Becker's Hospital Review

71 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT THOUGHT LEADERSHIP One of the most important pieces of this is emotional intelligence and how to be diplomatic in your communications, especially those involv- ing a translator. Translation is not always translation. When trying to work with someone who doesn't speak your language, you always need to ensure whoever is translating says it back to you first before they pro- vide information to the person who doesn't speak the language. You must be conscientious of that — look at the verbal cues of the person you're working with, or nonverbal behaviors, and quickly realize that maybe something is incorrect in translation. Finally, I can tell you that UPMC always practices accountable medicine and the best of quality and safety, but we can't go into our international partner hospitals like we know it all. We have to be modest in our ap- proach. We must be firm about some things, but we can't go in as, "Poor you, you don't know how to do this," or, "Your care is not as good as what we provide at UPMC." We have to go in and be able to work with them and communicate some of the changes that might come out of our relationship with that hospital. I'm always humbled by how much I learn from the country we are working with. Q: Let's stay with that last thought for a moment. Can you share an example? TM: When the first group came from China to UPMC East, they approached me about their schedule, and I asked what time they prefer lunch. ey needed 30 minutes for lunch and another 30 to 60 to nap. I asked, "Did you say nap? As in sleep?" Yes, they said — they are ac- customed to taking a nap in the morning, midday or aer lunch, then working aer that and feeling much more productive. So we put time for naps into their schedule, because that's what worked for them. When I traveled to China aer that, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., my col- leagues and I would walk about a mile back to our hotel while our col- leagues took naps. We used that time to do a PowerPoint or work on an education system they asked for. One day I thought, I'm going to take a nap. I did that for 5 days in a row, taking a 30-minute nap. Aerward, I was energized and ready to run back to the hospital when it was time to go. Q: Have you noticed any differences in how care teams in Ireland, Italy, China or Kazakhstan view the patient- provider relationship as compared to how we do so here in the States? TM: In the U.S. we sometimes look at patient experience as one of the most important things behind quality and safety, because it's the right thing to do, but also because it's linked to reimbursement. I never look at it as a reimbursement issue. But the bottom line is that patient experience is part of pay for performance. In other countries, that doesn't exist. But what I'm seeing is every one of [the] countries we go to, they want their residents and people to stay within their country and seek medical care. ey want to develop the experience a person may feel when they come to the U.S. or somewhere else for their care, but their goal is to keep them there at home. Q: OK, have to ask — best tip to beat jet lag? TM: Pack light and be careful what you have to drag around from one airport to another. Also, take advantage of sleeping on the plane. If you like to watch movies, a little bit's OK, but I do best if I take some type of nap. When I arrive, I feel much better, regardless of the time zone where we are landing. n Better Care. Bolder Approach. Smarter Technology. MOST INNOVATIVE PRODUCT Contact us today to schedule a tour of MedModular, visit eirhealthcare.com or email info@eirhealthcare.com EIR-014_Beckers-Hospital-ad_v2.indd 1 9/26/19 11:58 AM

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