to the unintended attractiveness of inpatient/residential care. Consequently, copayment plans were added to dissuade unnecessary lengthy stays (see Table 2). Second, a new quality assurance mechanism has been added to further evaluate the need for admissions to facilities, as well as for the need for continued inpatient treatment. The Alabama Quality Assurance Foundation (AQAF) began on January 1, 1988, conducting the preadmission certification on all admissions based upon criteria established jointly by AQAF and the PPO providers. In addition, AQAF will conduct continuing stay reviews at predetermined time periods to ensure that continued treatment in an inpatient setting is indeed necessary.

The role of promotion in alcoholism treatment marketing.

This article is an overview of the promotion function as a part of the ATM's marketing mix. It approaches various promotion decision areas from a managerial perspective, focusing upon some key components of promotion planning. Rather than provide specific operational or implementation details (how to write a brochure) it is more conceptual in nature and offers a framework for promotion planners. The article addresses promotion management, promotion objectives, analysis for promotion planning, the promotion mix, and addresses the benefits and limitations of some specific promotion tools available to the ATM manager. It treats ATMs as a service and reveals specific implications for promotion strategy dictated by services. The article also reports promotion tools employed by Alabama ATMs citing data from the Alabama study.