Author: Burl Stamp

medical staff in a team meeting with stamp & chase

Three Messages Your Staff Want and Need to Hear Most

Whether you are a senior executive, middle manager or frontline staff member, health care seems to get more complicated every day. Endless regulations, increasing financial challenges, pressures to guarantee quality and safety. And now, the uncertainty of health care reform. But while the issues become increasingly complex, the communication frontline health care professionals need most from managers arguably becomes more straightforward, focused and— perhaps counterintuitively— basic as times get more complicated. Think about frontline employees’ most fundamental concerns. Do you appreciate my work, especially in light of the stress I’m often under? Have you helped me understand important issues and our responses to them? Do you care about my feelings on subjects and circumstances that really matter to me? Staff members understand that times are

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medical staff at stamp & chase communicating with patient

Effective Leadership Communication: How to diminish the “F” factors that discourage employees from speaking freely

In a recent blog post titled, “Are Exit Interviews a Waste of Time?” I shared the observations of the chief human resources officer of a large, international corporation. He pointed out that employees heading out the door rarely are open about all of the true reasons for leaving because they fear burning bridges. The article “Can Your Employees Really Speak Freely?” from the January-February 2016 issue of the Harvard Business Review provides a thoughtful, research-based assessment of what encourages and inhibits open communication and construction feedback in organizations. Authors James R. Detert and Ethan R. Burris convincingly described the two “F” factors that are usually at the heart of employees’ reluctance to speak up: Fear and Futility. While Detert and Burris offer helpful perspectives on

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nurse helping patient feel better graphic from stamp & chase

Competing Shortages: Is One Fix Contributing to a Bigger Problem for Nursing?

For more than 20 years, the looming caregiver shortages in primary care medicine and nursing have been well documented. In its study on workforce supply and demand projections released in November, 2016, the National Center for Healthcare Workforce Analysis of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stated: “Under current workforce utilization and care delivery patterns, the 2025 demand for primary care physicians is projected to exceed supply at the national level.” (See Chart.) Following this ominous yet not unexpected finding, the study goes on to point out: “With delivery system changes and full utilization of NP and PA services, the projected shortage of 23,640 FTEs can be effectively mitigated.” In fact, the study goes on to reveal that if current trends continue, the

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inside doctors office graphic from stamp and chase

One simple question can reveal the underlying culture in a physician’s office

For the sixth time, I recently facilitated the annual Executive Dialogue of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development of the American Hospital Association. The unique format of the conference features presentations by three nationally-renowned speakers followed by facilitated dialogue with the audience of senior healthcare strategy executives. Speaking to the program theme of “leading change,” Peter Fine, president & CEO of Phoenix-based Banner Health, talked not only about the organization-wide, big-picture, strategic opportunities for leading change, but also the very personal, day-to-day occasions health leaders have to change the way our patients experience care. He focused many of his remarks on the front-end of the care experience in physicians’ offices and other ambulatory settings, suggesting one straightforward question can provide the greatest insight

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What we can learn from Coach K about patient experience accountability

I never thought I’d be writing a blog post under this headline. With a wife who is a die-hard Kansas Jayhawk and a son who is a loyal Indiana Hoosier, admitting that I could learn anything from Duke Blue Devils Coach Mike Krzyzewski is unthinkable in my house. Applying a lesson from college basketball to patient experience strategy seems even more improbable. But in December when Coach K suspended guard Grayson Allen indefinitely after he tripped an opposing player, his decision made me think about how well we as leaders in healthcare organizations hold every member of our team accountable for the impact their behaviors have on patients’ experiences. First, a bit of background. If you are not a college basketball fan, the central incident

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executive interviewing woman graphic from stamp & chase

Are exit interviews a waste of time?

Several months ago in a conversation with a senior human resources executive from a very large, international corporation, he made a provocative statement that initially surprised me. “We’ve stopped doing exit interviews because we’ve found they’re a waste of time,” he said matter-of-factly. His rationale, backed up by conversations with individuals who had left his firm and many others, is that no one wants to burn bridges. They insist that they are leaving because the new opportunity is simply too good to pass up and that it has nothing to do with their experience with the company or their manager. In other words, it is a version of the classic break-up strategy which asserts that, “this is all about me, not about you.” As I

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roadsigns graphic from stamp & chase

Want better patient engagement? Help families make better decisions.

Over the past several months, I’ve personally had a front-row seat to a very real, very complex health care decision-making process: my wife is facing major spine surgery. Plagued by chronic back pain for years, she has managed the condition through a combination of exercise, physical therapy, chiropractic care and over-the-counter medications. But when her trusted physical therapist said, “It’s time to think about surgery,” her world changed overnight. Traditional thinking in health care would argue that no one belongs in the middle of a complex decision between a patient and her physician. But the reality is that after finding an orthopedic surgeon who was highly competent, experienced and specialized in spine surgery, her brief discussion with him had limited impact on her decision of

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US army man with dog on leash

“Loyalty is everything!”

Loyalty. Such a noble trait that we seek and deeply value in our closest friends, family members and colleagues at work. When used in a business context, it is usually preceded by “customer” and is a primary goal of the marketing strategist. But it wasn’t a marketing strategist who proclaimed “loyalty is everything” for health care providers earlier this year at the Executive Dialogue sponsored by the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development. Michael Modic, MD, Chief Clinical Transformation Officer for the Cleveland Clinic, passionately left participants with this advice at the close of the two-day program focused on breakthrough ideas to transform health care. Loyalty is an interesting concept to consider when thinking about the relationship between a patient and his or her

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silver bullet from stamp & chase

The dangers of pursuing the “silver bullet”

Occasionally we update and repost a favorite commentary from the past. This post originally appeared in 2012. In her remarks at the ninth annual World Congress on Health Care, Shari M. Ling, MD, deputy chief medical officer of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wisely pointed out that there is “no silver bullet” to achieve better value. Dr. Ling emphasized, “When we start to talk about value, that discussion is really formulated on the foundation of quality.” Given the daunting challenges and demands health care leadership teams face to increase quality while reducing costs, it is easy to see why looking for the “silver bullet” is so tempting. I still get asked by some accomplished, experienced health care leaders, “Isn’t there something simple we can

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Making it personal

One of the most rewarding aspects of working with diverse healthcare organizations across the country is the opportunity to learn from so many talented, dedicated professionals. The insights and inspirations I witness are personally gratifying – and enormously beneficial to the other client organizations I work with. Recently I had the good fortune to meet and learn from Pedro Ceniza, RN, a dedicated assistant director of nursing at Jacobi Medical Center in The Bronx. I was rounding with Mr. Ceniza during the evening/night shift to identify and better understand some of the unique struggles and opportunities to improve the patient experience on the third “tour.” The best practice I observed had nothing to do with the night tour specifically. As we rounded on the seven

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