HEALTHCARE

DISCUSSION BOARD DUE THURSDAY (READ THOUGHTLY PLEASE 250-300 WORDS
  PATIENT/CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

For most health care organizations, the customer is the patient. Like other businesses, health care organizations are evaluated by many of the usual measures of customer satisfaction (e.g., convenience of location, ease of getting the appointment, waiting time, price, etc.). Unlike most businesses, health care organizations are also judged by patient outcomes. What the “customer” wants and what the “patient” needs may occasionally be in conflict, even though the “customer” and “patient” is the same person. This is one reason customer satisfaction for health care organizations can seem to be an elusive goal.
To prepare for this Discussion:

Review this week’s Learning Resources.
Locate and read a scholarly article that identifies factors that influence patient/customer satisfaction in a health care setting.

Post a brief description of and a link to the scholarly article. Then, identify and discuss what you believe is the most important factor that influences patient/customer satisfaction positively and negatively in health care. Finally, justify why those factors are important and address how the article you cited supports or refutes your opinion.
Support your work with specific citations from this week’s Learning Resources and/or additional sources as appropriate. Your citations must be in APA format. Refer to the Essential Guide to APA Style for Walden Students to ensure your in-text citations and reference list are correct.
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RESOURCES
Kotler, N. G., Kotler, P., & Kotler, W. I. (2008). Museum marketing and strategy: Designing missions, building audiences, generating revenue and resources (pp. 31–32). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Copyright 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., via the Copyright Clearance Center.
Aluise, T. (1987). Components of a medical practice marketing plan. Journal of Health Care Marketing, 7(3), 54–57. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Business Source Complete database.
Copyright 1987 by American Marketing Association. Reprinted by permission of American Marketing Association via the Copyright Clearance Center.
Eliscu, A. (2000). A breast care center marketing plan. Marketing Health Services, 20(3), 38–41. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Business Source Complete database.
Copyright 2000 by American Marketing Association. Reprinted by permission of American Marketing Association via the Copyright Clearance Center.
Ford, R. C., Bach, S. A., & Fottler, M. D. (1997). Methods of measuring patient satisfaction in health care organizations. Health Care Management Review, 22(2), 74–89. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.
Copyright 1997 by LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS / NURSING – JOURNALS. Reprinted by permission of LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS / NURSING – JOURNALS via the Copyright Clearance Center.
Jensen, J. (2004). Steering clear of bandwagons. Marketing Health Services, 24(3), 38–42. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Business Source Complete database.
Copyright 2004 by American Marketing Association. Reprinted by permission of American Marketing Association via the Copyright Clearance Center.
Otani, K., Waterman, B., Faulkner, K. M., Boslaugh, S., Burroughs, T. E., & Dunagan, W. (2009). Patient satisfaction: Focusing on “excellent.” Journal of Healthcare Management, 54(2), 93–103. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.
Copyright 2009 by HEALTH ADMINISTRATION PRESS. Reprinted by permission of HEALTH ADMINISTRATION PRESS via the Copyright Clearance Center.