Courtesy in caring. The patient as customer.

If you were paying $500 a night for a hotel room,. would you be happy if you were told you would be sharing it with a stranger? While such a question cannot be literally asked about a hospital experience, metaphorically it can be--and is--asked every time a patient enters a hospital. The idea of patient-as-consumer is not longer just another trendy concept but an integral part of the way many hospitals do business, and it's the hospital manager's responsibility to ensure the customer's satisfaction.