Posted by Kristin Baird on April 24th, 2018 • No Comments »

We all judge our experiences differently. What is most important to me, may not be at the top of someone else’s list. And vice versa – what someone else sees as most important may not matter at all to me. The only way to find out what is most important to your patients is to ask. If you don’t ask the question, you won’t find out.

In spite of this simple logic, many patients go through both inpatient and outpatient encounters without ever being asked what is most important to them. And that is a missed opportunity. Read more...

Don’t Say That!

Posted by Kristin Baird on April 19th, 2018 • No Comments »

We’re understaffed – 3 words that shake patient confidence

I cannot think of one time in my career when I heard caregivers complain about being overstaffed. Being understaffed, however is a daily occurrence in hospitals and medical practices across the country. Staff are often running to keep up with the workload. Read more...

What’s Next? Your Patient Wants to Know

Posted by Kristin Baird on April 17th, 2018 • No Comments »

Surprises can be exciting when it comes to birthday gifts, but patients really don’t appreciate surprises. When I interview patients about what is most important to them about their care, being informed is always in the top two. They want to know what’s going on and what they should expect next.

A couple weeks ago I was shadowing in a medical practice. The physician did a wonderful job engaging with the patient and getting to the bottom of her troubling symptoms. At the close of the encounter, however, he didn’t recap the discussion or tell the patient that when he left the exam room, she would be free to get dressed and go. Read more...

I’d love this job if it wasn’t for the patients

Posted by Kristin Baird on April 12th, 2018 • No Comments »

“I’d love this job if it wasn’t for the patients.” Hopefully this negative line sounds ridiculous to anyone working in healthcare. After all – without patients, there is no healthcare industry. And yet, I have heard this sentiment expressed in several different ways.

I was recently working with a group who had some very real customer service challenges. The team constantly talked about, and focused on, the challenging encounters and not the positive ones. They had a communication habit within their culture that focused on drama and sharing bad stories over and over. What they did not realize, is that the negative focus prevented them from enjoying the positive occurrences happening during a typical day. Read more...

Balance the Tasks with Caring Behaviors

Posted by Kristin Baird on April 10th, 2018 • No Comments »

Working in healthcare takes an immense amount of technical skills especially when you work in direct patient care. After all, if you screw up an important technical task, you could hurt, or even kill someone. But it is important to keep in mind that the tasks almost always involves a human being at the other end.
I can vividly recall how stressful it was to perform my first injections, my first IV starts and first NG tube insertions as a student nurse. I totally focused on the task at hand during those “firsts.” Out of fear that I would mess up and inadvertently hurt my patient. I’m sure in the beginning, I focused more on the task than on the person on the receiving end. Over time, as I became more proficient and gained confidence, I could safely share my attention between the human interaction and the technical task at hand. That is what many strive for – the balance between technical competence and the ability to relate on a personal level. Read more...

Dear “insert name here” you are special to us – really!

Posted by Kristin Baird on April 5th, 2018 • No Comments »

Have you ever gotten an obviously mass-produced form-letter telling you how unique and special you are? Do you believe these messages? Probably not. I can tolerate (but just barely) this approach from companies selling cable TV, siding, windows or insurance. The companies won’t earn my attention or gain my trust.

Healthcare relationships are highly personal. If you want to build trust and loyalty, all messages should reflect that sacred relationship. Unfortunately, healthcare organizations send daily messages that are strictly task-driven without regard for the relationship. These communications can include everything from appointment reminders and pre-op instructions, to bills and test results. I would venture to guess that there are probably millions of these messages going out daily. Millions of missed opportunities. Read more...

Knowing Vs. Doing

Posted by Kristin Baird on March 29th, 2018 • No Comments »

Here’s one thing I know for certain about improving the culture and the patient experience – thinking and planning are not the same as taking action. I’ve seen many healthcare leaders confuse the two and then wonder why nothing is changing.

Thinking vs. Doing

We see a lot of the “thinking vs doing” activity in our line of work. One common example occurs with leader rounding. On numerous occasions, my team and I have been asked to conduct rounding training. In some situations we learn, much to our dismay, that our training is the second, third or even fourth round of training the leaders have received on the subject. That is a significant amount of time, energy and money for training if you aren’t getting results. Read more...

Last Impressions are Lasting Impressions

Posted by Kristin Baird on March 27th, 2018 • No Comments »

We’ve all heard the saying, “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” While there is truth in that statement, let’s not forget the importance of the last impression. It’s the last impression that can put the finishing touches on the encounter or leave the patient hanging – unsure about what is happening.

Whether it is on the phone or during a face-to-face encounter with patients, ending the encounter on a positive note helps define the overall impression. Read more...

A Sign Doesn’t Deliver Great Service

Posted by Kristin Baird on March 13th, 2018 • No Comments »

A friend of mine recently shared a great story with me about her daughter’s recent emergency department visit. She had taken her daughter to the ED with complaints of severe stomach pain after having endoscopy. She was taken to a room pretty quickly by a kind nurse. They introduced themself, and then left them to sit for over three hours. Eventually, someone, who didn’t identify themselves, brought in a GI cocktail and said, “Here, drink this,” and then left before they could ask any questions including: “What is a GI cocktail?” “What does a GI cocktail do?” “Why do I need a GI cocktail?” Since she was not in the military or in a military hospital, she could rule out that the GI stood for Government Issued, but the rest remained a mystery. Read more...

Blog Home

Categories

Asking This One Question Will Improve Your Patient Experience