One of the biggest obstacles to improving the patient experience in healthcare is the industry ’ s insular nature and the way this makes its problems self-reinforcing . In other words , healthcare providers and institutions compare themselves to each other – to the hospital in the next town , the surgeon in the next O . R . – and benchmark their customer service accordingly . So , it ’ s time to benchmark healthcare customer service against the best in serviceintensive industries , because that ’ s what your patients and their loved ones will do . Every patient ’ s interaction with healthcare is judged based on expectations set by the best players in hospitality industry , the financial services industry , and other areas where expert players have made a science of customer service .