When bearded TV pitchman Billy Mays leaving the airwaves for good earlier this year, Knoxville doctor Jonathan W. Sowell thought television commercials would irritate him less. But he was wrong—poorly crafted hospital ads are the new subject of his anger, he writes in a Knoxville News letter to the editor.
Computer retailer HP has launched a program to donate 4% of total product purchases at its Direct Store to support a range of charities in the areas of conservation, education, enrichment systems, healthcare support, disaster recovery, and the battle to fight poverty. Charities include the American Red Cross, and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Businesses spend a lot of time and money building their brand identity, according to this Marketing Profs article, and brand identity is one of the most valuable assets that all organizations seek to protect. But ease of employee access to the Internet from work exposes the corporate network, which is your brand identity online, to every website your employee visits. One way to circumvent that threat is to completely protect enterprise users' Internet identities through an identity-management Web-surfing system when the network connects to the virtual world, the article notes.
The global advertising market will start to stabilize next year, following double-digits declines in 2009, but more-established markets such as the U.S. won't gain steam for some time, according to business forecasts. Fallout from the global financial crisis will linger in the U.S. ad market in 2010, the forecasts say. For example, Interpublic Group media agency Magna predicts that U.S. ad revenues will grow just 0.2% to $162.7 billion and reach low-single-digit growth rates by 2012.
In this Q&A, Lee Aase, manager of syndication and social media for Mayo Clinic, talks about which healthcare brands will thrive in the future, how social media has effected the way Mayo does business, challenges the organization has faced, and the top lessons learned for implementing a social media strategy.
It's often said but eminently true: The fastest way to scuttle a program is to give your employees the impression that it's a fad that will inevitably fade from favor with the next change in the weather—or the C-suite. And even though patient experience is a top priority at many organizations right now, that "right now" qualifier could signal trouble. I recently sat down with a panel of experts who shared their best tactics not only for making patient experience a priority—but making sure it sticks.
Here are four highlights from the discussion:
Make your mission part of everything you do, says John Gnida consultant, client education at Professional Research Consultants, Inc., in Omaha, NE. "It's amazing how often you'll walk into a room and even though they say, ‘We're all about patient-centeredness,' patient care is nowhere on the agenda. When the very first thing on the agenda is about care, it sends a message to everybody. People will start to buy the mission when our currency, our attention, and our time show our devotion to it."
It's all about leadership and it starts with them, says Rick Henvey, Regional COO for Community Hospitals at the Parkview Health System in Fort Wayne, IN. "Are they transparent with the data? Are they as passionate about this as they are everything else that they do? Are they living it? Are they genuine about what they're doing with that? The CEO has to lead it in a genuine way along with board members."
You need one person whose only agenda is experience, says Sean Keyser, VP of operational improvement & service excellence at Novant Health in Charlotte, NC. "We can say that everybody owns it. But you need somebody who gets up every day and asks themselves, 'What did we do today that was a part of the operational implementation of this experience?' Someone's got to be thinking about the steps and the plans and the timelines and the human beings and the materials and the resources."
Get your priorities in order, says Janet Nystrom, HR director at Progress West Healthcare Center in O'Fallon, MO. "We have four service priorities, in order of importance: safety, courtesy, expertise, efficiency. Everything that we do is structured around those four priorities. Because they're in order of importance, you can make decisions and know that you're doing the right thing for the organization and, more importantly, for the patient. Efficiency, where finance lies, is our fourth priority. Courtesy and compassion, where service excellence falls, is ranked second under safety."
The full roundtable discussion, Making Patient Experience Initiatives Stick, is available online. Other topics covered include the business case for patient experience, leaders' roles in patient experience, and engaging physicians in patient experience, especially those who might be reluctant to embrace it.
Note: You can sign up to receive HealthLeaders Media Marketing, a free weekly e-newsletter that will guide you through the complex and constantly-changing field of healthcare marketing.
A group of 11 freshman Democratic senators, organized by Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), introduced a set of amendments to the Senate healthcare reform measure Tuesday that they said will promote more cost awareness and affordability.
In a speech on the floor, Warner compared the bill to the efforts years before to promote cheaper airfares online. "What the package of amendments is trying to do to healthcare is what Travelocity did to the airline business" in terms of price transparency, he said.
The amendments, which the senators have been working on for the past several months, are designed to address the areas of:
Value-based purchasing. Medicare would be required to implement pay-for-performance testing for providers by 2016 for hospices, psychiatric hospitals, long-term care hospitals, inpatient rehab facilities, and inpatient psychiatric hospitals. The Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary would have the ability to expand the pilots if they are determined to reduce Medicare spending by 2018.
Ambulatory surgical centers. The HHS secretary would be required to develop a pay-for-performance program for the centers by 2011.
Shared savings program. The HHS secretary would be given more flexibility to reward accountable care organizations that lower costs and improve quality.
Disparity reduction. Qualified health plans under the proposed benefits exchange would need to demonstrate that they are working to reduce health disparities as part of their quality improvement activities.
Payment bundling. The number of health conditions already proposed in the Senate bill would be expanded for testing.
Physician quality reporting. The Medicare Physician Quality Reporting Initiative would be modified to permit physicians who report quality data through a qualifying Maintenance of Certification program to be eligible for incentive payments in 2011-2014.
Fraud enforcement. The HHS secretary would be required to add certain “smart” technologies to provisions in the current Senate bill that could detect potential fraud and abuse processes.
Telehealth. Under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation proposed in the Senate bill, recommendations and analysis would be conducted on the effectiveness of telehealth behavioral health issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and telestroke in medically underserved areas.
The other senators supporting the amendments are Mark Begich (D-AL), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Roland Burris (D-IL), Kay Hagan (D-NC), Ted Kaufman (D-DE), Paul Kirk (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Udall (D-NM), and Tom Udall (D-CO).
The National Patient Safety Foundation, the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, and Kaiser Permanente this week launched the "Patient Safety Initiative at America's Public Hospitals."
Kaiser Permanente contributed $718,010 to fund 85 hospitals for the two-year program. Forty-two hospitals were selected for Phase I in 2009, with the remaining 43 to be selected for Phase 2 in 2010. There is potential to expand this program to all 140 NAPH member hospitals.
"This unique partnership with Kaiser Permanente and NAPH is a remarkable opportunity for the National Patient Safety Foundation to contribute to the pursuit and delivery of safe care for the tens of millions of patients who depend on America's public hospitals each year," said Diane Pinakiewicz, president of NPSF. "We have deep respect and admiration for the commitment, determination, and skill of those at the forefront of care in safety net hospitals across the nation, and feel privileged to do our part, through NPSF patient safety programs and resources, to support their meaningful work."
The safety initiative hopes to:
Position public hospitals on the leading edge of patient safety and quality care.
Establish a consistent and shared pool of patient safety knowledge, tools, and techniques.
Develop a community of public hospital clinicians, patient safety and quality leaders, and hospital executives committed to this initiative.
Garner measurable results in patient safety practices.
Create patient and community programs fostering communication that engages, informs, and builds confidence in the public hospital system.
The hospitals in the initiative are from across the nation and include single hospitals and larger systems, some new to patient safety and quality efforts and others with more advanced programs. The program hopes to enhance the culture and leadership, infrastructure and measurement capabilities, and metrics for evidence in improving patient safety and outcomes at each of the hospitals.
Participants will have access to resources including membership in the NPSF Stand Up for Patient Safety program, NPSF Patient Safety Congress registrations, health literacy and communications tools, measurement and analysis tools, and opportunities to apply for Patient Safety Leadership Fellowships.
Hospitals participating in Phase 1 of the initiative are:
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, Colton, CA
Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA
Contra Costa Regional Medical Center, Martinez, CA
Grady Health System, Atlanta
Harborview Medical Center, Seattle
Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis
Howard University Hospital, Washington, DC
Hurley Medical Center, Flint, MI
Imperial Point Medical Center, Ft. Lauderdale
Kern Medical Center, Bakersfield, CA
Los Angeles County and USC Healthcare Network, Los Angeles
LSU Health Care Services Division (seven facilities) Baton Rouge, LA
Memorial Healthcare System (five facilities), Hollywood, FL
Metrohealth Medical Center, Cleveland
Nashville General Hospital, Nashville
New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (seven facilities)
North Broward Medical Center, Deerfield Beach, FL
Parkland Hospital & Health System, Dallas
San Francisco General, San Francisco
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, San Jose, CA
Sinai Health System, Chicago
Stony Brook University Hospital, Stonybrook, NY
Truman Medical Centers, Kansas City, MO
University of New Mexico Hospital, Albuquerque
University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas
At Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston, the emergency department turned the use of gels, soap, and water into a game of tag. Whoever got dinged for missing a cleansing had his or her name posted on every computer monitor throughout the hospital, and was "it" until he or she dinged someone else.
Every week, it seems, there's another story about a creative way to promote self-disinfection.
Now the federal government is getting more involved with a video that urges hospital patients and their visitors to make sure they witness doctors and nurses—and anybody else who touches them—washing their hands at the bedside.
The video, launched by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is being played on closed-circuit TV in dozens of patient rooms, lobbies, and emergency department waiting areas to empower patients to speak up. The video's goal is to convince patients to not be afraid to remind the caregiver if they don't actually see them washing their hands.
In the video, John Jernigan, MD, a deputy branch chief with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and another caregiver—a nurse or doctor called "Gail" who appears in blue scrubs—tell patients not to be embarrassed. Even if the doctor or nurse said he just washed his hands outside the room, they should order him or her to do it again. It's OK.
"Doctor, I'm embarrassed to even ask you this," the video depicts the visitor saying. "But would you mind cleansing your hands before you begin?"
"Oh I washed them right before I came in the room," the physician reassuringly replies.
"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to do it again in front of me," the young woman says insistently, pointing to the gel dispenser by the door."
The video was shot at Emory-Adventist Hospital and Emory University in Atlanta, in collaboration with the Association for Professionals In Infection Control and Epidemiology.
That's what I call an in-your-face hand hygiene!
Can you imagine that? A doctor or a nurse listening to a grandmotherly patient lying in a hospital bed saying "I want to see you wash your hands, right here, right now. Not another step until you do!?" And when the doctor says he already did, she in essence says, "I don't believe you. And if you did, do it again."
The video says it's OK.
It may seem that fears of the spread of infection—perhaps augmented by H1N1—or transmission of increasingly difficult strains of clostridium difficile or newer, hardier strains of methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, may be influencing a new sense of urgency on the issue.
Studies suggest that when caregivers are secretly monitored, they wash their hands only 50% of the time to prevent transmission. And when those same caregivers are asked, however, they think they cleansed 90% of the time.
Healthcare acquired infections are an increasing bête noir for hospitals. Not only are they estimated to affect 1.7 million patients each year, but 99,000 patients will die from them. And there is the cost of caring for patients who get infected, estimated at $35 billion to $45 billion a year.
And, of course, in October 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services instituted a policy that it will no longer reimburse for the additional care required for patients with hospital-acquired infections.
So there's a lot more at stake.
How aggressive will hospitals be to get better hygiene compliance?
I've heard and read about other ideas for hand hygiene, such as at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital in St. Peters, MO. Providers are giving each other Dalmatian-spotted cards that either carry rewards (such as a $2 coffee shop coupon) for good hand hygiene practices, or bad practice cards that say "We are putting you on the spot for not using hand hygiene."
Who knows? But I've even heard about using wireless technology that would give the provider a gentle buzz or zap if they entered a patient's room and neglected to tap the dispenser.
That may be going too far. But then again, maybe not.
Newspapers across the country recognize "Sunshine Week" each year as a celebration of open government and honoring those communities, states, officials, and volunteers who are working to allow open communication between governments and their residents.
I wrote my share of Sunshine Week articles during my time in community journalism and heard a phrase often repeated by open government advocates: "Sunshine is the best disinfectant."
That need for sunshine isn't only required in governance—healthcare could use some rays too.
Provisions in health reform would do just that by making health insurance more transparent and health insurers more accountable.
Make no mistake, those behind more transparency and accountability don't like private insurers. During a news conference call on Tuesday afternoon, representatives from the Institute for America's Future, Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, and Consumers Union, along with Rep. Rose DeLauro (D-CT), took aim at health insurers.
DeLauro called the current health insurance system a "black box" that the public doesn't understand. There simply isn't enough information that allows people to adequately compare health plans. Consumers check crash test ratings before buying a car and there should be similar ratings for health insurers, she said.
Provisions in health reform legislation being discussed on Capitol Hill would open up claims and payment data to consumers; require insurers to provide detailed information about policies, such as out-of-pocket costs and claims denial rates; and offer information about how premium dollars are spent.
Yes, greater health insurance transparency is needed, but I would go beyond that. Hospital and physician pricing and quality information should at the same time become more accessible to consumers so they can make informed healthcare decisions in aspects beyond insurance purchases.
This is all information that should be part of a health insurance exchange Web site.
Proponents of greater transparency and accountability see the provisions as more than merely providing more information for consumers. Karen Pollitz, research professor at Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, said lawmakers will need to provide coverage choices for consumers, air tight reforms without loopholes, and a system that allows state and federal investigators to work proactively so they can police the marketplace rather than wait for consumer complaints.
"It's important for the federal government to join in this effort and take on a very proactive role to make sure these federal minimum standards are real," said Pollitz.
But just because these folks have bashed private insurers doesn't mean the health insurance industry should dismiss their opinions. In fact, everyone should agree that consumers need more information to make health insurance decisions. Isn't that what the healthcare consumerism movement was based upon?
Transparency is always a positive and I'm glad DeLauro has been active in getting these transparency and accountability provisions in health reform. Though she was successful in the House bill, there is still the question of whether they will make it into the final Senate bill.
"Whatever the final outcomes are, we have to fight for that transparency and accountability," said DeLauro.
Insurers should not view this push toward more transparency as a negative, but should instead see opportunity. Not only could this give an advantage to insurers with high medical-loss ratios, it could also lead to better educated healthcare consumers—and quite possibly reduce healthcare costs in the long run.
