As many other industries have successfully shifted to business models centered on customer interaction, healthcare companies, and in particular health insurance companies, seem to have fallen behind the pack.

The health insurance industry ranks near the bottom—ahead of only cable and Internet providers—in terms of customer experience, and efforts to put the consumer at the core of healthcare efforts have been slow-moving at best.

But there is hope, according to Greg Monaco, founding partner of the New York-based consulting firm Monaco Lange.

“There is, in fact, no rule that says healthcare companies need to remain stodgy and boring,” Monaco wrote in an article recently published by AdAge. “Even though healthcare companies are in the unfortunate spot of being the last ones to change, there is no reason they can't use this time of chaos to adapt, rethink how they interact with customers and adopt a new approach—one that puts the customer front and center.”

He offers up four solutions for healthcare companies looking to accelerate the move to a customer-centric model:

• Put customers are the core. Build a community in which your customers can feel included and important.
• Value every touch point. Take advantage of every opportunity to offer customers a chance to feel part of something special.
• Connect with warmth and compassion. Relate to customers on a person-to-person basis and understand their day-to-day struggles.
• Remember that your customers are human. Shift away from somber tones and technical terms to more accessible language to improve patient communication.

Even small efforts based on improving customer experiences and participation can make a big difference in changing the way your company interacts with healthcare consumers.