Eyes of the patient; Peterson jumped from research lab to `mystery patient'.(Special Feature: ACHE Awards)(Diane Peterson)

Byline: Alice Hohl

Diane Peterson, winner of an American College of Healthcare Executives 2007 Gold Medal Award, has seen a lot of hospitals. She often tours them from a gurney or a wheelchair.

Peterson, 57, a healthcare consultant and president and founder of D. Peterson & Associates, says she pioneered the "mystery patient'' method. Now she and her associates go undercover at hospitals all over the country, reporting to hospital executives on how they were treated. It's one of the most effective ways to gauge and improve customer service, Peterson says, and it all started with a comment by her secretary about mystery shoppers who test retail stores. "It was a great idea,'' she says. "Nobody had done it as inpatients before.''

Peterson says finding customer service standouts in unlikely places is one of the rewarding aspects of her job. Once she was faking a heart problem in a small Alabama hospital. The young woman pushing the gurney patted her on the shoulder and assured her that the hospital had great doctors and that she would be OK.

"This young African-American woman, probably among the lowest-paid workers at the hospital, at the end of her shift came to visit me-to say, `I know you're from out of town and you're not going to have any visitors, and I wanted to come visit and tell you everything's going to be just fine.' '' Peterson suggested to the hospital's CEO that the woman should be recognized for her dedication.