This blog post was written by Erica Winters, Sr. Research Analyst & Social Media Strategist, and is a summary of a recent project completed by Research & Marketing Strategies, Inc. (RMS).
Background: A consulting company recently partnered with RMS to conduct hospital revenue management research. The client wanted to better understand the hospital merger/acquisition process as it relates to revenue cycle management, and how a consulting partner can increase its chances of remaining a partner following the transition. The market research objective was to measure the image and awareness of the consulting company, reputation, and driving factors in choosing and maintaining a consulting partner during a merger of acquisition.
Approach: To address the objectives mentioned above, RMS completed telephone interviews which were digitally recorded for quality assurance purposes. RMS recruited participants from hospitals within a pre-determined geographical area of importance to the client (primary market area; PMA). Prior to scheduling the interviews, RMS conducted a pre-screen of potential participants, to ensure that they matched the desired characteristics for the research. Respondents included those who were CFOs, CEOs, or VP of Finance for a hospital or healthcare organization, and had knowledge of the revenue cycle management and outsourcing activities of their organization. Fieldwork lasted approximately two weeks. To minimize cost, the client opted for a streamlined report, which included a case by case summary of each interview completed.
Results: Some of the topics that RMS obtained feedback on included:
- The interviewee’s perception of hospital/healthcare organization mergers/consolidation
- Future projections regarding hospital/healthcare organization mergers/consolidation as well as the impact on their organization
- Outsourcing activities of their organization, as well as areas of satisfaction and need
- Identification of the risks to a consulting partner when a hospital/healthcare organization is going through a merger or consolidation
- How the consulting partner can increase their chances of remaining a partner during a time of transition
- Important factors when a hospital/healthcare organization is considering a change in consulting partners
- Average length of the relationship with a consulting partner
- Go-to resources used by hospital/healthcare organizations to stay up to date on the topics of primary interest to this study
RMS is a full-service market research firm located in Syracuse, NY. If you are interested in learning more about our research capabilities, please contact Sandy Baker, our Senior Director of Business Development & Corporate Strategy at SandyB@RMSresults.com or by calling 1-866-567-5422.
