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When patients try to decide where to look for their next healthcare providers, they tend to base their decision on a friend's or family member's good experience, rather than an advertisement or direct-mail piece. Word-of-mouth marketing is a force gaining hurricane-like strength in healthcare, meaning hospitals should pay close attention to keeping patients satisfied-especially during the discharge process. The key to patient satisfaction appears to be a patient's readiness to leave the hospital. When recovering from surgery or a serious illness, patients want to feel that they're ready to leave the hospital and are not rushed to do so simply because their insurance won't pay for them to stay longer.