HFMA VIEWS

Scott MacStravic, Ph.D.

When I began my career in health care marketing forty years ago, nobody referred to “customers,” only “patients,” though hospitals knew that physicians were also keys to their success. And nobody treated patients like customers, either, focusing almost entirely on patients’ clinical needs and ignoring their personal preferences or “customer experience.”  Long waits for busy providers, bad food in hospitals, and other indignities or annoyances were the rule, not the exception. Patient satisfaction surveys were unheard of.

I’d like to think that the many books and articles, as well as my teaching a course in health care marketing for twenty years, and spending fifteen as a health care marketing executive played some role in the dramatic changes in dealings with patients since then.  The term “customer” is commonly used now, and “customer experience management,” though usually labeled as “patient experience” is a major focus for hospital capital and operational investments.  And almost all hospitals at least survey their “customers’” satisfaction.

But there are signs that some providers may be going too far.