3 Questions That Change Our Experiences and Outcomes

It’s not for nothing that Yogi Berra once said, “You can observe a lot by just watching.”

In medicine, what do you discover when you watch the medical practice, the single source of truth in health care? What do you learn when you ask, “How are the best practices achieving balance between the art, science, and business of medicine? What is it, fundamentally, they are doing that seems to make everything work better?”

What I've learned is that the great, innovative practices are asking the right questions. What is most revealing is that those questions are all about people.

What, specifically, do these right questions help them achieve? They make it easier and simpler for providers and patients to do the right thing. They help eliminate the unintended consequences of change that make patients disengage and make many providers feel their best option may be to quit. They help reduce tension between administrators, providers, and patients by helping them focus on what matters most to everybody. They help reduce costs. They encourage laser-like focus on outcomes.

Based on the what I've seen in these practices—and have shared in my new book, Back to Balance—I've created a free resource: 3 Questions We Should All Be Asking.

What are the questions, and how do they help?

1. How do we treat the person and not just the disease?

Learn how Iora Health, founded by Rushika Fernandopulle, has improved health outcomes and reduced costs by meeting the human needs of people.

2. What do people actually want—not what do we think they want—out of health care?

Women's Healthcare Associates avoided a major misstep in meeting the needs of their patients by asking this question—and it has changed a lot about their group of practices over the past few years.

3. How can we give the right people control?

At Virginia Mason Medical Center, they have adapted the Toyota Production System to give physicians, patients, nurses, administrators, and everybody else the power to share insights and feedback, and be empowered to drive meaningful, positive change.

We spend too much of our time talking about single solution, “silver bullet,” high-level, policy-driven ideas that don’t reflect the realities of how health care is delivered day in and day out. What these three question from successful medical practices and the people within them offer us is practical ideas that actually work. 

Get the resource now to learn more.

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You can learn more about Back to Balance and access other free resources at DrHalee.com.

Halee Fischer-Wright, who received her M.D. from the University of Colorado, is a nationally recognized physician leader, health care executive, and former business consultant, whose work focuses on innovation and creating cultures of excellence. Dr. Fischer-Wright is president and CEO of Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) and is the co-author of Tribal Leadership, a New York Times bestseller.