Healthcare throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century continues to undergo
profound changes regarding reimbursement, staffing shortages, and the struggle to
maintain and grow market share. While many factors impact a hospital’s fiscal survival,
the fundamental issue rests with patient volume. Decreased patient volume equates to
lower revenues. Hospital administrators are ultimately responsible for fiscal stability of
their respective institutions. A key strategy to meet the objectives of increased patient
volume, which equates to increased revenue, is keeping the customer base satisfied. Thus,
the need to focus attention to the arena of customer satisfaction is an integral component
of hospital strategy