Profit. Often during medical school and residency, this word was uttered with a sneer by my attending when I asked about the business side of healthcare. I believe I asked the questions that are never to be asked. Since operating a practice, I quickly discovered profit is necessary. In fact, profit is the most essential pieces of exemplary patient care, yet it often isn’t examined as carefully as it should be. Profit has a genuine purpose and one that goes beyond earning more money than you spend providing a service. As Peter Drucker claimed, profit is actually the cost of doing business.

What is Profit?

Profit is more than revenue in excess of expenses. It’s necessary for any organization to grow and expand. Keeping the doors open is also dependent upon profit. Whether your organization is a for-profit entity or non-profit endeavor, profitability is fundamental and required if you are to deliver exemplary patient care. Profitability provides more than mere money at the...

The Performance part of exemplary patient care will help you establish your reputation as an excellent care center. Productivity is meeting their needs; performance is doing it well. In a previous article, I discussed some points to improve the service you offer. This goes hand in hand with the quality you create. As you begin to focus on the quality of care you provide, invest time and energy into focusing on the aspects of quality care.

Important Aspects of Patient Care as perceive by the print

1. Access and Availability. Do you patients have access to you and your office when they need it? Is it easy for your patients to find your office? What are the potential obstacles your patients might have in locating your office? Are you available when most of your patients need you to be available? How long must a patient wait to get on your schedule?
2. Aesthetics, Comfort, and Cleanliness. What does your office look like? Is it up to date? Is your clinic clean? Are there any particular odors...

No organization can do better than the people it has. - Peter Drucker

A few years ago while developing our training courses for physicians, my team developed a model of the required aspects needed to deliver exemplary patient care. We identified four facets must be in place to achieve this goal. We call them the Four P’s of Exemplary Patient Care. They are People, Productivity, Performance, and Profitability. 

All four aspects should be examined and maximized if your organization is to deliver exemplary patient care. This article is the first of a four-part series in which we will discuss how you can provide exemplary patient care. In this article, we will explore a few key points about the People facet.

People Matter a Lot

Of the four aspects of exemplary patient care, people are perhaps the most critical facet of the four for a straightforward reason. Healthcare is a service industry, and it is people that do the work and deliver the care. People possess the knowledge...

When I was learning to fly, I learned quite a bit about decision making. One useful model I discovered is the DECIDE model. I think we use a similar, perhaps informal method, in clinical practice. It’s drilled into us in a subtitle manner in our training. It can work in clinical practice, however, when we begin process improvement initiatives having a model or checklist can help make your change easier and more effective.

1. Detect the change. Define the problem. The very first step is to detect that a change has occurred or a problem exists. Ask “What is the problem? What has changed?” If a change is to be recognized, proper monitoring must be in place. If you’re not monitoring for a change of any kind, it’s less likely you will discover it. Monitoring will help you identify if and when change is needed. A change might have occurred, but if you’re monitoring a process, you can see when and what you need to change to improve the process. You are...

Before I began working with a recent client, a couple of talented employees and the management of a group got into a tiff. The employees perceived the value of what they gave to and received from the company one way, and management saw things another way. The employees felt things were out of balance, leaning towards their inputs. The management felt the outputs were in balance with the employee’s inputs. The disagreement started small and was allowed to continue over time without any intervention until it reached a boiling point. Ultimately, a less than satisfactory outcome resulted.

I think the situation could have been resolved with a better outcome if management had considered a management theory by John Stacey Adams. His approach, Equity Motivation Theory, builds upon the work of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as we all Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory.

Equity Theory is a helpful tool that will allow you to put workplace psychology in place and increase your...

Change is constant. Nothing remains the same forever. What worked in the past might not work today. Why? Because the market and environment have changed. If you’re leading change in your organization, here are a few ideas for you to consider that can help your change be easier to manage and succeed.

1. Recognize the problems for what they are. Today’s problems are actually a result of yesterday decisions and actions. Those decisions, good or bad, might not have been the best decisions. Remember the old system in place contributed to the problems you see today, and those problems are symptoms of a broader issue. Use the issues created by the old system as a launching point to change the system into something new.
2. Set a marker. When you’re leading change, set a specific point in time, an event, that signifies the end of the old system and the beginning of the new. Mark it as a point of no return. You’ve crossed the Rubicon, and there is no going back. Share with...

Human communication is a complicated process with many moving parts. It’s easy to get it wrong or not as precise as intended. Good communicators understand their message goes beyond merely the words they use. They know how to say things. They know when to say things. They know how to use analogies and other tools to share understanding. They recognize the importance of inspiring others to act. Good communicators realize they share their opinion of the relationship with those they are communicating with. Base your communication upon your audience, not yourself.

Communication is a complicated give and takes process. Sometimes it’s a two-way street. Other times, it’s a one-way street. As a communicator, you only have control of what and how you project your message. The other variable in the equation you have no power over is the way the recipient receives your information. The audience hears not only what is said, but what you do not say. They pick up on the more...

The other evening I was involved in an “intervention” or counseling session with a fellow physician. Complaints were raised by nursing staff regarding his demeanor and type of communication he has with them. Technically, he’s a good physician, very well-read, and does a good job of caring for his patients. However, he continually has “run-in’s” with the support staff. This was the topic we were addressing at this particular meeting.

As we began to discuss the events, his body language shouted “I’m right. Everyone else is wrong.” The tone and tenor of his voice were coated with pride. Why am I here? I don’t deserve this. I’m the best in the group. He had a hard time displaying any empathy towards the nurses. “I’m sorry they received the message that way," was his typical reply. Suffice it to say, but his attitude was impairing the progress of the meeting.

A few of the members of the meeting wanted to...

Last week I was asked to attend a multi-departmental meeting to solve some process issues one of our hospitals was facing. Members representing each department sat around the table, each with their desires and objections. After about an hour, we had designed a plan, and everyone was on board. How did that happen? Someone walked into the meeting prepared. Here are a few ideas you might want to implement.

Start with Mission and Purpose

Your mission and purpose is the what and why you do what you do. What you do are the actual services or goods you produce. Why is the reason behind your what. If you want to be successful in business, your why should be centered in the world of the customer.

In the case of this meeting, our what is providing safe, efficient patient care. The why is to improve their lives. Every decision and action we take should be to benefit the patient. We spent a brief bit of time reviewing this premise before we began to discuss the issues facing the departments....

The other day, I sent out a request to an individual to connect with them on LinkedIn. I included a brief note of how we met at a conference. Their reply to my invite was

David, just say this. Sorry.

At first, I didn’t know what to think. To me, not much time had passed between my invite and their acceptance. Their response puzzled me because they did accept the connection response. I couldn’t figure out what they meant by that statement. Was I supposed to say "sorry"? I admit I confused, and realized I was missing something, so I asked my wife for her opinion.

“Perhaps they meant to say “Just saw this. Sorry.”, she suggested. “Sometimes Siri doesn’t get it right, and people don’t check it before they hit send.”

That made sense to me. It can be difficult to practice what I preach at times. I teach that in leadership and negotiations, we shouldn’t hold on to our assumptions. If we don’t understand something or...