Can Healthcare Evolve Faster if We Walk in Patients’ Shoes?
While health systems are slow to adopt new models of care, it’s not stopping innovative competitors from meeting consumers’ rightful demand for a better experience. Right now, you can visit eye doctors and pharmacies where you pick up your milk, download apps that allow you to digitally try on glasses and then get them sent to your home, and have necessary medications shipped right to your front door.
My view of the future came into focus years ago. When I was a 26-year-old intern fresh out of medical school, I had a patient with children in tow who came 35 minutes late to an appointment. Saying I was frustrated is an understatement. I met with the patient and, afterward, my supervising doctor requested that I trace the exact steps this patient took to get to our clinic. Making a very, very long story short, what would’ve taken me 20 minutes to drive took me 90 minutes on public transportation.
I thought I was waiting on her. In truth, she was waiting on us. In fact, everyone is waiting on us.
Too often, patients are waiting. Whether it’s calling a clinic and waiting on hold for the receptionist, sitting in the waiting room because the doctor is running late, or driving around running errands waiting for a prescription to be ready for pick up, patients are waiting.
But people are really waiting for health systems to deliver a better experience. For many, waiting is simply an outdated way of life. Part of a bygone era where retailers and businesses expected people to come to their storefronts. Today, people don’t want to wait on companies—in fact, they won’t wait. And they’re tired of waiting for healthcare to better meet their needs.
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Health systems can start by aligning our models with patients’ goals. As health systems, we shouldn’t wait until patients get sick to engage with them. Our incentives should be aligned – keep patients healthy. And if they need care, we must provide it in the least expensive, least restrictive way possible.
How can we do it? At Intermountain, we’ve added new consumer-friendly tools, including the My Health+ app that enables people to make appointments, check lab results, and check and pay their balances. The expansion of telehealth has also done wonders, especially in our rural communities where it has become an indispensable tool. Patients who live hours from a major city can now consult a specialist in their hometown, avoiding the time-consuming, expensive inconvenience of a long drive and hotel stay. Still, healthcare has a long way to go.
These innovations are helping us close the gap with other industries on consumer experience. To go beyond, Intermountain is adopting a multifaceted approach to prevention that includes team-based primary care, addressing the social determinants of health, and deploying next-generation precision medicine to help everyone stay at least one step ahead of disease.
To do all of this, that first step should be taken in the shoes of our patients. Gaining that critical perspective is how our nation’s health systems can run faster toward a new model that focuses far more on keeping people healthy.?
Field Marketing Lead @ Hyro, the #1 Adaptive Communications Platform
2 年A great read, thank you for putting this on 'paper' so eloquently. We just hosted our dear friend and leader Craig Richardville on our podcast, to discuss the digital patient journey and how Intermountain is paving a new way (and he nominated you as a potential future guest - no surprise there!) I would love to have you and strongly believe the community needs to hear your insights from your vast experience. You are hard to reach ?? , given all the amazing initiatives you're busy with, nevertheless I tried my luck and messaged you with some info on LinkedIn. If you'd consider hopping on the podcast for 20min Q&A, we'd be honored. Thanks! ??
Medical Director - Specialty Care, Intermountain Healthcare; Clinical Assistant Professor - University of Washington School of Medicine; Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder - DocSide, Inc.
2 年So true!! We are years behind in care delivery compared to so many industries. By the time I finish this post I could book a trip on a travel website that compares multilple options for flights, hotels and cars with inumerous interconnected companies and even gives me a discount for doing so. While some health systems like IHC are making progress through innovation, we have a long way to go before we meet everyone’s expectations for care experience and access, especially in rural communities. So much opportunity!!
Medical Case Management
2 年I’d like to see transparency in cost. Why is it that I still don’t know what a procedure is going to end up costing me…in advance? I can go to the grocery store and compare prices on coffee, but when it comes to medical care…it’s still a mystery. Why is that?
SAPLACOR
2 年But do you practice what you preach? You have a compelling story line. But in reality, when it comes to labor & delivery, as a man, when will you ever walk in the shoes of a woman in labor, the exhaustion that entails and the physiological changes she goes through? Maternity is the ONLY floor in the hospital ?? where a patient is expected to care for another patient regardless of how exhausted she is. Since baby falls aren’t reported to an outside source, hospitals continue to push the envelope. Over the last decade “Rooming in” policy has increased baby falls by 600%. I have been reaching out to you continuously since 2019 with a FDA cleared, lab tested solution for change. When will Intermountain Health adopt new models of care for postpartum recovery?