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...
None of us wants to believe that we are the roadblocks to innovation and change, yet there are so many times when I hear leaders shoot down opportunities for growth and innovation with one simple sentence. Take your pick of these most common squelchers, including: Read more...
- It won’t work!
- We tried that once back in…
- They won’t approve. (The we/they thing is always a clue to filter.)
- That will never fly here!
- You don’t understand. We’re different. (Healthcare suffers from terminal uniqueness, including one doctor’s patients being sicker than all others, one hospital having unique issues with running 24/7, and—my personal favorite—only angry patients fill out satisfaction surveys.)
This is the twelfth and final entry of my in-depth interview with a patient after concluding her cancer treatment.
Many of you have followed along as I chronicled Elizabeth’s journey through eight weeks of chemotherapy. I’m very grateful to her for sharing her thoughts and feelings about her healthcare encounters. She is astute and articulate in a way that has helped me tell her story and provided some good learning opportunities for myself and the readers. I’m glad to report that she is recovering nicely and slowly gaining her strength. Today, she shares her thoughts in summary about the experience. Read more...
Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services scrapped plans to mystery shop thousands of primary care practices in an effort to assess access. I must admit, I was disappointed, but not surprised that physicians pushed back with such vehemence. There was an outcry that it was “Big Brother” watching. But the truth is mystery shopping is becoming much more prevalent throughout the healthcare industry.
Healthcare organizations across the country are making use of mystery shopping phone calls to assess access, as well as a number of other criteria that influence patients’ decisions. And what those organizations are learning is often surprising. Read more...
This is the tenth entry in my in-depth interview with a patient undergoing cancer treatment.
“Is she a patient or a client?” Many of us have debated the semantics used when describing one of the most vital stakeholders of your organization.
Elizabeth:
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It’s not unusual for me to talk with healthcare leaders who openly share their troubling patient satisfaction scores. The leaders may not be proud of the scores, but they will openly discuss them. That’s the easy part because the evidence is right there. It’s when we start talking about the leadership role in the patient experience that things get a little hairy. No one wants to admit to turning a blind eye to problems. I’ve yet to meet a leadership team who will admit that its strategy has been to ignore poor patient satisfaction, hoping it will just go away. Yet that is really what happens—month after month and quarter after quarter, the evidence piles up against patient happiness, that the experience is inconsistent at best and that nothing is changing. Read more...
I’ve always known that if you want to be creative and energetic, you’ll do best by surrounding yourself with like-minded people. That philosophy was reaffirmed within minutes of arriving at the Beryl Institute’s Patient Experience Conference this week. It was so energizing to be surrounded by amazing patient experience champions who, like me, are passionate about creating a better healthcare world for our patients, families, and all those who serve them. 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...
The word ‘accountability’ gets tossed around a lot in leadership discussions. Everyone agrees that accountability is necessary in high-performing organizations but creating a culture of accountability is tough. I’ve seen even some of the most experienced leaders waver on this one. Read more...
