Sometimes all it takes to make transformative changes in healthcare delivery is seeing great ideas and being willing to “steal shamelessly.” Today, we share great ideas that have been developed and implemented around the world using the PFCC Methodology and Practice (www.pfcc.org). We hope you will steal them shamelessly “as is” and/or use them as […]
A few years ago, I was upgraded to First Class on a flight from California back to Chicago. Not long after I settled in, a tall, muscular man easily four inches taller than me walked up to my aisle seat in the first row and prepared to sit by the window. I envisioned him spending […]
An excerpt from the book, Questioning Protocol, by Randi Redmond Oster Dr. Carroll calmly walked to Gary’s bedside. He just performed a very long surgery on my 15-year-old son, who has Crohn’s Disease. “Gary will be fine,” he says. “I took out the diseased intestine.” I ask exactly what he did in the operating […]
Once upon a time, there was an ICU patient named Robert. Robert was not very responsive to verbal stimuli or requests such as: “Can you open your eyes for us?” or “Can you open your mouth so I can give you some medication?” Several days after Robert was admitted to the ICU, a family member […]
Child birth is a time of joy and excitement for mother and family, but it also can be filled with uncertainty and concern – not just for the first-time parent or mom dealing with an at-risk pregnancy, but for anyone. The question is how can you create the “ideal” care delivery experience for each of […]
The rising emphasis on “The Patient Experience” has stimulated an overwhelming spectrum of improvement offerings: patient-centered architecture, facility design, technology devices, patient engagement/education tools, survey evaluation tools, marketing campaigns, fashionable hospital gowns, artistic decor…and so much more! How do we rank and prioritize the plethora of improvement opportunities? What is MOST important? Communication represents a […]
There is a lot of talk in the patient engagement space about helping patients change behaviors to live healthier lives. But healthcare providers — from hospitals to physicians to staff — could use some behavioral change as well. That was a constant discussion at the inaugural Modern Healthcare Strategic Marketing Conference held this week in […]
Her name was Joyce, and I had the pleasure of meeting her when she first came to my practice many years ago. Her hair was disheveled, she arrived late, and her health was a mess. Her diabetes and hypertension were way out of control, she was intermittently taking her medications, her diet was awful, she […]
Although I am not crazy about it, Ned goes everywhere I go. You know Ned, “no evidence of disease” – that Ned. Funny, my husband sort of likes him. Ned lulls him into thinking everything is all right even though all three of us know it is not true. That is the way it often […]
Republished with permission from SarahBethRN.com. Patient engagement is a trendy topic for healthcare providers – the latest spin terminology for “patient compliance” – as in how do I get patients to follow treatment protocols? Take better care of themselves? Especially now that payment for my services may be negatively affected by bad outcomes and poor […]