In the webinar, Dr. Steele discussed the long-term negative impact of a bad hospital experience: poor reputation spread by word of mouth, out-migration occurs, surgeons and hospitals lose cases, surgeons blame poor marketing efforts and competition for the loss while hospitals blame poor surgeon bedside manner.
When hospitals experience a drop in patients, the administrators often first embark on marketing campaigns through billboards, television and radio media; however these efforts are often ineffective, Dr. Steele said. As a result, profitability wanes and the hospital will hire more surgeons. This creates a strain between physicians and hospital administrators because the physicians are weary of additional competition for patients.
In order to improve quality, Dr. Steele said hospitals should:
• Engage physicians
• Enact culture change
• Create leadership and structure effective for surgery clients
• Manage the metrics
• Think like the patient
In order to create superior performance by the hospital physicians and staff, Dr. Steele suggested administrators should enact the “Invisible Core Elements of Excellence”:
• People culture: Create clear access and availability between the physicians, staff and hospital administration
• Structure: Create leadership teams, enforce accountability and focus on teamwork and collaboration between hospital staff and physicians
• Results: Create functional outcomes with high patient satisfaction that also have the best clinical, operational and financial outcomes
• Process: Patient education, teaching and learning should be accessible, coordinated care, pre-intervention readiness, efficiency in the pre-op and OR, use of cutting-edge technology, script daily patient routine, family involvement and public service
The hospital should also co-develop, with their key physicians, a statement of goals and responsibilities, outlining key hospital and surgeon responsibilities. For managing service lines, the hospital should create a service line leadership teams involving medical directors, administrators and hospital staff with clear job descriptions, written expectations and set goals, Mr. Reigle said.
Hospitals also need to use updated metrics, trending and benchmarking tools for measuring the clinical, operational, financial, OR, functional and patient experience outcomes, Dr. Steele suggested. The appropriate metrics should analyze where the hospital stands in terms of outcomes and complication rates as compared with other hospitals using national benchmarking data.
Finally, hospitals can “think like the patient” in order to improve the patient experience. This includes having an extensive preoperative education program and encouraging accurate patient expectations. Hospitals should have signs in the patient rooms detailing frequently asked questions and responses as well as clear visual measurements for patients to mark their progress.
In order for patient transition from the hospital to the home, hospitals should provide group physical therapy where family members can become coaches, Dr. Steele said. A standard nurse’s checklist and post-operation follow-up calls should also be part of this transition. To gather postoperative benchmarking data from the patient, the hospital should use handheld electric systems for easy and efficient patient use.
Operating rooms should also have the capability for quick mobilization and efficiency in cleaning instruments. Beginning the surgery on time, Dr. Steele said, is important for patient satisfaction.
To transform the hospital into a destination center, hospitals should assemble a team to identify performance measures and set a launch date within three to six months. The quick turnaround maintains momentum. A hospital can market this change to create excitement within the community, though they should ensure many changes are taking place at once. Administrators can visit Marshall Steele’s website and complete a self-assessment to see if the hospital is ready and capable to make the change.
Download the Webinar presentation here (pdf).
View the Webinar here (wmv). We suggest you download the video to your computer before viewing to ensure better quality. If you have problems viewing the video, which is in Windows Media Video format, you can use a program like VLC media player, free for download here.
