<![CDATA[Rapid digital transformation has intensified challenges for regional healthcare institutions in maintaining public trust and institutional credibility. In regional hospital settings, patients increasingly depend on multiple communication channels when evaluating healthcare reliability. However, previous studies on multi-channel communication have focused primarily on general digital marketing without empirically comparing formal institutional versus organic communication in healthcare contexts. This study addresses that gap by examining the contribution of Word of Mouth (WOM), Hospital-Created Social Media, User-Generated Social Media, and Hospital Advertisement to hospital brand image reconstruction. The study operationalizes this communication hierarchy by measuring the statistical influence of each communication channel on patients’ perceptions of institutional brand image. An explanatory quantitative approach was employed involving 100 patients of Rumah Sakit Arun in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, Indonesia, selected through purposive sampling. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the contribution of each communication variable to hospital brand image reconstruction. The findings reveal that all communication channels positively and significantly influence hospital brand image. Hospital Advertisement emerged as the strongest predictor (t = 5.073), followed by Hospital-Created Social Media (t = 3.806), while User-Generated Social Media and WOM functioned as complementary mechanisms reinforcing institutional credibility. These findings indicate that, within this single-hospital case, formal institutional communication remains more influential than organic communication in shaping patient trust during digital transformation. The study provides context-specific empirical insights exclusively relevant to the operational environment of Rumah Sakit Arun in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, Indonesia.]]>
