The Most "Expensive" Sentence a Patient/Customer Can Hear

Could you explain the problem again?

After a short break, I'm excited to continue this newsletter with a slightly different perspective.

So far, we've talked about healthcare systems, digital transformation, AI, connected care, and the technologies shaping the future of healthcare. This time, however, I'd like to look at the same ecosystem from the opposite direction.

We often hear terms such as patient-centric care, patient-first, 360-degree patient view, and many others. They all sound promising—but are we really putting the patient at the center?

Looking back at my own experiences—not only as a patient, but simply as a customer interacting with different organizations—I realized that many organizations are still missing one fundamental point:

📍 A customer is NOT just a set of records related to your business; customer is a relationship.

Let me share some personal experiences, which did not happen years ago. They happened very recently, within a year window.

😒 Last month, my bank called me three times in the same day to offer exactly the same loan.

Three different agents. Three identical conversations. Three polite refusals.

Apparently, none of them knew the previous calls had ever happened.

...

😤 My telecom operator is still spending their time and efforts by continuously sending me SMS, WhatsApp messages every month for someone else's overdue internet bill! Every month, and I can't even now remember since when, I receive disconnection warnings, bill overdue notifications, I even receive automated calls early mornings or very late evenings for that. (And of course I do receive "thank you for your payment" messages)

Even after multiple complaints. Even after branch visits. Even after proving that I had absolutely nothing to do with that account.

Apparently, their system knew my phone number. It just couldn't understand that it belonged to me and I have nothing to do with those unpaid bills.

(A small personal request: If by any chance the owner of that DSL connection is reading this, I am kindly asking him, please pay your bills on time, please!)

...

🤨 My car service reminded me four times (in different days) that I need to book my next planned service appointment...the one that I had already booked via their call center a week ago.

And the appointment itself?

It didn't exist in their system.

...

🤦🏻 The retail store that I purchased some household materials and asked them for delivery and installation managed to book a date on their system for installation on which the installation team is OFF!

...

I am sure you also experienced stories like these.

Some are funny. Some are annoying. Some make us question whether anyone inside that company actually talks to each other.

The interesting part?

None of these businesses have a technology problem.

They all have systems. They all have databases. They all have customer records.

The problem is something else. They don't have a customer memory.

Or worse...

They have one...but nobody uses it properly.

Now, imagine these same situations...inside a hospital.

🤔 How would you feel if...

• You receive laboratory results belonging to another patient?

• The hospital reminds you five times about an appointment you've already confirmed?

• You repeatedly receive vaccination reminders for a child you've never had?

• The maternity department congratulates you on your pregnancy...while you're a 45-year-old man?

• Your allergies were documented during your last visit...yet you are asked the exact same questions every single time?

• You submit negative feedback after your stay...and nobody ever follows up?

In retail, these mistakes are frustrating.

In healthcare, suddenly they stop being funny.

⚠️ In healthcare, these can affect trust, safety, and ultimately patient outcomes.

Everybody talks about EMR.

Everybody talks about AI.

Everybody talks about interoperability.

Very few people talk about the relationship.

📌 If your system only remembers my diagnosis, but forgets who I am, it isn't patient centric.

📍 A patient is much more than just medical records.

A patient has medical history, appointment history, communication preferences, insurance information, family members, satisfaction history, complaints, compliments, missed appointments, cancelled appointments, lifestyle information, chronic disease programs, preferred physician, preferred language, previous conversations, expectations, ...

Treating only the clinical side while ignoring the relationship side means understanding only half of the patient.

This is where CRM systems and their importance come into the picture. CRM is NOT (only) about sales and marketing. CRM is about consistency.

• 88% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products or services. (SalesForce)

• 32% of customers leave a brand after just one bad experience. (PWC)

• 90% of consumers say customer service influences whether they continue doing business with a company. (Microsoft)

This is why the healthcare organizations also need to have a strong CRM system attached to their clinical technology ecosystem.

I see it essential to remark that, having a system-even the best one in its domain- is not enough by itself. Getting the required output from it makes matter, makes the system usable and effective. Refer back to the real-life experiences I have shared earlier.

When planning and executing digital transformation, all processes, data points and parameters must be designed properly, and taking their relevance and effects into consideration.

AI?

It will help your organization folds better if your data is not only around the clinical side of your patients, but also who they are, what your relationship with them looks like, where the gaps and improvement points are.

Technology is already there. The real challenge is designing systems—and cultures—that remember what matters.

Because good CRM doesn't make customers feel managed. It makes them feel known.

Stay tuned and stay safe.