It is about Knowing how you can help in the way the patient needs help instead of just Helping in any way that I can. The difference in these responses may seem subtle at first, but consider the confidence in the outcome of each conversation.  For the patient, there is an expectation that is generally defined by:  I have a specific question that someone in the clinic can answer and I want to talk to that person ASAP.  This may be the initial inquiry between the patient and the clinic for service or a subsequent one for some type of follow-up.  For the clinic staff member who receives this inquiry, knowing exactly how to help will represent precisely how well the entire staff is able to coordinate care within the clinic on the patient’s behalf.  Too often, the assumption is that the physician is solely responsible for coordination of care based on their sophisticated knowledge.

Helping in any way that I can leads to the same outcome for both the clinic staff in support roles and the patient – frustration and apathy with the process.  Knowing how to help in the way the patient needs help requires a shared understanding and accountability within the entire clinic staff that begins, but does not end with, the physician.

You may have seen a recent TV commercial for a health insurance provider. As the story goes, the patient is prescribed medications from two different places. Fortunately, the patient calls a nurse at the insurance provider before taking either of the medications. The nurse advised the patient that these two medications could have caused a dangerous interaction. Although I can appreciate this level of service from the insurance provider, I can’t help but wonder how the two physicians in this situation might feel about the patient experience they each provided.

There are a myriad of opportunities to engage patients beyond their encounter in the clinic. When it comes to the strategic use of EMR/PM systems and other information technologies, a good starting point might be to think about what the people at either clinic could have done to capture this conversation with the patient from insurance provider.  Although it may seem like a competitive conversation, it really has more to do with the patient experience beyond that time spent with the physician.  It’s not about tangling up the physician with even more work than he/she already has with patient encounters every day, it’s about engaging all of those supporting staff in the clinic to participate in the coordination of care on behalf of the physician.  It is about a line of communication and meaningful accessibility between the patient and the clinic, not just the physician, to extend the value of that patient encounter as needed.

With all of the competitive, financial and regulatory pressures it is understandable how everyone can feel like a number in the healthcare industry. It really doesn’t matter whether you work in the medical practice or require a service of from that same clinic. From within the practice, the pressure of getting a certain number of patients in each day to see each physician can create the feeling of renewing drivers’ licenses.  From the other side of reception desk, getting the most out of the scheduled encounter or asking for the favor of a last minute appointment can leave people wondering what might have been.

There is some real value in getting back to the basics.  When I’m looking at a website to learn more about a particular practice (because that’s the way I found it), I really do care about the qualifications of the physicians when it comes to the quality of care that I can expect. But there is another side to quality of care that all of the other supporting staff provide, and I’d like to know about those people too. Unfortunately, I rarely see any information about those people, even though they are the ones I’ll be talking to every time I call about an appointment, a referral, a question on my Explanation of Benefits, a prescription refill, or a change in my insurance. The primary reason I care about those people is one of accountability. Not only do I expect the person who promises to help me to actually do so, but I’d like to think that the same person will be there to help again if needed in a few months. I really appreciate people who do what they do well, whether they are clinically trained or not.

So how about giving some credit and face time to all of those other people in the clinic too. Maybe it’ll give them another reason to smile the next time I call. If I have to ask for the favor of a last minute appointment, it’s OK to tell me during the call that I’ll probably have to wait at least 2-hours. After all, this really is a favor to me. Finally, it’s also OK to smile when you deliver on these expectations to me because I do appreciate the favor at the last minute.

There are several key issues in various states of development that are intended to initiate change in the health care delivery system right now.  Be aware of these developments but also be cautious not to allow the current uncertainty to paralyze your delivery of healthcare within your clinic and community.

As we begin our journey into 2012, there is no shortage of change already underway in the delivery of healthcare. The new requirements for HIPAA EDI Version 5010 compliance not only exemplify importance of implementing the appropriate procedures and training the entire staff, but also the increasing importance of strong relationships with strategic partners. The “covered entity” aspect of 5010 is a clear example of not only the due diligence required in working with these partners but the need for a real dialogue as well. As the amount of detail and disclosure continues to increase for patient encounters over the next few years it will only further prove that collaboration in the medical practice will reach a new level. No longer will this coordination just be among the physicians in the context of diagnoses and treatment plans. Collaboration must involve the entire staff and those strategic partners in your community. As your level of accountability continues to grow in this evolution of standards, make a resolution this year to hold each other accountable too with a sustained dialogue.