Guest article by Jared Johnson

I have been going through an unexpected process while revisiting our hospital's online strategy. I should have seen it coming since it's at the core of what we do in the health care practice. Still, it evaded my thoughts until our forward-thinking CEO shed some light on it.

I refer to the process of thinking about every detail of our business from the perspective that matters most: the patient's. The context that brought about my awareness may seem trite, but it likely will stick with me for a long time. Over a three-month period, I had been working with our marketing and IS directors to lay the foundation for a Web content redesign. We started by brainstorming ways to engage users more meaningfully. We were throwing mud on the wall, and a lot of it was sticking. We had some true epiphanies in those moments, and the future for our little Web site seemed bright.

I got right to work creating a site blueprint, but soon I became bogged down in the details. Necessary details, mind you. Anyone with a drop of tech blood in their veins will tell you that you can't go live without considering a host of things like browser compatibility, back-end functionality, security risks, validation, aesthetics, etc., etc., etc. After several weeks of project planning, our CEO requested a status update meeting in the board room. I readied the new design template, the content plan and a host of other technical data to woo and impress him.

But I was the one who was impressed. We had scarcely fired up the projector when our CEO scanned over the new design and asked,

"What would the patient want?"

The question hung in the air as he elaborated. What information and functions would the patients want that would improve their experience at the hospital? How could we possibly make their lives easier and more pleasant? Why can't we let them start the pre-admission process early by posting the forms online? Wouldn't that save them some time when they arrive? Why couldn't we list our staff oncologists on the cancer care page? Wouldn't that help them find a physician in a time of need?

In that short meeting, I understood why our CEO is who and where he is. He had been humanizing something that is not normally regarded as personable, to make it another part of the patient's experience. That fits every definition of hospital leadership I've ever read.

I'm pleased to say that we incorporated more than a dozen new ideas that came out of that meeting. When our new public-facing site goes live a month from now, patients and potential patients will be able to schedule outpatient tests, download a personal medication card, fill out pre-admission forms and much more. And I made sure to add a note in my strategic planning process to ask that patient question throughout the entire process next time.

The full meaning of "What would the patient want?" is unclear to me. Maybe it means that sometimes we get buried in the processes, the scores and the data and forget to think as if we're the ones being admitted. Or maybe it serves as a reminder that "patient-centric" is more than just a buzzword. Implementing change is no easy thing, but it can start with small instances. Things like adding the words "Your Hospital Visit" and "Patient Care" to our Web navigation. Will it translate to higher patient satisfaction scores? Will it drive volume? I'll let you know, but I have a feeling you already know the answer.