Becker's Hospital Review

Save the date! Becker's Hospital Review 6th Annual Meeting — May 7-9, 2015 — Chicago. Please call 800-417-2035 to register. 18 For example, physicians might focus on tightening patient care options to reduce overtreatment, and hospital administrators might initiate projects to boost efficiency of operational processes. "People who become good at [finding and getting rid of waste], people who are vigilant with this can really have a lot of impact in their organization," Mr. Belokrinitsky continues. "It's contagious. It's very empowering. Teaching people the tools and techniques for mining waste and getting rid of it and making care more patient-centric tends to be very empowering for every- body as a whole." Treat patients like the people they are. Healthcare is riddled with data. Patient data, structured and unstructured EMR data, financial data, popula- tion health data. Even diagnostic and reimbursement codes are a series of numbers and letters, a quantitative approach to a qualitative experience. But healthcare is about caring for people, not caring for ICD-9 codes, and that means taking into consideration the parts of life that happen outside of hospital walls. "Part of it is being able to engage the patient and see them as an entire person as opposed to just a disease or a set of symptoms," Mr. Belokrinitsky says. "[There's a sense of] 'This thing is broken, so let's fix it,' as opposed to, 'Here's a human being who might be going through a divorce or bankruptcy and has anger management issues and is overweight and lives in a food desert.'" What's more, those in healthcare need to have a sense of cultural literacy and be attuned to cultural difference, both geographically and generationally, that can affect a patient's understanding of care. "People from different cultures have different norms for how they commu- nicate the level of pain, how assertive they are, how much they see a provider of care as a figure of authority," says Mr. Belokrinitsky. "It is quite challenging because it becomes not about treating the condition and more about treat- ing the human. And what is the best way to engage that particular human?" Commit to be fit. Before a plane takes off, flight attendants go through their safety demonstration. In the event of a pressure change in the cabin, yel- low oxygen masks descend from the ceiling. "Be sure to affix your own mask before assisting others," flight attendants advise. To effectively help others, you first have to help yourself. Patients, and perhaps even other employees, are less inclined to follow leaders if they do not embody the principles or ideals that they preach. The urban legend floats around the healthcare industry of the overweight physician who tells the overweight patient he needs to lose weight. Why should the patient listen to the person who doesn't practice what he prescribes? The relationship between physicians and patients is highly personal, upheld by significant trust, respect and credibility. If patients can't or don't trust their physicians, their inclinations to follow treatments may bottom out. The same extends to employees and executive leadership. How can executive leaders rally their teams around population health improvement projects and then smoke a pack a day? "The wellness focus in healthcare extends to a leader's role as an ambassador," says Dr. Noland. "Leaders need to embody that commitment to professional growth and personal wellness. Leaders committing to their own personal health and their professional growth can be great role models." Get a flu shot. In a similar vein to leading by example, flu shots are in- disputably one of the most effective infection prevention tools in health- care today. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates more than 200,000 people will be hospitalized for flu-related complica- tions every year. Children younger than 2 and adults over 65 have higher susceptibility to the flu, and death becomes a higher risk when such pa- tients are already immunocompromised in the hospital. The CDC recom- mends all healthcare professionals receive a yearly flu shot to protect both themselves and their patients. What's more, a recent study from California public health data from 2009- 2012 finds for every 15 healthcare providers who receive a flu shot, there is one fewer case of the flu in the community. It's a triple win: self-protection, protection of others and a boost to population health. Do humanitarian work to revitalize your foundation. When work- ing in multibillion dollar academic medical centers or running huge nonprofit and for-profit organizations, the foundation of healthcare can get lost in the shuffle of accreditation surveys, reimbursement changes, physician-integration discussions and provider competition. While all of these processes are impor- tant or necessary to running an organization, what is equally important is for individuals to remember why they want to be in healthcare in the first place. "In thinking how we evolved, both as an individual as well as an executive who is trying to transform their healthcare organization, it's important not to lose their foundation, which is the reason why they got into healthcare in the first place — to help people, improve health and to heal," Mr. Belokrinitsky says. Participating in humanitarian work — international or domestic — may help serve as a reminder of the very reasons healthcare workers do what they do. If you've forgotten, work with people who simply need care. Amidst the numerous pressures of the industry, the core reason why most healthcare workers are there is to commit to the patient and demonstrate hu- man compassion. This foundation, Mr. Belokrinitsky says, is palpable. "It makes healthcare a very special industry, unlike any other," he says. "You really feel it when you go into certain hospitals…. People dedicate their whole life to this compassionate care, this personalized care. It's important not to lose that." n For more information, call 425-657-0494 or visit our website at www.eveia.com Eveia's Clients: · Ambulatory Surgery Centers · Surgical Hospitals · Health Systems · Physician Practices · Anesthesiologists Provider Business Services Optimizing opportunity Provider Contracting Services Reimbursement experts Operations Compliance & Consulting Services Preparing for excellence

• Cover