By Liz Leonard
U.S consumers are accustomed to choices. We often take for granted our ability to select products, price points and preferred channels. Why, then, do we as patients expect anything less from our healthcare providers?
Healthcare has not traditionally ranked high on the list of "customer-centric" industries—service level norms have followed more of a "you get what you get" mantra in an HMO-driven health plan system. Illness and injury that prompt a visit to urgent care or the doctor's office typically mean patient inconvenience, long wait times, patient history reconciliations, and usually an abundance of paperwork.
