Overcoming the promotional bias in health care marketing: a human relations approach.

In recent years the health care industry in general and ambulatory care in specific has been in a state of intense competition. In an attempt to survive and prosper, many health related organizations have turned to marketing as a means of developing viable strategies. Unfortunately, all too often the marketing function is equated with advertising and promotion: a small subsection of what a total marketing effort should be. In this paper, means of overcoming this limitation will be discussed using a human relations approach.