Should marketers abandon the practice of mystery shopping?

Editor’s note: In each edition of Healthcare Marketing Advisor, we ask our advisory board members to answer a question about hospital and health system marketing. This month, we asked the board, “Various physician and nurse groups have spoken out recently against the use of mystery shoppers to improve customer service and the patient experience. Doctors and nurses say they fear that the use of these fake patients will take time away from actual patients and affect the care they offer. Hospital marketers have been using mystery shoppers for a while now to measure how well their organization is meeting customer needs and providing a positive experience for patients.