1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,379 Hi, everyone. This is Erica Carbajal with Becker's 2 00:00:03,439 --> 00:00:05,759 HealthCare. Thank you all for tuning in to 3 00:00:05,759 --> 00:00:09,139 this episode of the Becker's HealthCare podcast series. 4 00:00:09,519 --> 00:00:12,580 Today, we're gonna be discussing patient centric care 5 00:00:12,639 --> 00:00:14,724 and its impact on the future of health 6 00:00:14,724 --> 00:00:15,544 care organizations. 7 00:00:16,564 --> 00:00:19,625 Joining me for today's discussion is Faria Siddiqui, 8 00:00:19,925 --> 00:00:22,504 director of health care services at the Kaleidoscope 9 00:00:22,804 --> 00:00:25,125 Group. Faria, thank you so much for joining 10 00:00:25,125 --> 00:00:28,265 us today. Hi, Erica. Thanks for having me. 11 00:00:28,949 --> 00:00:31,989 Yeah. Before we delve into the topic, do 12 00:00:31,989 --> 00:00:34,070 you mind just sharing a bit about yourself 13 00:00:34,070 --> 00:00:35,530 and your work in health care? 14 00:00:35,989 --> 00:00:38,390 Yes. Of course. So as you said, I 15 00:00:38,390 --> 00:00:40,890 serve as the director of health care services 16 00:00:41,030 --> 00:00:42,454 at Kaleidoscope Group. 17 00:00:42,994 --> 00:00:46,354 We are a global change management consulting firm 18 00:00:46,354 --> 00:00:49,075 with over thirty years of experience in several 19 00:00:49,075 --> 00:00:49,975 business industries. 20 00:00:50,594 --> 00:00:53,635 I specifically work with our health care clients, 21 00:00:53,635 --> 00:00:57,370 so that's health care systems, global pharmaceutical companies, 22 00:00:57,909 --> 00:00:58,409 nonprofits, 23 00:00:58,870 --> 00:01:00,010 community organizations. 24 00:01:00,390 --> 00:01:03,030 And what we do together is we develop 25 00:01:03,030 --> 00:01:05,770 and execute both their internal and their external 26 00:01:05,909 --> 00:01:06,730 people strategies. 27 00:01:07,365 --> 00:01:09,145 So that means employee experience, 28 00:01:09,525 --> 00:01:10,025 organizational 29 00:01:10,405 --> 00:01:11,865 culture, patient experience, 30 00:01:12,885 --> 00:01:14,724 you know, different strategies on how to get 31 00:01:14,724 --> 00:01:16,745 involved in the community and so on. 32 00:01:17,765 --> 00:01:19,924 Yeah. Thanks, Priya. Some some wide ranging work 33 00:01:19,924 --> 00:01:22,319 there touching really all aspects when it comes 34 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:24,659 to health care in terms of employees, organization, 35 00:01:24,879 --> 00:01:25,619 and patient 36 00:01:26,439 --> 00:01:26,939 experience. 37 00:01:27,759 --> 00:01:30,819 So patient centered care is at the forefront 38 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:33,280 of health care strategies this year. It's a 39 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:35,685 term that comes up a lot in conversations 40 00:01:35,825 --> 00:01:37,204 with health system leaders. 41 00:01:37,665 --> 00:01:39,585 So can you start there and share a 42 00:01:39,585 --> 00:01:42,465 bit about what are the essential elements of 43 00:01:42,465 --> 00:01:43,125 an effective 44 00:01:43,505 --> 00:01:46,005 patient centered care strategy and why? 45 00:01:46,465 --> 00:01:48,165 Yeah. You know, that's a great question. 46 00:01:48,469 --> 00:01:50,709 And I always say there's three high level 47 00:01:50,709 --> 00:01:51,209 points 48 00:01:51,510 --> 00:01:53,049 that I believe many organizations 49 00:01:53,430 --> 00:01:55,769 overlook when it comes to their patient experience 50 00:01:55,909 --> 00:01:56,409 strategies. 51 00:01:57,030 --> 00:01:58,090 And number one, 52 00:01:58,390 --> 00:01:58,890 prioritization. 53 00:01:59,909 --> 00:02:00,409 Prioritizing 54 00:02:00,709 --> 00:02:02,984 patient centered care. You know, we can have 55 00:02:03,064 --> 00:02:04,765 talks about this all day long, 56 00:02:05,145 --> 00:02:07,465 but we know that in reality, leaders of 57 00:02:07,465 --> 00:02:10,104 health care institutions are faced with so many 58 00:02:10,104 --> 00:02:11,085 competing priorities, 59 00:02:11,865 --> 00:02:14,025 especially now with all of these recent changes 60 00:02:14,025 --> 00:02:15,060 at a federal level, 61 00:02:15,860 --> 00:02:17,959 whether that's budget cuts, reimbursement 62 00:02:18,259 --> 00:02:18,759 changes, 63 00:02:19,060 --> 00:02:20,759 workforce and staffing issues, 64 00:02:21,620 --> 00:02:22,120 unionization, 65 00:02:22,500 --> 00:02:25,300 whatever it is. It is very easy to, 66 00:02:25,300 --> 00:02:26,840 you know, conduct a patient 67 00:02:27,300 --> 00:02:28,439 satisfaction survey, 68 00:02:28,819 --> 00:02:31,245 get the results, and let the results sit 69 00:02:31,245 --> 00:02:32,865 under a pile of other issues. 70 00:02:33,724 --> 00:02:35,645 If you let patient experience fall to the 71 00:02:35,645 --> 00:02:37,485 side, you will see the impact in all 72 00:02:37,485 --> 00:02:39,724 of your other priority areas because it is 73 00:02:39,724 --> 00:02:40,465 all connected. 74 00:02:41,485 --> 00:02:42,305 Number two, 75 00:02:43,164 --> 00:02:46,044 so important to include the entire patient journey. 76 00:02:46,044 --> 00:02:47,180 So a lot of times, 77 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:49,959 people think that patient experience is just that 78 00:02:49,959 --> 00:02:52,539 interaction between the physician and the patient. 79 00:02:53,079 --> 00:02:55,639 It's actually all aspects of the patient journey 80 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:58,459 through the health care system. So at Kaleidoscope 81 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,000 Group, we have a seven step patient journey 82 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,485 map, and that starts from, you know, health 83 00:03:03,485 --> 00:03:06,604 system promotion and prevention efforts. So how does 84 00:03:06,604 --> 00:03:09,004 a patient hear about the hospital system? Are 85 00:03:09,004 --> 00:03:11,085 they in community served, you know, through mobile 86 00:03:11,085 --> 00:03:12,064 clinics, workshops? 87 00:03:12,604 --> 00:03:14,365 What is the health care system doing to 88 00:03:14,365 --> 00:03:16,650 prevent disease at a community health level? 89 00:03:17,129 --> 00:03:18,489 And then it goes on, you know, to 90 00:03:18,489 --> 00:03:20,650 when the patient interacts with the front desk 91 00:03:20,650 --> 00:03:22,729 staff the first time they come in. Do 92 00:03:22,729 --> 00:03:24,810 they feel welcome? Do they feel like they 93 00:03:24,810 --> 00:03:26,969 belong? Is someone helping them figure out where 94 00:03:26,969 --> 00:03:27,629 to go? 95 00:03:27,930 --> 00:03:29,209 And it goes all the way, you know, 96 00:03:29,209 --> 00:03:31,145 to discharge and follow-up care. 97 00:03:31,844 --> 00:03:33,685 So all of these aspects need to be 98 00:03:33,685 --> 00:03:34,185 considered. 99 00:03:34,805 --> 00:03:36,745 And then number three, integration 100 00:03:37,044 --> 00:03:38,585 into workflows. So 101 00:03:38,965 --> 00:03:42,004 ensuring that patient centered care is baked into 102 00:03:42,004 --> 00:03:44,129 our workflows. That looks like, you know, as 103 00:03:44,129 --> 00:03:44,870 a clinician, 104 00:03:45,650 --> 00:03:49,009 are you conducting regular family rounds along with 105 00:03:49,009 --> 00:03:50,609 the rounds you do with your students and 106 00:03:50,609 --> 00:03:51,269 your residents? 107 00:03:51,810 --> 00:03:53,969 As a nurse, are you helping to educate 108 00:03:53,969 --> 00:03:56,145 the patient without, you know, medical jargon? 109 00:03:56,865 --> 00:03:59,185 As an admin, are you creating, you know, 110 00:03:59,185 --> 00:04:01,925 comfortable waiting areas, providing resources, 111 00:04:02,625 --> 00:04:04,724 helping patients understand their billing? 112 00:04:05,105 --> 00:04:06,944 These are things that need to be embedded 113 00:04:06,944 --> 00:04:09,105 into the day to day habits of each 114 00:04:09,105 --> 00:04:11,170 role, and that comes, you know, with the 115 00:04:11,170 --> 00:04:13,010 rules and the structures that we create for 116 00:04:13,010 --> 00:04:14,069 our daily workflows. 117 00:04:14,689 --> 00:04:16,050 Along with that, we also have to be 118 00:04:16,050 --> 00:04:18,689 ready for resistance to change. So anytime we 119 00:04:18,689 --> 00:04:20,389 ask people to change their behaviors, 120 00:04:20,850 --> 00:04:22,470 we will be met with, you know, 121 00:04:22,865 --> 00:04:24,245 I forgot or 122 00:04:24,545 --> 00:04:26,785 I don't want to or, you know, that 123 00:04:26,785 --> 00:04:28,545 doesn't make sense to me. All of these 124 00:04:28,545 --> 00:04:31,824 different ways that people resist change, and there 125 00:04:31,824 --> 00:04:33,425 needs to be a plan to address that. 126 00:04:33,425 --> 00:04:35,665 So, you know, the three things, three essential 127 00:04:35,665 --> 00:04:38,384 elements for an effective strategy and patient centered 128 00:04:38,384 --> 00:04:38,759 care, 129 00:04:39,319 --> 00:04:39,819 prioritization, 130 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:44,139 the patient journey map, and integration into workflows. 131 00:04:45,319 --> 00:04:47,160 Yeah. Faria, and I think you raise an 132 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:48,620 interesting point just around 133 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:51,480 the fact that patient centered care and and 134 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:53,580 strategizing around this really begins 135 00:04:54,064 --> 00:04:56,704 before the clinical care actually happens, as you 136 00:04:56,704 --> 00:04:59,745 mentioned. It's much much broader than that. And 137 00:04:59,745 --> 00:05:01,264 on that note, can you share a bit 138 00:05:01,264 --> 00:05:02,404 about where organizational 139 00:05:02,944 --> 00:05:04,865 culture fits in here, and how can health 140 00:05:04,865 --> 00:05:06,485 care systems support providers 141 00:05:06,870 --> 00:05:09,290 to ensure that they're actually able to deliver 142 00:05:09,670 --> 00:05:11,370 thoughtful, compassionate care? 143 00:05:11,910 --> 00:05:15,430 Yeah. So like I said, providers are not 144 00:05:15,430 --> 00:05:17,610 solely responsible for patient experience. 145 00:05:18,310 --> 00:05:20,889 However, they tend to shoulder the most responsibility. 146 00:05:22,254 --> 00:05:24,435 We can't expect our, you know, physicians, 147 00:05:25,214 --> 00:05:27,855 our PAs, our nurse staff who are face 148 00:05:27,855 --> 00:05:30,175 to face with patients playing so many different 149 00:05:30,175 --> 00:05:31,475 roles already. Right? 150 00:05:31,775 --> 00:05:34,254 They're taking the history. They're doing the physical 151 00:05:34,254 --> 00:05:34,754 exam. 152 00:05:35,134 --> 00:05:36,035 They're diagnosing. 153 00:05:36,415 --> 00:05:39,699 They're also thinking of billing issues. They're scribing. 154 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:42,399 Sometimes they're also teachers. Right? If they have 155 00:05:42,399 --> 00:05:44,500 students or residents in the room. 156 00:05:44,879 --> 00:05:47,699 And all of this while encounters are limited 157 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:49,620 to maybe ten, fifteen minutes. 158 00:05:50,175 --> 00:05:52,175 At the same time, we're also asking them 159 00:05:52,175 --> 00:05:54,335 to ensure that the patient has an amazing 160 00:05:54,335 --> 00:05:56,895 experience, answer their questions, talk to their families, 161 00:05:56,895 --> 00:05:57,795 etcetera, etcetera. 162 00:05:58,574 --> 00:05:59,634 To do this effectively, 163 00:06:00,014 --> 00:06:00,754 we need 164 00:06:01,134 --> 00:06:01,634 to 165 00:06:01,949 --> 00:06:03,009 have a team 166 00:06:03,389 --> 00:06:05,949 to help support this objective. It can't all 167 00:06:05,949 --> 00:06:07,949 fall onto the shoulders of the health care 168 00:06:07,949 --> 00:06:08,449 worker. 169 00:06:09,229 --> 00:06:10,750 At the same time, we also need to 170 00:06:10,750 --> 00:06:13,329 realize that health care workers are human. 171 00:06:13,789 --> 00:06:16,694 Right? And they're dealing with an organizational culture 172 00:06:16,694 --> 00:06:18,694 in medicine and in health care that is 173 00:06:18,694 --> 00:06:19,595 not very forgiving. 174 00:06:20,535 --> 00:06:22,634 We are seeing this trend of unionization 175 00:06:23,014 --> 00:06:23,834 post COVID, 176 00:06:24,375 --> 00:06:26,375 and demands that these health care workers are 177 00:06:26,375 --> 00:06:28,710 making are actually very simple. Right? Give us 178 00:06:28,710 --> 00:06:31,270 a salary that we can survive on. Give 179 00:06:31,270 --> 00:06:33,350 us a holiday once in a while. Protect 180 00:06:33,350 --> 00:06:36,089 us from the growing levels of patient violence. 181 00:06:37,029 --> 00:06:38,870 If we want to ask health care workers 182 00:06:38,870 --> 00:06:40,650 to have empathy for their patients, 183 00:06:41,235 --> 00:06:42,995 we as health care leaders need to also 184 00:06:42,995 --> 00:06:45,074 have that empathy for our health care workers 185 00:06:45,074 --> 00:06:48,274 and create an organizational culture which helps them 186 00:06:48,274 --> 00:06:48,935 do that. 187 00:06:49,955 --> 00:06:52,055 Yeah, absolutely. I think a lot of this 188 00:06:52,115 --> 00:06:52,769 bolts back 189 00:06:53,329 --> 00:06:55,250 to what we hear from, again, a lot 190 00:06:55,250 --> 00:06:57,189 of health system leaders just around 191 00:06:57,729 --> 00:07:00,870 placing more intentional focus and energy around 192 00:07:01,569 --> 00:07:02,069 alleviating 193 00:07:02,849 --> 00:07:06,129 physicians and clinicians from administrative burdens and really 194 00:07:06,129 --> 00:07:08,985 being able to focus on what they enjoy 195 00:07:08,985 --> 00:07:10,584 doing most and what they are trained to 196 00:07:10,584 --> 00:07:13,064 do, which is, you know, patient care. And 197 00:07:13,064 --> 00:07:14,845 so all of this is so interrelated. 198 00:07:16,264 --> 00:07:18,524 Fria, on the technology side, obviously, 199 00:07:18,824 --> 00:07:21,144 a major area in focus when it comes 200 00:07:21,144 --> 00:07:22,205 to patient engagement. 201 00:07:22,810 --> 00:07:23,709 How can organizations 202 00:07:24,089 --> 00:07:27,129 ensure that their technology on the technology side 203 00:07:27,129 --> 00:07:29,290 of things, that they're meeting the needs of 204 00:07:29,290 --> 00:07:30,509 diverse populations? 205 00:07:32,089 --> 00:07:34,810 Yeah. You know, currently, we are living in 206 00:07:34,810 --> 00:07:37,654 times where DE and I work is being 207 00:07:37,654 --> 00:07:38,154 censored. 208 00:07:38,694 --> 00:07:39,995 And, you know, that's fine, 209 00:07:40,295 --> 00:07:41,675 if you don't wanna use the words, 210 00:07:41,975 --> 00:07:45,254 whatever your politics are. But nobody can deny 211 00:07:45,254 --> 00:07:47,595 the fact that we are all different, 212 00:07:48,055 --> 00:07:50,279 whether that's, you know, diversity and race, 213 00:07:50,759 --> 00:07:51,740 physical ability, 214 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:55,500 geographic location, education level, income level, 215 00:07:55,959 --> 00:07:57,339 every person is different. 216 00:07:57,720 --> 00:07:59,800 And as a business leader, if you ignore 217 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:02,199 this fact, you will see the impact in 218 00:08:02,199 --> 00:08:04,439 your bottom line. And how does that show 219 00:08:04,439 --> 00:08:07,014 up? So as a health tech founder, if 220 00:08:07,014 --> 00:08:09,574 you are not including diverse perspectives when it 221 00:08:09,574 --> 00:08:10,875 comes to user experience, 222 00:08:11,495 --> 00:08:13,595 you will find it difficult in the implementation 223 00:08:13,895 --> 00:08:16,214 phase. So if a patient can't, you know, 224 00:08:16,214 --> 00:08:18,375 read the font on your screen, if there's 225 00:08:18,375 --> 00:08:21,000 no option for different languages, if there's no 226 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:23,639 option to connect to a human in the 227 00:08:23,639 --> 00:08:25,660 virtual help desk, you know, versus AI, 228 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:29,000 whatever it is, if it becomes difficult, patients 229 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:30,860 will simply not use your app. 230 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:33,559 And similarly, as a health care system leader, 231 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:36,304 if you are choosing to invest in applications 232 00:08:36,524 --> 00:08:38,144 that are ultimately ineffective, 233 00:08:38,924 --> 00:08:40,865 that's money that's going down the drain. 234 00:08:41,245 --> 00:08:42,684 There are people, you know, whose role it 235 00:08:42,684 --> 00:08:44,845 is to consider which apps or AI apps 236 00:08:44,845 --> 00:08:47,105 are worth the investment of the hospital system. 237 00:08:47,325 --> 00:08:49,860 And really, it's the ones that people use. 238 00:08:50,419 --> 00:08:52,179 So, you know, how can tech meet the 239 00:08:52,179 --> 00:08:54,820 needs of diverse patients? The most important way 240 00:08:54,820 --> 00:08:55,639 to do this, 241 00:08:56,259 --> 00:08:57,779 and the most simple way to do this 242 00:08:57,779 --> 00:09:00,740 is to include diverse perspectives throughout the building 243 00:09:00,740 --> 00:09:01,959 stages of your app. 244 00:09:02,365 --> 00:09:04,445 Sometimes in the tech world, we can be 245 00:09:04,445 --> 00:09:06,365 very caught up, you know, in features and 246 00:09:06,365 --> 00:09:06,865 functions, 247 00:09:07,485 --> 00:09:09,884 making investors happy, all of the things that 248 00:09:09,884 --> 00:09:12,125 it takes to build an app. And we 249 00:09:12,125 --> 00:09:13,184 forget the basics. 250 00:09:13,485 --> 00:09:15,809 How are people using this app? Does it 251 00:09:15,809 --> 00:09:17,910 work for them? What are their complaints? 252 00:09:18,529 --> 00:09:20,710 What issues have they asked for while troubleshooting? 253 00:09:21,570 --> 00:09:23,970 Make sure that you have diverse groups of 254 00:09:23,970 --> 00:09:26,129 people test your app out and listen to 255 00:09:26,129 --> 00:09:28,790 their feedback. It's really as simple as that. 256 00:09:29,725 --> 00:09:32,845 Briha, looking ahead, how can patient centered care 257 00:09:32,845 --> 00:09:34,384 support the long term sustainability 258 00:09:34,684 --> 00:09:35,824 of health care organizations? 259 00:09:36,365 --> 00:09:38,524 What can leaders be doing now to ensure 260 00:09:38,524 --> 00:09:41,504 that this concept is meaningfully put into practice 261 00:09:41,564 --> 00:09:42,509 and at scale? 262 00:09:43,790 --> 00:09:46,529 Yeah. As we, you know, continue to see 263 00:09:46,990 --> 00:09:50,690 budget cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, changes in 264 00:09:51,070 --> 00:09:53,629 language and research funding and all of the 265 00:09:53,629 --> 00:09:55,090 other impacts of the, 266 00:09:55,629 --> 00:09:57,764 new administration's executive orders, 267 00:09:58,245 --> 00:10:00,804 it will be very easy to let patient 268 00:10:00,804 --> 00:10:02,585 centered care fall to the side. 269 00:10:03,684 --> 00:10:05,524 But I will say, you know, whoever chooses 270 00:10:05,524 --> 00:10:06,825 to ignore the patient, 271 00:10:07,205 --> 00:10:09,125 they will see the impact of that in 272 00:10:09,125 --> 00:10:10,279 their quality scores, 273 00:10:10,660 --> 00:10:13,800 in their health outcomes, in their reimbursement rates, 274 00:10:14,420 --> 00:10:16,740 honestly, in your lawsuits and in your health 275 00:10:16,740 --> 00:10:19,779 care system reputations. Right? So I can tell 276 00:10:19,779 --> 00:10:22,340 you a simple story. In my neighborhood where 277 00:10:22,340 --> 00:10:24,445 I grew up, all of my friends who 278 00:10:24,445 --> 00:10:26,625 are moms, they know, you know, which hospital 279 00:10:27,085 --> 00:10:29,804 to avoid for their OB GYN care and 280 00:10:29,804 --> 00:10:30,945 their labor and delivery, 281 00:10:31,325 --> 00:10:33,085 and they know which hospital is best for 282 00:10:33,085 --> 00:10:34,285 that type of care. And they all go 283 00:10:34,285 --> 00:10:35,309 to that one instead. 284 00:10:35,870 --> 00:10:39,009 So reputation amongst your community really says everything 285 00:10:39,070 --> 00:10:41,570 about how they are experiencing your hospital system 286 00:10:41,870 --> 00:10:44,269 and which system your consumers are actually gonna 287 00:10:44,269 --> 00:10:45,409 use for their care. 288 00:10:45,870 --> 00:10:46,370 So, 289 00:10:47,470 --> 00:10:50,264 making sure that this patient centered care is 290 00:10:50,264 --> 00:10:52,605 sustainable at your organization is very important. 291 00:10:52,904 --> 00:10:55,245 And how can you ensure that it's sustainable? 292 00:10:55,304 --> 00:10:56,684 At Kaleidoscope Group, 293 00:10:57,065 --> 00:10:59,465 we have the three c's to sustainable change 294 00:10:59,465 --> 00:11:00,605 management. In 295 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:03,799 true consulting fashion, we have an acronym to 296 00:11:03,799 --> 00:11:05,500 make everything easier for everybody. 297 00:11:06,279 --> 00:11:09,980 The three c's are commitment, course, and competence. 298 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:12,840 And commitment comes at two different levels. The 299 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:14,700 first is executive commitment. 300 00:11:15,455 --> 00:11:18,034 Commitment from the c suite looks like appropriate 301 00:11:18,254 --> 00:11:19,475 resources and budgeting, 302 00:11:20,014 --> 00:11:22,335 guidance for committees and groups led with the 303 00:11:22,335 --> 00:11:23,394 charge for change, 304 00:11:23,855 --> 00:11:25,715 speaking up publicly and advocating. 305 00:11:26,335 --> 00:11:28,414 Without commitment from the c suite, you are 306 00:11:28,414 --> 00:11:29,630 not gonna have a sustainable level of infrastructure. 307 00:11:29,630 --> 00:11:30,445 And it's gonna 308 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:31,420 infrastructure. 309 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:33,480 And it's going to be interesting to see, 310 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:35,080 you know, as we continue to see the 311 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:38,200 impact of federal level changes where commitment is 312 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:39,180 at the C suite. 313 00:11:39,879 --> 00:11:41,340 And then commitment can also 314 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:44,279 come from a change agent level at each 315 00:11:44,279 --> 00:11:48,274 department. So that's nurse staff of patient experience, 316 00:11:48,815 --> 00:11:51,615 medical billing staff of patient experience, someone who 317 00:11:51,615 --> 00:11:55,215 is committed to bettering the patient experience within 318 00:11:55,215 --> 00:11:56,595 their sphere of influence 319 00:11:57,054 --> 00:11:59,375 and is ready to manage the issues that 320 00:11:59,375 --> 00:12:00,514 come up with implementation. 321 00:12:01,909 --> 00:12:03,750 Number two, course, we've talked about this a 322 00:12:03,750 --> 00:12:04,490 bit already. 323 00:12:04,870 --> 00:12:07,909 Development of a clear strategic plan where patient 324 00:12:07,909 --> 00:12:08,970 experience is 325 00:12:09,350 --> 00:12:11,190 not just, you know, a couple of folks 326 00:12:11,190 --> 00:12:12,009 in a department, 327 00:12:12,470 --> 00:12:15,190 but it is integrated into the daily workflow 328 00:12:15,190 --> 00:12:17,024 of each person in the health care patient 329 00:12:17,024 --> 00:12:17,524 journey. 330 00:12:18,144 --> 00:12:21,024 And number three, competence, ensuring your employees are 331 00:12:21,024 --> 00:12:24,144 educated and competent in implementing these changes. So 332 00:12:24,144 --> 00:12:24,884 that's like, 333 00:12:25,664 --> 00:12:26,644 how are these 334 00:12:26,945 --> 00:12:28,784 how are how are they being educated on 335 00:12:28,784 --> 00:12:31,089 these changes? How are they being supported when 336 00:12:31,089 --> 00:12:32,929 they have questions? Is there someone they can 337 00:12:32,929 --> 00:12:33,429 go 338 00:12:33,809 --> 00:12:34,870 to, for help? 339 00:12:35,649 --> 00:12:37,730 So those are the three c's, commitment, course, 340 00:12:37,730 --> 00:12:38,309 and competence. 341 00:12:39,570 --> 00:12:41,809 Bria, is there anything else before we close 342 00:12:41,809 --> 00:12:43,649 out? We didn't cover on the topic that 343 00:12:43,649 --> 00:12:44,709 you wanted to mention. 344 00:12:45,664 --> 00:12:47,664 Yeah. You know, we are in interesting times 345 00:12:47,664 --> 00:12:50,384 right now with the new administration changes. We 346 00:12:50,384 --> 00:12:53,424 are still seeing the downstream impacts of how 347 00:12:53,424 --> 00:12:54,644 our industry functions. 348 00:12:55,024 --> 00:12:58,084 We are seeing changes to women's health, LGBTQ 349 00:12:58,464 --> 00:12:58,964 health, 350 00:12:59,649 --> 00:13:02,710 removal of equity based programming and research funding, 351 00:13:03,169 --> 00:13:06,149 potential changes to how Medicare and Medicaid reimburses. 352 00:13:07,330 --> 00:13:10,389 Regardless of your politics, these are huge changes 353 00:13:10,769 --> 00:13:13,034 that we are gonna continue to grapple with 354 00:13:13,914 --> 00:13:16,394 and, continue to see how they impact our 355 00:13:16,394 --> 00:13:18,315 functioning within a health care system on a 356 00:13:18,315 --> 00:13:19,294 day to day basis 357 00:13:19,674 --> 00:13:21,834 and what outcomes we're gonna face for those 358 00:13:21,834 --> 00:13:24,794 functioning decisions. So throughout all of this change, 359 00:13:24,794 --> 00:13:26,990 I wanna urge our health care leaders who 360 00:13:26,990 --> 00:13:27,649 are listening. 361 00:13:28,029 --> 00:13:28,850 Number one, 362 00:13:29,230 --> 00:13:30,990 go back to your values. You know, you 363 00:13:30,990 --> 00:13:32,830 will have to face decisions on how to 364 00:13:32,830 --> 00:13:33,970 manage this change. 365 00:13:34,350 --> 00:13:36,450 Don't let your patients become deprioritized. 366 00:13:37,884 --> 00:13:40,764 Number two, stay agile, stay growth minded, stay 367 00:13:40,764 --> 00:13:42,144 innovative through the change. 368 00:13:42,605 --> 00:13:45,884 And number three, we always encourage honest and 369 00:13:45,884 --> 00:13:48,284 empathetic communication to your staff and to your 370 00:13:48,284 --> 00:13:48,784 public 371 00:13:49,245 --> 00:13:51,565 because when it comes to leading change rather 372 00:13:51,565 --> 00:13:53,470 than letting change lead you, the number one 373 00:13:53,470 --> 00:13:55,009 thing is maintaining trust. 374 00:13:56,110 --> 00:13:58,029 Maria, thank you so much for being on 375 00:13:58,029 --> 00:13:59,649 today. We appreciate your insights. 376 00:14:00,589 --> 00:14:02,350 Thank you for having me, Erica. It was 377 00:14:02,350 --> 00:14:03,329 it was a pleasure. 378 00:14:03,709 --> 00:14:04,610 Yeah. Absolutely. 379 00:14:04,990 --> 00:14:07,615 And we also wanna thank our podcast sponsor, 380 00:14:07,615 --> 00:14:10,815 the Kaleidoscope Group. And listeners, you can tune 381 00:14:10,815 --> 00:14:14,575 into additional podcast episodes by visiting the podcast 382 00:14:14,575 --> 00:14:18,414 page on our website at beckershospitalreview.com. 383 00:14:18,414 --> 00:14:19,235 Thanks, everyone.