Remember the scene from the movie A Few Good Men when Jack Nicholson’s character shouted from the witness stand, “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!”? I often feel like shouting that myself. There are so many times I face off with leaders who want us to come in, wave the magic wand, and fix their patient satisfaction scores rather than facing the truth about the underlying culture that is at the root of poor patient satisfaction. Read more...
What goes up must come down, right? This indisputable law has been regarded as a hard, fast fact for hundreds of years, but it doesn’t have to apply to your patient satisfaction scores. Just because your scores go up, doesn’t mean they have to fall again. And on the flip side, just because they go up, doesn’t mean they’ll stay up.
I was recently chatting with a client about what it takes to sustain positive change and I was shocked to realize how many leaders assume that positive changes aren’t sustainable. Read more...
Every day, I have the honor of working with some of the most compassionate, hardworking patient advocates I’ve ever met. A day in the life of a nurse, tech, aid, phlebotomist, therapist, or physician can be draining and demanding both physically and emotionally. That’s why it’s so important to create an environment of support–a culture that nurtures and encourages one another.
Think back to a time when you had a rough day, and someone offered an encouraging word, a pat on the arm, or even a hug because they could sense that you were down, frustrated, or overwhelmed. Sometimes, that little boost is all you need to keep on going. Long days, demanding workloads, and difficult patients can sap your energy. Isn’t it great when someone shows even a small gesture of appreciation? Read more...
Flying home after a vacation, I was listening to a short video about the airline and it’s fleet of jets. In the video, the narrator talked about how a pilot must face the wind during takeoff. He said, “What you push against lifts you up.” I thought about that short statement in context of service improvement. It reminded me of the multitude of crusaders who push for better patient care every day. Read more...
In the era of transparency, when HCAHPS scores are publicly reported, healthcare leaders have a vested interest in improving patient satisfaction. But I think there is some confusion out there about what the ultimate goal is. Is it to create a more positive patient experience or to just get better scores? At face value, you might think that the two are one and the same. Not so. I find that when the pressure is on to improve the scores, people start to strategize more about how to influence the patient rather than focusing on a better experience that will earn them the top scores. Somehow, people have managed to separate the patient’s experience from the scores. Read more...
Anyone who works in healthcare knows that patients are the purpose of our work. We talk a lot about being patient-centered, but few organizations have mastered the art and science of creating and maintaining a truly patient-centered culture. Many of our processes and policies were created by and for staff and providers. The upshot of which is often a frustrating, difficult-to-navigate experience that leaves patients wondering if they are really any more than a number on a medical record. It’s time to re-examine how we do things, and determine what needs to change in order to become more patient-centered and user-friendly. To change old habits, we first must be willing to take an honest look at ourselves and learn to see the world through our patients’ eyes. Read more...
I love this time of year when fall is tiptoeing onto the landscape and the lazy days of summer surrender to a routine. I live next door to an elementary school and watched this morning as the kids arrived for the first day of school. As I watched the children arrive, I noticed how differently they approached the changes brought about by their first day of school. I began to notice that they fell into one of three categories. The first group seized the day with all the fervor that they could muster. They literally skipped into the school ready to grab the challenges that lay before them. The second group walked slowly and cautiously showing signs of uncertainty but not fully resisting. They would need to size things up before deciding if this was going to be good or not. The third group clearly wanted no part of it. These were the kids who had to be prodded and cajoled if not dragged into the building kicking and screaming. Read more...
