The idea that Disney has anything to teach us about how to run hosptials is a stretch, at best, and a more likely a counterproductive fantasy. A hospital is not a luxury resort, an operating room is not a ride, a surgeon is not a cute tour guide in a uniform. Nobody dies if they can't afford to go to Disney World. There is a lot that can be improved in our hospitals and our healthcare system, but I hope we can find better role models than the Walt Disney Corporation.

One thing Disney and hospitals DO have in common: overcharging for EVERYTHING!

I think what people need to understand is that no one is looking to run a hospital like an amusement park. If you have never been to Disney to see their Customer Service, then you cannot comment. I would love to see Customer Service in hospital's run like Disney would portray. These are the hospital's customers and they generate the revenue. We need to taker a hard look at this area.

I work in a hospital and I really feel that all hospital have something in comman with Disney Land. I went to a Fred Lee seminar and I really enjoyed it, he explained how Disney Land and a hospital have similar things, you have to have Customer Service in both area's. Cause if you are a patient and you are coming in to pay a bill, I would hope that you would want the person taking your money have good Customer Service skills and to have courtesy and compassion for you. Also when the patient was here for the stay and the nurse and the doctors they also have to have good Customer Service skills, so if you where at Disney Land the employees their have to also be courtesy and friendly, cause if not then you will probably not want to visit either one again.
Thanks,
shannon

What a brilliant idea for a book. I'm going to purchase it.

People choose to go to Disney for vacation and fun. Patients ususally do not go to the hospital for either of the above reasons. There in lies the inherent major difference .

Even if your a not for profit hospital, your hospital is still a business. The hospital has to make money in order to stay in business. If you don't like the service at your local coffee shop, you'd go somewhere else wouldn't you? If there are several hospitals in your area, you need to draw your customers (guests) from the area. A good experience will bring them back, if your competitors aren't doing the job, you need to do it better.

Whether it's Disneyland or some major hospital, superior customer service skills apply and learning to build rapports with our patients should be a # 1 priority. I like the saying, "If you're not smiling....You're not doing it right."

Compare:
Hospital: Long waits, uniformed staff, Things costing much more than they should, Bad food, security personnel, Hope that the ride your on doesn't kill you.

Disney: Same as above.

Disney does customer service like nobody else, having experienced it myself in '04. Our comfort was their priority. Nothing seemed beyond consideration, and each employee made us feel welcome. "Disney Hospital" patients would feel safe, appreciated, respected, and more at ease. They would rest better, eat better, heal faster, perhaps even leave sooner. How much better things would be if we truly treated them as our guests rather than as interruptions, or a room number needing meds. I've seen it too often. Are we too proud to provide this level of service?

I blogged earlier about a team of physicians going to a Toyota plant to obtain lessons for hospitals. After leaving the plant, one physician said, "they treat their cars better than we treat our patients."

I have read this book along with all of the other department directors in our hospital. The CEO of my hospital had already read it along with the other affiliate CEOs in our hospital system. We sat down together after reading the book and discussed how our patients need to be related to as customers. It was very interesting to see how our hospital business is so musch like Disney World in the customer service area. We must make our patients feel like we are there for them instead of the bucks.

I work in a hospital and I would just like to see my place of work as clean as Disneyworld.

In another life and for over ten years, I was a highly trained and very highly regarded Hotel Guest Service Manager (GSM) and eventual General Manager for a major(hospital-ity) chain.
I worked 12-16 hours a day and was on the job six to seven days a week. During one two year stent, I worked an entire year, without a day off.
After five years of this grueling schedule, I suffered what is too commonly diagnosed as "burn out".
Twenty years later and after my immune suppressed husband spent six months of this year hospitalized, due to complications subsequent to hospital aquired infections, I observed, in five separate hospitals, the reality of my my former work day schedule and customer service nightmares had spilled over into the medical field.
I am certain the former RN, who posted above me,could fill a best selling horror novel about the working conditions for hospital employees.
I am also certain, my own book about the working conditions and the lack of customer service training I recently observed and my husband experienced first hand, would run a close race for a second best seller.
John Nesbitt wrote in his book, Megatrends, "whatever is going on locally, is going on nationally". If his and my own observations are true, our nation's hospitals, when viewed as a service industry with failing life threatening implications,are in very serious trouble.
Regarding the "Disney" and "fantasy" book, over fifteen years ago and after my own hospital stay, I wrote a thoughtful letter to a local hospital director regarding the very same service principals discussed by the author of the book and owner of this blog.
Back then, my sincere offerings to write a "train the trainer" course book and my suggestions for hospital (service) improvements), apparently fell on deaf ears.
Both of my letters, my complaint letter and my letter offering to design a professional and hopital specfic basic customer service training course was completely ignored.
I am now a professional artist and a novice political activist.
Too often favorite written historical generalizations about artitic qualities are completely ignored in the business world.
Artists are, whether by nature or by nurture, intuitive, genrally spoken of as being "ahead of their time" or "working against the grain" and they "tend to color outside the lines". After a lifetime of my thoughts, suggestions and ideas about employee/employer and customer relationships and serivce improvements being largely ignored by the corporate business community, I pleaded guilty to all the above and eventually recognized my "talents" belonged elsewhere.
Today, after reading this blog and the above posts, and for a fleeting moment, I wondered if I and other "artistic personality types" had become more the work place activist types and perhaps, less escapists, we could have served our nation's "broken healthcare system" and corporate world better.
My second thought reminded me of an English translation of an ancient chinese symbol. "Chaos-Where brilliant drams are born, before the beginning of great brilliance, there must be chaos. Before a brilliant person begins something great, they must look foolish to the crowd".
The Disney Book may, at first glance, appear as a foolish bandaid to an ailing industry for far too many " expert "industry analysts", "human resource directors" or "corporate mogols" or line level employees.
To this artist and former service industry professional, it is part of the solution and brilliant!
DK, Artist

Having read the comments, but not the book, I am certain that those people with negative comments do not work in a health care setting. It is delightful to hear that some healthcare organizations are finally realizing one of the most basic tenets of business...if your employees are happy, they will give great customer service; but if they're not, watch out! You can take basic business models and apply them to any other business...you just have to be open to see it. In my MBA program, most of the instructors were from manufacturing and were amazed that I could translate the concepts into health care. Business is business, whether it's Disney or your local hospital. We just need Administration to wake up!

I would hope that the people who posted negative comments have actually read the book. It's principles about customer service organizations would be applicable anywhere. Fred Lee's book should be required reading for any Health Services Administration graduate program. Students and professors alike will gain from the experience. I am sure you will enjoy the ride.

I'm also impressed by Fred Lee's imagination and his book is a very good one. His satire and ironic style deserves a lot of appreciation.

About 10 years ago, I worked at an emergency department in an inner city. The Disney organization was paid to come to our facility to "teach" customer care. Needless to say I thought this was ridiculous, how do you compare an emergency dept with Disney World? There is no comparison. The E.R. is a place where emotions run high, life or death situations are a constant and patience by the patients is worn thin, not to mention the many, many people who use the E.R. as their doctor's office. What is the worst thing that can happen at Disney? Can it at all compare to death of a loved one? The Disney people who were recruited to come to our facility could barely speak to one another, never mind our patient clientele, they were in a word, shocked by what they had encountered. The staff at the ER had already been through sensitivity training, and are some of the most caring, compassionate, empathetic people I had the pleasure to work with, not to mention, not easily shocked. People do not need a book or a Disney staff to teach customer care, what they need is to look at how they'd like to be treated, "do onto others as you would yourself."

I have read the book- something that I think many comment leavers have not. It does not tell you to run your hospital like a resort, it is telling you to look at their business model and their measure of success. Sure, a hospital isnt a resort, a vacation, a getaway, but it is a customer service industry...like it or not.
We need customers, we need them to be satisfied and to have the best hospital experience possible. How can we do this amid staffing shortages, malpractice suits, charge backs, writeoffs, and the like? By looking at a different business model, we can be motivated to chnge and to be more productive...THAT is what this book is about. For all you naysayers out there...I'm sorry that organizational inertia has proven fatal to your attitude. For all the rest, this book is awesome and motivating. A must read for ANY hospital employee.

I read this book for one of my graduate courses. This book is an excellent book and should be read by all leaders in the hospital industry. Some hospital employees have forgotten what we are there for: TO PROVIDE COMPASSIONATE CARE TO THE PATIENT, to touch the lives of others. A quote by Adam Gordon-"Life is mostly froth and bubble, two things stand like stone, kindness in another's trouble, courage in your own! This book is GREAT!

Such a delightful title. Worth browsing at the local Barnes and Noble.

Having worked at Disney for 29 years, lemme just say that the LAST thing you'd want a medical facility to be run like is a Disney theme park.

For example;

1. Perceptions > Reality

Perceptions are greater than Reality? Really? Isn't that what they call in the medical profession the Placebo Effect?

We especially appreciated Fred Lee's explanation of the 90% patient satisfaction survey results. Our hospital has always been in the 90% range on patient satisfaction surveys and we feel Mr. Lee's book helped us tweak our current service objectives. We've incorporated some of his thoughts into the customer service portion of our new hire orientation that educates our employees, from the start, on the quality of customer service we expect, their role and how hospital administration will support their decisions.

It's been a year now since I attended this lecture given by Fred Lee. He has had the most positive impact in my career, even above my medical education because without these principles my practice of medicine falls short. The healing power is not in the pill. When I am tired and overworked and short tempered I still hear his words and press on with quality and compassion.

As an employee of the publisher of Mr. Lee's book, I frequently hear comments from people who have either read it, or are very exited to give it a shot. The stories are too many to list here but suffice it to say that no one has ever asked for a refund. It is personally gratifying for me to work for a business that has a product that is making a positive difference in the lives of so many. I occasionally have the opportunity to speak with Mr. Lee and the passion and dedication for the work he is doing in healthcare is always what I take away from every conversation.

I must say it was so exciting to read a book that truly embraces the Customer as being #1 and in the case of the almighty healthcare system the patient being #1. When I read the book I imagined myself as the patient and would I look for during my stay. Applying these principles it would clearly be a pleasant experience for me overall if they were followed through with. One part imparticular that rang in my ears was the Lack of Professional Appearance and Inconsistency in Uniform that is promblematic in healthcare organizations today; the free mentality of the 1990's and the dot commers needs to go away as mentioned in the book and get back to a Nurse in White, A Tech in Navy, An MA in Royal and a Unit Secretary not looking at all clinical so there not confused as a nurse by families in need of getting there clinical questions answered. Registration people should look more like a Hotel in Suiting if they are preaching Disney and your Food should emulate a resturant/cafe but be functional to there job role. Housekeeping Men and Women should be the same and not wear clinical apparel because patients will think they are caregivers and ask the wrong questions creating confusion. Trust, First Impressions, A Sense of Teamwork, and Professional Appearance can all be achieved by Mr Fred Lee's concepts on page 168-171 of a Standardized Dress Code with NO CASUAL FRIDAY'S. The Patient Comes first 7 days a week not 6 and it should always be seen and percieved as a Team Oriented Facility just like Disney. In a day when the elderly will be at an all time high and they recognize color what better way to introduce teamwork then giving the seniors what they want; A Nurse Back! Perception is Reality and Patient Satisfaction Scores will reap the benefits of increase with a Consistent Image Program. Mr Lee, Thank you again for reminding us how important perception, image, and professional appearance really are. Amazing Mr Lee, just truly amazing!!! My best... Thomas J Pingitore Regional Sales Rep Cintas Healthcare NJ

I think the book makes a lot of valid points. It is DEFINETELY worth reading. Most of what it says is true, but the critisism come from what it leaves out-- some major issues.

An example involves employee satisfaction, which the book flat out states is overrated. A great employee is never satified, and always tries to improve, other than that satifaction should come from doing a great job. OK. What it does not take into account is that Disney can pretty much train anyone for any job, but hospitals have to have actual registered nurses, respiratory and phsical therapists, speech and occupational therapists, MDs of varying specialties, etc. All of these employees are NOT cast members playing a doctor, or nurse, or therapist, they must have actual licenses. Due to shortages, you cannot always just go get another one when the one you have does not conform to your ideals. Actual firings are pretty much reserved for things like verbal or other abuse, med theft, not showing up for work, etc.

The book also describes "acting" your part, and tries, somewhat unsuccessfully, to suggest acting when interacting with patients does not mean a nurse or caregiver is insincere or unauthentic. No matter how Lee phrased it, I couldn't quite buy it.

Another issue not dealt with is the fact that satifying the patient is not ethical, or in their best interest. Over the course of my career, I have come in contact with many drug addicts wanting narcotics, some quite suspiciously for diversionary tactics (ie selling to third party) They are not satified customers when we say "no".

Also not addressed are the patients that make so many demands that they take away from others needing care. Sometimes you can address the root cause of their actions (such as anxiety), sometimes you can't. Sometimes, you have to gently set limits. Disney may simply hire more employees, as the majority of people entering the park are paying guests, but when you have a lot of people with no insurance, or the very poorly reimburing medicaid, you can't just hire more people. The people available simply have to do as much as they can for as many people they can. The stress of this can make it difficult to keep "acting" the part of the ER RN who loves taking care of patients, even when she truely is an ER RN who loves taking care of patients.

I have read a lot of great reviews on this book. They are all true it IS a great book. But I do feel that many of the biggest challenges of my career are not well represented.

Give me a break with the hospitals run like Disney crap. This is obviously someone who has not seen a patient's butt, dealt first hand with unreasonable and bonoxious family members interfereing with life saving care and whose reality is based behind a desk far far away from the bedside.

Yes, if I were your boss I would be happy to give you a break until you understood what is being discussed here. It's not about you and what you have to deal with. It is about compassion for others and what they are having to deal with, having a heartfelt desire to provide the best,
"CARE," possible to meet their, and yes, their family members needs. It's about having patients/clients and their families leave the hospital knowing their needs where met in an exceptionally professional and caring manner whether the client leaves the hospital by car or by hearse. The intent is not to create an amusement park in a hospital. It is about being patient/client centered in ones thinking rather than being task centered. Perhaps healthcare is not your bag.

While those from the health care field seem bitter, I think it is high time this book be published.

It would be nice to see readers reflect an open mind and explore possibilities.We all have our experiences,good and bad ,and tend to become victims of the same.I am sure in these DIsney ideas as well as any other there are opportunities to take 'customer service' to new levels.It is not so much about the business numbers as about greater pateint and service provider satisfaction.melarkode

It's amazing to me how many people who post their thoughts about the Fred Lee "Disney" book - and haven't even read it! If you haven't read it, all I can say is "don't knock it until you've tried it." What Mr. Lee has to say in this book is truly revolutionary to the world of health care - those that learn to integrate this type of thinking into their corporate culture will surely reap the benefits.

This book sounds fantastic- I don't work in hospital management and I may want to read it! Sound like a message that anyone in any field can appreciate in one way or another.

Many of these negative comments do not surprise me. Being an RN in the healthcare arena for 18 years now just reinforces that those running hospitals just do not get it, it should be run like the business it is & excellent customer service is the key to any successful business.
Seems like common sense to me.

We need more books and resources like this - we especially need to learn from outside of our industry. We should learn about supply chain from Wal-Mart, new product design from Apple, and customer delight from Disney.The hospital has to make money in order to stay in business. If you don't like the service at your local coffee shop, you'd go somewhere else wouldn't you? If there are several hospitals in your area, you need to draw your customers from the area.

Disney uses photo catalytic oxidation technology for infection prevention on all of their cruise liners and many of their hotels. Any of their facilities that have this technology have not had another out break of Norovirus. The hospitals should be using this technology but their risk management blocks it's install for fear of law suits.
You can learn more about this at AntisepticAir.com

I have worked in the health care arena for a period spanning three decades, and far too many time we use the word "busy" to justify poor customer service. It goes back to not what you say but how you say it...patients will always say it's the little things that matter, so enough of how "busy"we are and think that the person lying in the bed is your loved one...good job Mr Lee!!!

i wouldn't imagine mm running my hospital , but i agree on 2 or 3s and learning from outside the industry , i may cut it

Kudos for having 3 people apply as one , when a hospital requires that type of insurance , many of us look at this and figure that it could be done but how can we void these mistake

good to know about this!

this is exactly what i was looking for and will help me in the future thanks

tanainai de

http://www.hospitalimpact.org/index.php/leadership/2005/04/11/what_if_disney_ran_your_hospital

If Disney ran the hospital, it would run like UMC in Las Vegas.

Lot of thanks for this article. Its really a very good topic. Its so interesting and attractive. I like it so much.

I must say that this is a great post. I loved reading it. You have done a great job.

Great info. Thank You So Much!

Great Post! Nice to learn from Mickey:)

Tak for den fornyede undersøgelse. Jeg mener, hvad folk har brug for at forstå, er, at ingen ser at køre et hospital som en forlystelsespark. Vi glade for at se dig på apotek online.

After reading this blog article, I deceided to buy my own copy of 'If Disney Ran Your Hospital' asap.

Fred Lee calls managing today's hospital "the hardest management job in the world." In this book he focuses particularly on "those approaches that bring out the best behaviors in workers and provide the best emotional experience for patients."

Good post! Thankyou very much!

Totally agree, this is a great post and I am glad I given an opportunity to comment here.

I read the book too and had got like you a few Ah-Has. Thanks for your great posting. If you want to see a project from me check out our Shop: http://www.sexystuff.ch .

this is an awesome book. very cool to see it here.

i agree as well

this is neat

http://www.hospitalimpact.org

Thanks guys for the different point of views and comments that you have each shared here...
Brad

Wow! Thank you! I always wanted to write in my site something like that. Can I take part of your post to my blog?

Fred Lee calls managing today's hospital "the hardest management job in the world." In this book he focuses particularly on "those approaches that bring out the best behaviors in workers and provide the best emotional experience for patients."

It was a great book.I read it too.

Thanks for the informative article. Good stuff.

Old article, but still very interesting to read!

I enjoyed this article. You have done a great job man. I will be back for

L like the 8 big impact ideas from "If Disney Ran Your Hospital". Very Interesting.

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This book sounds fantastic- I don't work in hospital management and I may want to read it! I'm also impressed by Fred Lee's imagination and his book is a very good one.People choose to go to Disney for vacation and fun.The idea that Disney has anything to teach us about how to run hospitals is a stretch.Its a traffic idea.Thanks

Old article, but still very interesting to read....

good work, will back soon, great site congratulation!!

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yeah article is old but interesting :)
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I hope you will write some more of these in the future....

If you have never been to Disney to see their Customer Service, then you cannot comment. I would love to see Customer Service in hospital's run like Disney would portray. These are the hospital's customers and they generate the revenue. Jubail Jobs | Jubail | Top 10 | top ten history | fastest animal | luxury Car | latest in technology

The book was great man. The points discussed in it are also very important. bus hire

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Love the article but few things are still not cleared well all over i like the way u presented thnx 4 sharing with us.
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We especially appreciated Fred Lee's explanation of the 90% patient satisfaction survey results. Our hospital has always been in the 90% range on patient satisfaction surveys and we feel Mr. Lee's book helped us tweak our current service objectives. We've incorporated some of his thoughts into the customer service portion of our new hire orientation that educates our employees, from the start, on the quality of customer service we expect, their role and how hospital administration will support their decisionsOnline work

it is really funny how it has been depicted.

Every point discussed in that book was very important as it related to some very important facts regarding the business. fap turbo

This book is great, Mr. Lee written a wonderful book. He has the knowledge and great explanations.
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Of course, we should accept all quality ideas from "outside". If someone wants to help never refuse it. I think many of us think so.

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They want to be us just as much as we want to be them... they dont steal our food, we steal theirs really... lets get serious now... They are practically forced to learn our language cause we are so stubborn that we do not learn theirs. Its all good though, if they want to be like us then cool

This is all very interesting.

So well to come here and feeling so higher
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That is a great book, you can learn a lot from it.

I think what people need to understand is that no one is looking to run a hospital like an amusement park. If you have never been to Disney to see their Customer Service, then you cannot comment. I would love to see Customer Service in hospital's run like Disney would portray. These are the hospital's customers and they generate the revenue. We need to taker a hard look at this area.

People choose to go to Disney for vacation and fun. Patients ususally do not go to the hospital for either of the above reasons. There in lies the inherent major difference

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I am very imressed by Fred Lee's book. Ecellent reading.


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I have been in the medical field for over 30 years,most of it as a nurse. The hospital i work for has just started the disney model and to prove how much they want to make us happy and become great CAST members we were told that the administration has 65 applications for each of our jobs and if we don't like what they are doing "there's the door". That's quite an ATTA BOY isn't it.

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The idea that Disney has something to teach us about how to run hosptials is a stretch, at best, and most likely counterproductive fantasy. A hospital is not a luxury resort, an operating room is not a walk, a surgeon is not a cute tour guide in a uniform. Nobody dies if you can not afford to go to Disney World. There is much to be improved in our hospitals and the health system, but hopefully we can find better models of the Walt Disney Corporation. Excellent post.I want to thank you for this informative read, I really appreciate sharing this great post. Keep up your work. A line skirt

The idea that Disney has something to teach us about how to run hosptials is a stretch, at best, and most likely counterproductive fantasy.

This book sounds great- I do not work in hospital management and I may want to read it. Sounds like a message that everyone in any field can appreciate in one way or another.
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