Measuring Something That’s Not There
I recently had the pleasure of consulting for well-respected health system, with the intent of improving the patient experience. Part of the process required my shadowing both staff and management in one particular in-patient specialty area within the hospital. There, I observed a phenomenon that I believe has become prevalent in healthcare today: we are measuring something that is not there. Let me explain. Shortly after getting some altered version of the bedside shift repo
Can Patients Really Judge Our Teamwork?
Healthcare has long asked patients to tell us how well we work together as a team. Having been a part of many of those teams over the years, I often wonder: On what grounds do patients have to judge us on team performance? After all, they don’t see us communicating at the nurses’ station or hear the phone calls that are made regarding orders or plan of care. Admittedly, they may see an exchange at their bedside between a doctor and a nurse, or they may sense how well the disc
