Customer Service Model Paper

With the advent of the affordable care act and changes in the healthcare system, significant revenue is now dependent on patient satisfaction. This paper will cover how hospitals are trying to convert to a customer service model, and why it’s not really working.
In today’s economy we are encouraged to provide customer service directly with our patients in a professional business environment. Importance is stressed by the hospital on ensuring timely admissions, treatments running on time, answering phone calls promptly, cultural sensitivity, appropriate attire, cleanliness, and quality communication. Hospitals are spending large sums of money to hire outside groups to train staff in good customer service skills that include: Making eye contact, polite conversation, active listening, providing detailed information, connecting with the whole person, paying undivided attention, preserving dignity, including consumers family, and ensuring the confidentility and privacy of our patients. …show more content…
This model only addresses a small part of patient care and patient satisfaction goals. The standard customer services of courtesy, professionalism, empathy and active listening are skills required for a great caregiver. This issue is the with customer service model is the concept that the customer is always right. There are crucial differences between customers and patients. Basing quality of care and reimbursement off of customer satisfaction does not make business sense for hospitals. In this customer service model a patient receiving health care may positively, neutrally or even negatively affect revenue. Patients may carry good, poor or no medical insurance. By tradition and legislation, institutions are obligated to care for all of them. There is no evidence that improved customer service correlates with improved