Customer

The term “customer” refers to actual and potential users of your organization’s services or programs. Patients are the primary customers of health care organizations. Other customers could include patients’ families, the community, insurers and other third-party payors, employers, health care providers, patient advocacy groups, Departments of Health, and students. The Criteria address customers broadly, referencing current and future customers, as well as the customers of your competitors and other organizations providing similar health care services or programs.

Patient-focused excellence is a Baldrige Core Value embedded in the beliefs and behaviors of high-performance organizations. Customer focus impacts and should integrate an organization’s strategic directions, its work systems and work processes, and its organizational performance results.