Medical Staff

Hospitalist Program Weekly

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, January 4, 2006

1. MA teaching hospitals brush up on courtesy

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston) and Massassachusetts General Hospital-known for their world-class medical care-are striving to improve the way they deliver that care, according to an article dated December 28 in the Boston Globe.

The article reports that hospitals are paying renewed attention to courtesy and "customer service" in part because patients' expectations for service are rising and they are more likely to shop around for care. Another factor contributing to the trend is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' pledge to begin releasing results of patient satisfaction surveys from hospitals in 2007, enabling the public to see how patients ranked their hospital experience.

According to the article, convincing some hospital employees to improve their customer service skills is no easy task. However, at least one hospitral appears to have taken the hard line in bringing about change: When Beth Israel asked 13 receptionists at a call center that receives 1,500 calls a day to reapply for their jobs, only three members of the original group survived the cut.

To access the complete article, click here.

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2. NPR highlights growth of hospitalists

National Public Radio's Morning Edition on November 9 featured a story about the growth of hospital medicine, and interviewed Dave Knopfler, MD, a hospitalist at Overlake Medical Center in Bellevue, WA.

Knopfler said in the interview, "[I] frequently get asked questions by patients-'Where's my doctor?'-as soon as I walk in the door . . . I will stress the fact that their regular physician is the one who made the choice to have us care for their patients."

The interview also featured Dave Schumer, MD, a family practitioner from Auburn, WA. Schumer spoke about the negative side of the hospitalist model of care-primarily that patients must see "a stranger" each time they are hospitalized. "[Hospitalists are] nice people, but they don't have the relationships with patients [that primary physicians do]," he said.

The story also asserted that it is not yet clear how families and patients feel about the hospitalist trend but that acceptance is growing, evidenced by the fact that more and more physicians are using hospitalists' services.

To access the full interview transcript, click here.

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3. Keep an eye on colleagues' health

With 10-15% of all healthcare professionals misusing drugs at some time in their careers, the statistics on drug abuse by these professionals seem to show a pattern similar to the general population, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians (www.aafp.org).

In addition, because people are reluctant to discuss the problem, the extent of drug abuse by healthcare workers is hard to evaluate. The following signs-excerpted from HCPro's online course, "Patient Safety for Health Care Staff: Keeping your facility safe and sound," may signal that someone is abusing narcotics. Remember that individuals can exhibit these signs and not be abusing narcotics:

Any time you or your colleagues are visibly impaired, whether from fatigue or possible abuse, report it immediately to your supervisor or the patient safety contact. If you have concern about a physician in your organization, contact your state medical society's physician health program (all states have one). In addition, every Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization-accredited hospital should have a physician health program as part of its standards.

For additional information on addiction treatment, visit the Addiction Recovery Institute Web site at www.detox24.com or call 212/223-3600. For more information on HCPro's online courses, go to www.hcprofessor.com.

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