2010 is here; a new decade with new challenges. During the past decade, all sorts of new technology entered our lives. As your children played with the latest Wii, Xbox or PlayStation, and you downloaded the latest best seller to your Kindle, did you take the time to think about the implication of the latest technologies for your hospital?

How will patients, accustomed to using their phones for instant access to everything, change the customer service demands for healthcare providers? Will they expect to use text messages to get their room cleaned? Will they want a special app for food on demand?

A new report, Trends in Patient Service Strategies: Improving Customer Satisfaction with Technology, explores how healthcare organizations can leverage technology advancements to improve customer service.  While most hospitals already use relationship management systems and web-based scheduling and are dabbling with personal health records, patients are looking for e-mail and chat as well as registration kiosks and patient portals. This report details how technology can support and improve patient satisfaction.

I believe that in this new decade we will increasingly rely on technology to support our customer service initiatives. The emergence of new technology and the increasingly high expectations of patients will make support for technology a strategic necessity. While there may be challenges to adoption, I am convinced that hospitals who leverage technology will increase customer satisfaction.

How are you integrating technology into your customer service strategies? I'm anxious to hear from you. So text me, email me, tweet me or use whatever technology you prefer. I want to hear from you...my phone works pretty well too.

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