Match your practice’s extraordinary reputation for excellence in clinical care with an equally extraordinary reputation for legendary patient experiences through the Language of Caring. Communication plays a critical role as patients and families ‘shop’ for health care. An Employee Guide introduces the patient-centered focus to new employees, and offers communication House Rules to improve health outcomes, inspire patient loyalty, and create a better work environment. Message to employees: “You ARE our practice…We are the care YOU give.”
Jill Golde, Partner, Language of Caring, discusses how empathy expressed by care and service providers has a powerful impact on many of healthcare’s most important objectives, including high patient ratings and improved patient outcomes She shares three strategies for making communicating with empathy an ‘always’ event in your organization.
Staff can lessen anxiety and resentment by keeping patients informed, explaining the reason for the delay and providing diversions.
You know from experience that when a person is worried, sick, pressured, nervous, in pain, bored, uncomfortable, hungry, restless, or fearful, every minute of waiting feels like an hour. Waiting for appointments, waiting to see the doctor, waiting for results, waiting for a callback, waiting for an answer, waiting, waiting, waiting—all kinds of waits irritate and stir resentment toward the care team. Just eavesdrop in a waiting room for a few minutes, and you’ll hear, “They think their time is more valuable than mine! They have no respect for my time!”
Alas, what are we to do?
Every handoff between staff members involves time. Handoffs create the possibility of time lags, delays and wasted time for the customer and for staff, anxieties for the patient, information falling through cracks, unforeseen circumstances that interrupt the flow, and errors. To improve handoff processes: DESIGN them, and in so doing, REDUCE THE STEPS and the INDIVIDUALS involved.
