1. In an era of transparency, some healthcare organizations are beginning to counter such third-party transparency sites as Angie’s List by posting patients’ ratings of their medical staff with a star-based approach along with ratings. At a recent medical staff meeting of the hospital where you are the marketing director, a department chair in surgery spoke rather vociferously against this new approach.

“We seem to be moving to commoditizing what we do as physicians. I bought a car last weekend. The approach we are now taking is no different. I look at the ratings, and patients are looking at our medical staff? What is next?

Will you have us interview with patients so they can decide who they want to meet with?

These people are coming to us because of the expertise and skill we have. If they want to buy a product, let them go to the shopping mall.” When the physician sat down, several others nodded in agreement and a few others clapped in support. The CEO thanked the doctor for the opinion and suggested that rather than turn from this week’s agenda, it should be the focus of the next bimonthly meeting in terms of discussing the posting of patient evaluations along with directly addressing the broader issue raised by the chair of surgery.

It is the next meeting. As marketing director, you have been tasked with leading the meeting. Please outline your presentation in response.