Attention Residue is an Opportunity for Healthcare
Even if you're not familiar with the term "attention residue", you're probably familiar with its effect on your ability to focus. Attention residue was identified by Dr. Sophie from the University of Washington in 2009. Simply put, it is the concept that when an individual moves from one task to another, their brain is still at least partially engaged in the previous task, resulting in an inability to fully focus on the new task at hand. In the research, this effect lasts for about 20 minutes when moving from one task to another. But what happens when you move from one task to another, to another, to another... it's called real life, and it gets messy real quick.
Not only does this fly in the face of the world telling us to multitask but, for many people, attention residue prevents them from being able to move forward with a decision, ANY decision.
What does this mean for you, a provider of healthcare?
Patients get information from a lot of different places and they're confused by it. I'll use the example of my buddy, Jim (he gave me permission to share, don't worry ??). He's proudly a chronic procrastinator and DIY type of guy. Last year, Jim was having headaches and brain fog. He did what any sane person would do and Googled what was wrong with him, moving from one site to the next and not completely reading all the research on any site. After spending about four hours in the rabbit hole of Dr. Internet, it seemed his symptoms pointed to one of three culprits: Stress, COVID, or a brain tumor.
Fearing the worst, he immediately booked a next-day appointment online with his PA, as he couldn't get in to his doctor for another week. Then he went to bed, but instead of visions of sugarplums dancing in his head, it was a saw cutting into his skull to remove an as-of-yet undiagnosed tumor.
Jim's PA sat and listened to him, asking questions and doing her best to understand what was happening in Jim's life, and doing something that the interwebs couldn't do: understand him as a unique person.
Where's the opportunity? Following the example of Jim's PA is a quick win for health systems and clinicians. There's no billion-dollar systems to purchase, no new towers to build, and no new science to learn. It doesn't matter if you work for a small rural hospital or Cleveland Clinic, simply standardize the process of training for soft skills and create expectations that your staff will actively listen to patients, engaging with them on a human level. By doing this, you'll create a better experience as well as better outcomes.
Not sure if what you're doing is working? Ask the patient!
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Spoiler alert: Jim's fine. He was stressed from burning the candles at both ends, with family and work commitments. Instead of having brain surgery, he started exercising regularly and started taking meds for his elevated blood pressure.
What do Healthcare Leaders Focus on?
Becker's Healthcare released a great overview of 29 Healthcare Leaders' priorities for the next 12 months . While they received a diverse set of answers, I distilled it down to a few common themes, in no particular order:
Healthcare by the Numbers
Hospitality Professional
8 个月Very informative. Helpful information.