Author(s)
Rose Dimitroyannis, BA
Christopher Roxbury, MD, FARS
Affiliation(s)
Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago MedicineDepartment of Surgery, Section of Otolaryngology, University of Chicago Medicine;
Abstract:
Background: Hospital systems utilize large amounts of funding to market their clinical programs. It is not well known how successful these campaigns are at increasing patient awareness and generating office visits. The objective of this study was to analyze if hospital system marketing is effective in generating patient referrals and to determine methods for increasing patient outreach.
Methods: A Redcap survey evaluating the referral process for a tertiary otolaryngology practice was distributed to patients in the waiting area via QR code. Questions assessed how patients heard about the clinic.
RESULTS: Of 62 patients, 37 (59.7%) were referred by physicians, 73.0% (27/37) of whom were from within the hospital system. Ten (16.1%) patients were referred by friends or colleagues, two (3.2%) participants heard about the clinic through internet advertisements, and two (3.2%) heard about the clinic due to living locally. Nine patients (14.5%) heard through other manners, such as research study participants and familiarity with the hospital due to relationships with other specialists. The mean patient income from zip code data was $71,252 (SD= 30,550). Patients whom physicians referred had significantly lower median income by zip code than patients who came to the clinic via other means (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: This analysis suggests that a majority of patients in a tertiary otolaryngology clinic are internal physician referrals, with lower-income individuals being more reliant on physician referrals. Only 3.2% of patients heard about the clinic through advertisements, suggesting marketing campaigns are responsible for generating only a minority of patient visits.