Undercover Patient`s: Look Through the Patient`s Eyes

I always watch the episodes of “Undercover Boss” on BBC. I like it so much because, by playing as undercover, top level management get an idea How the things going in their companies. So, I have been thinking why not hospital management do something like that , by becoming a “Undercover Patient” in own Hospitals. It will directly let you know how a patient feel and think about hospitals.  One can start it through calling or sending emails at front desk or hospital for an appointment. 

If you are looking for patient satisfaction, then look through the patient`s eyes. Then only you come to know what the loop holes in the process are and what changes would bring big impact. How the existing process running? What patients see when they enter the hospital or practice or clinic is often perceived as an indicator of level of care and service the practice provides. Is the waiting room clean and neat or does it need a new coat of paint and the carpets need cleaned? Are the magazines up to date? Is there information about the practice available such as brochures, biographic information or information sheets on a single health topic? For example, how to protect against the flu virus. Verify that, all staff members are dressed appropriately and that clothing is clean and in good repair. Make it sure every encounter with patient must be treated like a first date.

Micro-franchise model in healthcare- “A new ray of hope”

Just imagine, you are have diagnostic kit at home and you, yourself do simple test to find out what are you  suffering from ?, before going to consult a doctor. This is not the solution for critically ill but primary screening can be done.   Here, are some examples – How these healthcare companies using Micro-franchise model to provide healthcare in remote areas. 

Vision Entrepreneurs (India ) : (http://www.visionspring.org/what-we-do/ve.php)  

 Vision Entrepreneurs in the initiative Vision spring organization  http://www.visionspring.org . Its an NGO working towards providing eye care to needy population. What they do is they give training to local individuals to do simple eye test at community to find out who having eye sight problem and give them glasses. Vision spring empower the low income local individuals to earn money by selling glasses. These individuals get three days training to basic eye care and business management.  They are provided with the  kit bag which contains the all basic eye testing kit and glasses so they can test and give glasses themselves. If anything they find critical they refer them to hospitals.

 The Healthstorefoundation : (http://www.cfwshops.org/model.html) 

Franchisees operate small drug shops or clinics strategically located to improve access to essential drugs. HealthStore clinics and shops enable trained health workers to operate their own businesses treating the diseases that cause 70-90% of illness and death in their communities while following HealthStore drug handling and distribution regulations calculated to ensure good practice.   

The major goals of the CFWshops project are: 

To create a reliable supply of high quality, low cost, essential drugs and to make them available to the people who need them when and where they are needed.

To treat childhood infectious diseases in the communities where children live, thus reducing congestion in the healthcare system so that scarce resources can be applied to others not so easily treated;

To reduce under age 5 mortality rates thus encouraging family planning and lower population growth rates;

To discourage the development of drug resistant microbes by the provision and appropriate use of adequate supplies of effective drugs; and

To improve community health through educational and prevention activities.

HMRI- (http://www.hmri.in/)

eSwasthya uses a microfranchise model to deliver the services of a doctor to the doorsteps of rural populations. Female health workers rigorously trained in healthcare, technology and business invest in setting up a clinic from their homes. When patients visit with a complaint, the health worker uses mobile phone technology to connect to centrally-located paramedics and doctors who triage the call, identify illnesses and recommend treatment. Patients pay a nominal fee. eSwasthya has 51 centers and has treated 45,000 patients across three districts in Rajasthan.

Livinggoods organization : (http://livinggoods.org/what-we-do/micro-franchise-business-model/)

Living Goods harnesses the power of micro-entrepreneurs to reinvent rural trade and dramatically scale access to a wide range of life-saving and life-changing products. We operate Avon-like networks of independent entrepreneurs who make modest incomes going to door-to-door selling affordable and effective solutions designed to improve the health, wealth, and productivity of the world’s poor. We utilize all the key characteristics of successful franchises: methodically screened agents, expert training, strict quality monitoring, uniform branding and product mix, effective promotions, and low cost of goods achieved through scale. Living Goods franchises its brand and business model to women entrepreneurs who work as independent agents. To launch their Living Goods franchise, agents receive a below-market inventory loan and a free “Business-in-a-Bag” that includes uniforms, signs, a locker, and basic health and business tools. Our field staff provide agents with ongoing support through refresher trainings, field mentoring, and performance monitoring. 

Business-in-a-bag

The cosmetics company Avon built a global power brand through its business-in-a-bag model. We’re applying this same method of direct selling to products designed to save and change lives in the developing world. Our business-in-a-bag provides micro-entrepreneurs with all the tools they need to launch a thriving Living Goods franchise. Their startup kit includes a branded duffle bag, uniforms, signs for their home store, a display locker, and basic health and business tools. Couple that with a robust two-week training course and ongoing marketing and mentoring support and you have an army of motivated agents bringing life-changing products to the doorsteps of the poor.

Clown Doctors - A new way of delivering care.

Imagine being a child in hospital, away from the comfort of your home and all that is familiar, and feeling sad, anxious, frightened, lonely or in pain. This is where Clown Doctor`s can help. They treat children in hospital with medicine of a different kind doses of fun and laughter.  Do you remember the movie “Patch Adams” based on the life story of Dr. Hunter “Patch” Adams who built the medical clinic based on philosophy of treating patients through humor and compassion. Patch is considered to be the father of clown doctors. Thirty-two years ago he put on a clown nose as he worked in hospitals.

 Clown doctors are not doctors they are perfessional who are specialized in humor, magical tricks, jokes and play to make people laugh. Clown doctors are professional performer not medical doctor. Many hospitals in USA, Canada, Europe and Israel operate clown doctor. India also its since past one –two year some hospital are started operating clown doctors in children’s ward specially address the psychosocial needs of the child in hospital in unique way. By parodying the hospital routine, the clown doctors help children feel less traumatized by the medical procedures. Children can forget their illness for a moment and return to a world of fantasy and play. It is hard to keep a sad face when the clown doctors come in. It is not only laughter that is important a smile, or a glimmer in eye, is also a special moment. As we also knows that laughing heal wound fast also help to cure fast because it releases hormones in the body which help to increase the immunity system.

Recently, Two clown  from Israel visited some hospital in Mumbai (India) like KEM, TMH. Two clowns named Hamutal Ende and Renana Ophir both went to KEM pediatrics ward children were lying on the bed due to operation, some children were crying as these clowns entered in the ward and started talking to children’s in aliens languages then suddenly the hospital ward filled with laugh of children`s . the Duo specializes in paediatric cases. Clown. Hamutal once dealt with a 12 years old girl suffering from cancer. Each day Hamutal told her stories and ask her to rate them on a scale of 10. When she liked them she gave them about seven. Otherwise, it was four or five. In her last days, when she was in coma, Hamutal narrated the story if a beautiful princes who was going away to another world. But in her coma she suddenly spoke and gave it a 9.5. Her mother couldn’t stop crying, Hamutal says.

I think all hospitals must think about how to change the environment of the hospital, how to make hospital a home out home. It is very important to give care, love and a smile on the face of patients.

     

Trade off Analysis for decision makers

Philip Kotler says, Trade-off analysis explores the cost of relaxing one goal in order to achieve another goal. Explaining the diagram he says when you are making decision you have to take care about all three (from diagram) points in the mind. One can’t make product or service by satisfying all three points. It is equally applicable for healthcare. You cannot give best quality care with lowering the cost and also giving total solution to your patient. Other example, if you are looking for best quality product then it will not come in low cost, or vice-verse. Similarly, if you are looking for total solution kind of product then and also in low cost then you have to compromise with the quality. Like china made product, we all knows, they produce cheap, and low cost product but in the term of quality you can’t say any things. Look at high end BMW cars they know for their best cars with good quality but you can`t get this car with very low cost.

You have to compromise at any point out of three to achieve other goal.

Mind your Head

I am not going to talk about mind here. I am going to give you a very simple tip on How to build a good relationship while listening to someone; it may your customer, patient or anyone.  Body language plays an important part in communication or building a relationship, although it is a non-verbal communication but it speaks a lot. 

How your head play an important role in communication?

Just tilting your head slightly when you are listening to your customer, patient, or anyone communicates that you are giving them your undivided attention. Tilting your head very slightly to one side comes across as friendly and ope.

Yes, you can try it.

Are you a Velcro Organization?

We all know hierarchical organization then concept came of Flat Organization which is less hierarchy, faster reaction, less formalities. Now a new kind of organizational structure is coming up that is “Velcro Organization” This term was coined by management guru Late Mr. C.K Prahalad. As we know the Velcro which is being used in many house hold product “easy to detach and easy to attach” this new Organization structure we can say vacillate from Hierarchical based to Flexible based structure of organization. The Velcro organization asks manager to shift their roles depending on the tasks they performing.

A “Velcro” organization provides a firm, clear connection for managers to work with when appropriate, but permit rapid shift in configuration so that manager can exploit different connections when those are needed. Like Velcro fasteners, the relationship should be tight when managers are in operation modes, but be capable of being loosened quickly for reassembly, when managers have to work in temporary groups on project, studies, or task like new business development with strategic horizons.  Ego probably comes when in a way of changing or shifting role. “Ad-hoc” management is always required in Velcro type organization.

In healthcare or hospital many time situation comes when one has to do lots of other role or work in multiple project or work in different department in association with different people. For example in case of patient transition from ICU to other department head nurse has to work with other department nurses. Other example when manager of the hospital work with marketing department or other department in formulating the strategies for upcoming services or project at that time one manager roles shift from their core responsibility to work with other department and again return to their own responsibility.

  

4 A’s approach in Healthcare Marketing

When hospital and healthcare thing about the new marketing strategies for their services, they must do it step wise process. Marketing executive must include Doctors when they formulate marketing strategies. How doctor play important part in marketing strategies? For example if your hospital want to do to marketing campaign for newly started heart centre, then doctor can easily tell you what would be your target segment. Doctor can tell you which age groups are mostly getting most heart problem so marketing person can define their market segment.  Then marketing person must rely on state health data, this data also helps you to formulate target positioning. Health Data can tell you the current health status of your area, like what kind of disease is prevailing in your area, what age group is mostly getting affected by disease so you can easily target your marketing campaign to that area so you will get maximum response.   

Combining the above concept you can now determine the 4 A’s approach.

Awareness: 

Your community must have full awareness about what is your hospital offering with this new marketing campaign. Hospital should use good source of media to reach target group or community. It can be any things like TV, radio, social media and road show etc.

Acceptable: 

 What you are offering in new services must be acceptable to your target people. Costing should be done in strategic manner so it can be accepted by the community or target audience. If possible hospital can give customize kind of services, like in case of dental services all person don’t need all dental procedure so you can customize it according to demand. Some services are only for high income group but not for low income group so your offering should be in such a way that all income groups can utilize it effectively.

Available:

What you are offering to target group must be acceptable and available at right time and right place. For example to if you are targeting in far flung area then you can tie-ups with the local clinic and physician for OPD facility for short period of time or for fix day visit for regular.

Affordable: 

Last approach is Affordable it tell that what you are offering must be acceptable, available and affordable to target group.  So, you target people can afford your service in case of out of pocket also. For example: some service in hospital can only be affordable by high income group but not to low income group.