The Amherst study of hospital marketing practices.

The study findings identify two major area of concern related to marketing and the direction the field is taking. First, health care marketing--though much discussed and expensive--is still in a stage of immaturity. As practiced in hospitals today, marketing is frequently synonymous with advertising. Second, marketing in health care will not ultimately be a "clone" of marketing practices in industry and retailing. Though hospitals are looking to those areas for knowledge and expertise, the unique character of the product will cause health care marketing to evolve into a practice uniquely different from that in other industries.