I’ve said this a thousand times: trust is a fragile thing when it comes to the patient experience. I recently had some minor surgery that I’d been planning for some time. Because of my rigorous travel schedule, taking the time out for surgery is no small feat. So I had gone through all the pre-operative steps, including teaching, history, and physical, and was all set except for knowing the time of surgery. I was told that I would be contacted the day before my surgery and given the schedule. Of course, I had to have someone drive me to and from the hospital, so that meant that neither of us knew how much of our day would be required. Read more...
One thing I love about my work (and there are many things to love) is the opportunity to meet and mingle with others who are as passionate about improving the patient experience as I am. When I look at my travel schedule this week, it might appear draining, but, in reality, it has been a rejuvenating experience. That’s because I’ve been able to meet and mingle with people who are in the trenches, doing great things for patients and their communities. That always helps me re-connect to purpose at the same time. Read more...
I had an interesting revelation recently that I wanted to share. In my consulting work, I am frequently asked to help clients understand the patient experience behind the HCAHPS scores. One area that many organizations struggle with is cleanliness. When the cleanliness score goes down, all eyes are on housekeeping, right? Conventional wisdom suggests that, if the scores are bad, it must mean an environmental service is doing a poor job. Well, before you start harping on the housekeeping crew, you might want to take a closer look around and make sure you understand how the patient defines cleanliness. Next, you’ll want to examine some habits that are giving you a bad rap. 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 so often, I run into a service star that knocks my socks off and I just have to share. This week it was Kelly, a bright and bubbly waitress who served this bleary-eyed traveler her 6:00 a.m. coffee. I was impressed with her energy because I don’t often see much enthusiasm at that time of day. But Kelly was equally personable and attentive when she waited on our table at noon. She even offered to bring me some honey, remembering that I had a cold and had requested it in the morning. But what really impressed me was when, at 8:30 p.m., my room service arrived and was delivered by–who else but–Kelly! Smiling and positive, she delivered my meal to my room, made small talk, and asked how I was feeling. After a bit of probing, I learned that she had arrived at 5:30 that morning and would work until 11:00 that night. When I commented how that was a long stretch to work, she didn’t offer any additional information about why she was working such a long day. Did staff call in sick? Was she training for a food service marathon? Was this some weird waitress initiation or hazing? All she offered was, “I really enjoy my work. I meet so many interesting guests.” 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...
Everywhere I go, people are talking about improving the patient experience. But in order to make that a reality, we need to have a clear definition of what constitutes the experience. I recently read a press release from the Beryl Institute that shares an excellent definition of the patient experience. They define it as,
Patient Experience: The sum of all interactions, shaped by an organization’s culture, that influence patient perceptions across a continuum of care. Read more...
I’m writing this post from a hospital waiting room which is a great location for me to anchor myself in the realities of health care. Today I am the family member, nervous about my sister Gretchen who is having surgery complicated by a rare form of cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that places her at risk even during a routine procedure. Read more...
There has recently been a lot of discussion in the media lately about mystery shopping in healthcare. Although the AMA Ethics Committee has recommended using mystery shopping, there has been push back from its members. I believe that the objections may be due to lack of information about mystery shopping and what it can do for the provider. Read more...
