Consumer Orientation of Public Hospital Websites in Spain

Abstract

Mainly due to technological advances, today's consumers are demanding more knowledge concerning their health. In addition, they are becoming more aware of health problems and treatment alternatives. As a result, healthcare providers are turning towards the Internet as a new tool, by which consumer needs and demands may be fulfilled. This new strategy has prompted the number of public hospitals with presence on the Internet to grow dramatically in Spain in the last few years. The special nature of this new means of communication as well as its early stage of development in the Spanish market however, make it necessary to assess whether these hospital websites are being properly orientated to the client. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyse how public hospitals in Spain are currently using their websites as a means of communication with their patients and clients. Since the results of this analysis demonstrate that these public hospital websites are still far from the ideal concept of market orientation, recommendations for improving their design and management are finally proposed.