by Tony Chen

As I mentioned previously, I've been reading Management Lessons from Mayo Clinic and today was struck by Mayo's laser sharp focus on patient-centric care.

Now, of course, we've all heard about patient-centric care, but what is it really? Is it focusing on what the patient needs? or wants? And defined by who? (real example from the book) A physician who says "I can't take the time to answer your questions because then I won't be able to answer the questions of all my other patients" can actually believe that she is giving the patient what she needs, right? She is making herself available to a larger number of patients - isn't that what patients want? Patients don't think so. Isn't "patients first" always defined by the patient?

5 thoughts struck me after reading chapter 2:
1. Walk the talk, or just don't talk? If we "say" we are patient-centric with wearing lapel pins and in our marketing, and we don't deliver, isn't it that much more disappointing and disheartening for patients? Is it almost better not to put it out there publicly as a value until we can achieve it to a certain degree? The story of the non-patient-centric physician wearing the "patients first" lapel pin says it all.

[More:]

2. Culture change is harder than culture creation? Mayo has been fortunate to have amazingly strong leadership from the very beginning, enabling the patient-centric culture to grow organically. They didn't have to "change" towards it, they've always represented it. So, how do the other 99.9% of us who don't work in a Mayo go about "changing" the culture towards this? Looks like there are some fundamental pieces around structure, incentives, and other values (teamwork), but really, isn't it almost easier to get at this culture if the organization is "born" with it?

3. "Is there anything else?" That's what Mayo trains their physicians to ask new patients as they share for the 1st time their medical story. I think this is a perfect way to let patients be heard and more importantly FEEL heard, even if they don't have anything else to share. Just like the patient who commented on my last post, often times if the doctor takes the time to make a true connection with the patient, a lot of other stuff can be forgiven.

4. If patients define what patient-centric means, how do we deal with all of those entitled/spoiled/unrealistic/difficult patients? Here, I think we have to apply what world-class hotels do - just trust your customers. Hotels empower their front-line staff (not managers) up to $200 in freebies to provide service recovery for angry customers. While there are certainly customers who try to abuse the system, these hotels basically "trust" the majority of their customers enough not to take advantage of them. And if a few do, that's okay. Some folks just won't be satisfied, period. So be it. The other 99% still leave happy and talk to their friends about their experience.

5. Patient-centric care is a moving target, or is it? On the one hand, patients are always changing - their backgrounds, their worldviews, their perceptions of what is "excellent customer service," their view of technology, etc. But on the other hand, doesn't it really just come down to basic human dignity and respect - feeling heard, understood, appreciated, and taken care of like a human being versus a project or number or disease-holder?

I'm curious - what does "patient-centric" care look like in your organization?