“Success will hinge on squeezing the most value out of new and current relationships, impending health reform and regulatory changes, and consumer demands.”
Top 10 Health Industry Issues for 2010, PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute
I like this quote. It sums up the vast pressure points in the healthcare industry in one sentence. What I don’t like is the ominous sentiment. Of course, it is not just PricewaterhouseCoopers that takes that warning tone. You can open just about any trade journal and find looming doom and gloom advisories. All of this is fine as long as the warning creates positive action versus paralytic analysis and no-action. Dissecting the quote further makes me consider what is controllable?
You can be a voice in the continuing healthcare reform issues, but your solitary efforts are not likely to foment change in the exact manner you prefer. But what about consumer demands? There is a rushing tide of changing American consumers especially when it concerns healthcare demands. Consumers are more informed, more connected, and more emboldened. Control elements center on the consumer and not on the provider. While it is essential to be tuned in to the healthcare consumer and to provide services they seek, there is little that can be done to alter the changing nature of our consumers.
The only part of the quote that we can effectively engage is the first part about relationships: squeezing the most value out of new and existing relationships. The word “squeezing” implies that we have already pressed our relationships and there is not much left to attain. This is a point of consideration – where do relationships stand with our patients, our referral sources – our consumers?
Have we squeezed the value? Is there more that can be done? As you face the new year and the new decade, why not create a new focus, call it what you will, but put your energies into those consumer relationships: maybe not to squeeze them of value but to enhance them with an outward and invigorated attention. See your practice, your habits, and your organization through the eyes of your consumers. To get you started, here are five push points that merit careful consideration and most likely some adjustments as you work to create more value in those important relationships:
- Do you treat all of your consumers the same?
- How does your service treat your consumer differently that your competition’s?
- How high is your satisfaction bar for the patient experience?
- How well do you employ technology to assist you in developing your consumer relationships?
- Literally sample your workflow through the eyes of your consumer (patient or referring physician), what adjustments can be made to signal your consumer that you are working to better the relationship?
Tags: planning, relationship development
