Customer information and the quality improvement process: developing a customer information system.

As growing numbers of health care organizations institute quality improvement programs, the demand within these organizations for reliable information about customers increases. By establishing a customer information system (CIS)--a model for collecting, archiving, and accessing customer information--health care organizations can eliminate the duplication of research, ensure that customer information is properly collected and interpreted, and provide decision makers access to better, more reliable customer information. Customer-supplier relationships are defined, guidelines for determining information needs are provided, and ways to set up and manage a CIS are suggested.