Give the People What They Want

People in my industry are always striving to do a better job of putting patients first. Urgent care centers are probably the most successful example of customer service in action in medicine. The centers can't replace ERs, which are equipped to handle real medical emergencies.  Nor should they replace primary care doctors, who focus more on continuity of care, especially for chronic conditions. But urgent cares are now well-recognized as being an essential part of the health care system.

And so, it is no wonder that over the past several years the number of urgent care facilities, including for-profit chains, clinics inside drug stores and box store chains as well as hospital and physician group operated facilities, has dramatically increased. In fact, according to the Urgent Care Association of America, between 300 and 600 facilities are anticipated to open this year across the country, bringing the total of these types of centers to more than 7,000. For the sake of transparency, Jupiter Medical Center will soon have a total of four urgent care centers in Palm Beach County, with more being planned. Given the shifts in our industry, we consider urgent care facilities an integral component of our health care delivery model.

The popularity of this type of care is driven by patient preference. They are conveniently located with hours that extend past the normal 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule, the wait times tend to be modest and the prices are affordable. And for straight forward medical treatment - from strep throat to sprained ankles - the quality of care is strong.

The success and proliferation of urgent care facilities represents a dramatic sea change in the delivery of health care across our country. I believe their popularity is directly tied to the fact that they represent the health care industry’s first foray into delivering retail based care –care that is designed specifically for and with the health care consumer in mind. Simply put, these types of facilities are speaking and marketing to the two basic needs and wants of the consumer— convenience and affordability.

As patients continue to take a more active role in selecting their health care choices, pay for a greater percentage of their health care, and manage their health care spending accounts, they will continue to evolve into more savvy health care consumers. With this reality, along with the demand for providers to keep cost down by insurance companies, the retail or consumer model of health care delivery will continue to grow. In fact, urgent care health care delivery (which is now a $16 billion a year industry), is expected to grow about 3.5 percent a year for the next decade. This will make it one of the fastest-growing segments of the health care system according to IBIS World, a market research firm.

And so for us to remain competitive, we need to embrace this change and prepare for the dramatic rise in outpatient service and look to the retail model as a way to provide high-quality, affordable and convenient service. More importantly, we need to tailor and expand these services to the specific needs and desires of the health care consumer in our own communities. For example, at our facilities here in Palm Beach County, we will not only offer care for minor injuries and illnesses, but provide additional services like routine physicals, and dispense vaccines (including travel-related vaccines and information). We will offer access to laboratory and basic x-ray services where images are read in real-time by board-certified radiologists.

Finally, as we live in a highly active community with an increased demand for rehabilitation services, we will offer physical therapy on-site. This will provide consumers with a convenient “one-stop-shop” for evaluation and treatment of injuries.

Simply put, we need to offer our patients what they want and when and how they want it.

Courage Starts at Home

In my most recent post, Where We All Lead, I talked about the practice of Transformational Leadership and how it can be highly effective when working with a team to deliver the highest quality goods and services. As I mentioned, practicing Transformational Leadership requires one to be courageous. I want to expand on that idea of courage and talk in greater depth about what it means to be courageous in the workplace and how to put that into practice.

So what does it mean to be courageous? Is it, standing up in a room full of fellow team members and simply saying what you think regardless of what others might think or feel? Not exactly. There will be times, yes, when you will have to deliver the unpopular news, but being courageous is much more than that. Possessing and, more importantly, implementing courageous practice is the willingness to be personally accountable for all that you do and all that you ask of others.

To practice courage, you must be:

• Open to taking personal inventory on a regular basis by looking at yourself and asking: What am I bringing to the table? How can I give more and do better?
• Actively seeking feedback especially from your toughest critics and more importantly, hearing it.
• Taking frequent stock in all aspects of your business, of what is working, and reflect on how it can be improved.
• Taking responsibility for the missteps and crediting others for the successes.
• Being willing to have the tough conversations—with yourself, with your team members, with your clients and with your stakeholders.
• Leading by example—don’t be afraid to have people look to you.

By doing these things, you will build a foundation of respect and honesty with and within your team, allowing for greater loyalty and productivity. And hopefully, it will make the tough calls a bit easier to make and the successes even sweeter to share.

Where We All Lead

In my blog post of last week, Culture Trumps Strategy, I mentioned that soon after joining Jupiter Medical Center, all team members engage in a three-day training seminar in Relationship-Based Care. One of the key focuses of this invaluable training is transformational leadership. This work is designed to not only strengthen team members’ leadership skills but to build a cohesive team that can deliver the highest quality care.

Transformational leadership is a style of leadership where managers work collectively with fellow team members to identify a change or goal and create and execute a plan to work through the change or achieve that goal. Transformational leadership enhances the performance, morale and motivation of all team members by encouraging everyone to take ownership for their work. It also enables team members to serve as a role model for their colleagues and helps them understand and harness the strengths of fellow team members while working on areas that need improvement.

At Jupiter Medical Center, my primary mission - and that of my team - is to deliver world-class quality-based health care. That is our collective goal every day. In order to be successful, I work to practice transformational leadership by inspiring my colleagues with the work we do. That means empowering them all to be leaders among their fellow co-workers, caring about them as people first and helping them succeed in all they do. I also encourage and support my colleagues to do the same.

Performing transformational leadership is also about being courageous. And by being courageous, I mean standing up and actively serving as a professional role model for others. For me, this is leading by example, as well as being authentic and honest with everyone you work with and come in contact with.

This practice of transformational leadership has helped Jupiter Medical Center to be a great place to work and has allowed us to hold on to fantastic team members. It has also improved the experience that our patients and visitors have from the moment they enter our doors as well as strengthened the way we work with our doctors and other medical professionals.

By fostering an environment and developing a culture where we all lead together we have developed a road map for long-term success.