Abstract
In a competitive market where financial resources are limited, many of the popular approaches to improving the patient
experience involve large capital investments in such things as hotel style amenities and expensive technology.
argues that marketing based on a model of the patient as a traditional ‘customer’ is ill conceived and contributes
unnecessarily to the high cost of healthcare while lacking a true understanding of, or an appropriate response to, the
most basic needs of hospitalized patients that lead to patien
Note
Kathy Torpie is a member of The Beryl Institute’s Global Patient and Family Advisory Council
Patients as ‘Customers’
There is no getting past the fact that healthcare is a
business and that the economic cost of providing
healthcare will always have to be considered in seeking
solutions to the healthcare crisis. From a purely business
perspective, focusing on the bottom line (and, in private
care, on profit) makes perfect sense. That is the goal of
any capital venture. But, healthcare is not like other
businesses and patients are unlike other kinds of
customers.
‘Customers’ are generally well people who enjoy elevated
status by virtue of their potential to purchase goods or
services. Patients, on the other hand, are (by current
definition), not well. Their status is greatly reduced by
illness or injury that renders them vulnerable, frightened,
often in pain, medicated, exhausted and confused. In spite
of these limiting factors, patients sometimes have to make
important, often complex, decisions in a short time frame.
The ‘goods’ they are purchasing are a return to health and
the ‘services’ they seek often require an unspeakable level
of trust in their ‘service provider’. It makes little sense to
relate to patients as traditional ‘customers’ in a business
model that simply doesn’t fit.
Business practice in a competitive market dictates that
market research be undertaken to profile potential
customers. Who are they? What’s important to them?
How can you relate that to the product or service you are
selling? What is the best way to attract them as customers
and to earn their loyalty?
“A 2012 industry survey asked top hospital leaders (CEOs,
COOs, and others) what was necessary to improve the
patient experience. The top six recommendations
included: new facilities, private rooms, food on demand,
Fall 2014, pp. 6-8
Fall 2014
© The Author(s), 2014. Published in association with The Beryl Institute and Patient Experience Institute
Customer service vs. Patient care
International Keynote Speaker, Psychologist and Author,
[email protected]where financial resources are limited, many of the popular approaches to improving the patient
experience involve large capital investments in such things as hotel style amenities and expensive technology.
of the patient as a traditional ‘customer’ is ill conceived and contributes
unnecessarily to the high cost of healthcare while lacking a true understanding of, or an appropriate response to, the
most basic needs of hospitalized patients that lead to patient satisfaction