How KU Hospital Drives Patient Satisfaction

Sometimes people in the healthcare industry over think issues. It's all done with the best intentions, but a simple concept such as patient satisfaction can be made to appear as complex as ICD-10.  Set up a study committee. Earmark funding. Conduct a survey. Mount a marketing plan. Hire a consultant.

A story last week in The Kansas City Star provides an excellent example of how common sense customer service can have a profound impact on patient satisfaction.   

Since 1999, The Star report notes, The University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, KS, has relied on medical technician Paula Miller to lead a customer service training program.  Miller's trained about 12,000 staff—from the C-suite to physicians to parking lot attendants—on the finer points of making patients happy. As a result, patient experience scores have gone from the single digits to the high 90s.

The curriculum at KU Hospital—as it's explained in The Star piece—is basic because the message is fundamental: Treat people with respect. Miller encourages her students to look people in the eye, speak gently and respectfully, and use titles like Mr., Mrs., and Ms., when appropriate.

While the story has a feel-good element to it, there is also a bottom-line component. We all know that starting next October dollars will be attached to higher Medicare patient satisfaction scores.

There are several takeaways from the story that can be applied by any healthcare organization willing to make an effort. The best part of the story is that KU Hospital didn't need a complex program, an arcane marketing scheme, a big consultant contract, a bright and shiny ad campaign, or a new customer service department with pricey specialists to get the job done.

Hospital leadership saw a need and identified the right person to lead the program.
Miller dedicates four days a week to her job as a medical technician. Every Wednesday, she leads customer service training for new employees.

While KU Hospital has not dedicated a large financial commitment to the customer service program, leadership has clearly invested a personal commitment to its success. Miller was picked by KU Hospital President Bob Page to lead the program in 1999, and her efforts still carry the vocal and visible support of the C Suite. That makes a huge difference. If staff doesn't believe that leadership is behind an initiative, it will fail. Hospital workers are remarkably adept at sniffing out a fraud.

The KU Hospital customer service program is well-structured with definite goals. And, it applies to all new hires. That is critical. The quickest way to kneecap such a program would be to exempt from participation a select caste of workers or executives. That sends the immediate and negative message to the rest of the staff that customer service is merely another mandate from on high to be obeyed by some and not a core value embraced by all.

Miller reminds her students that patients and their families are not always at their best when they are in the hospital. They could be in pain, or frightened, confused, or anxious. Miller encourages employees to empathize with these people who may be going through a traumatic experience.  The new hires are left with the understanding that courtesy and respect are job requirements, not electives.

"There's plenty to do here. But patients should never get the feeling that we're too busy to take care of them," Miller told The Star. "People are not numbers. They're people, whether they're patients or co-workers. And when we treat each other the way we want to be treated, that's excellent service."

None of this is complex. This is not gene therapy or face transplant surgery. This is about common sense and courtesy at its most basic level. This is about treating people the way you want to be treated —the stuff our parents taught us. It doesn't take long to learn but once learned it goes a long way. This is something everyone can do.

The message from KU Hospital is as clear as its return on investment.