The healthcare technology company ESO is hosting the WAVE 2016 conference November 17-18 in Austin, TX to provide a venue to discuss healthcare interoperability, trends, data management, and the future of the healthcare industry. The company has invited Pulsara's founder and CEO, Dr. James Woodson, to speak at WAVE 2016. The Emergency Physician-turned-CEO will present about where healthcare communications and data to intersect.
When it comes to communication in healthcare, do you ever feel like you're playing a game of "telephone?"
One of the most challenging aspects of living in the technological age is the speed of change. There was once a day when the person armed with the most knowledge and information had the upper hand. That's not the case in today's world. Instead, the person or company that can rapidly learn and adjust to changing trends, information, and technology will now lead the pack. Your ability to adapt to a rapidly changing world will be the one skill that separates you from your competition.
Whew. Are you feeling the pressures of the fall season already, or is it just me? Maybe it's the after-effects of all the hustle and bustle that comes with summer (road trips, family reunions, a constant stream of company at our house) or maybe it's the beginning of school for the kiddos plus a renewed focus at work that drives my to-do list ever longer. Probably it's a combination of all of that, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who is feeling the strain of an incredibly busy life right now.
"If you delegate tasks, you are creating followers. If you delegate authority, you are developing leaders." - Andy Stanley
Delegation is one of the best-kept secrets of the world's most productive leaders. There's nothing inherently difficult about delegation -- and it can be applied in any industry -- so why don't you do it more?
I bet I have some idea why. Here's my guess at three reasons you don't delegate:
What opportunities are hospitals missing out on due to their attitudes about risk? I have worked in the hospital setting since I was 20 years old (which was ... many .... years ago). Sure, I’ve had some frustrations when it comes to the inability to get things done, but I think we’ve all been there at one time or another. Now that I work with hospitals, rather than in them, it has become clear where the root of some of these challenges lie. Let’s look deeper at one issue I see at almost every hospital I visit.
How do you solve care management problems at your hospital?
I think that's a fair question. I was talking with a nurse from reputable a STEMI receiving center just a few days ago, and he told me "our times are amazing!" In my role, anytime I hear that it makes me ask lots of questions. I want to learn what the leading hospitals are doing to solve the problems that we all face.
Alexander Pope once said “To err is human.” If we are honest with ourselves, we know this is true. I’ve made my share of mistakes and I know that I have hundreds more left in me. However, it seems that our culture - both at work and at home - have so heavily stigmatized being wrong or failing or making a mistake, that people are now either too afraid to take risks or are afraid to admit when that have made a mistake.
What does this look like in your house with your significant other and/or children? What about at work? Is it okay to make a mistake? I think we’ve all worked for that boss or supervisor who found their pleasure from making an example of anyone who made a mistake. I remember this most in baseball when I was in high school. It was as if the coach was waiting for us to swing at a bad pitch or boot a ground ball. He had a couple of funny yet humiliating sayings. When it was a bad throw, it was “million dollar play and a dime throw.” When it was a particularly bad mistake, he would tell us to "join the circus.”
I have a friend who once found himself in a very tricky and uncomfortable situation at work. He had knowledge that his direct supervisor was stealing inventory. He saw this happen with his own eyes, and it ate away at him. But Corey knew that saying something could get him in hot water … possibly even fired. Corey learned the hard way that knowing the truth unfortunately can set you free ... he eventually spoke up and was fired.
What do car-phones, pagers, Nintendo, and Sony Discman all have in common? They were the top contenders for the hottest gadgets of 1985. You read that right-1985, as in over 30 YEARS ago! While cell phones quickly displaced car-phones and pagers in the 1990s, it seems the world of healthcare never received the memo...
EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to our guest blogger, Dr. Jeff McWilliams. Dr. McWilliams is an Emergency Physician, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Director of Customer Service at Leading Edge Medical Associates. He is also a thought leader in the realms of healthcare and servitude and his thoughts on effecting change in the world one individual at a time can be read on his blog, Advocates of Excellence. Enjoy!
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What is customer service in healthcare? Who defines it? Better yet who propagates and sustains it? Over the years I have been involved in this industry, I've been searching for the next best process, “key words” to excite and motivate my team, or other "secret weapons" of employee engagement.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Miles Sorlie for writing today's blog post. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.
As a soon-to-be graduate with a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science, I am coming to realize what life will be like after school. It's crazy to think that I have been in school for sixteen straight years and will soon suddenly be dropped off on the curb of society. Well, not exactly dropped off, I hope it will be more graceful than that. Senior year has been quite the journey, and my time at Pulsara has eased me into the "real world," teaching me about software development, business, and teamwork.
“Nobody plays. Yourself included. I’m supposed to wear myself out for the team? What team? Nah, nah what I’m gonna do is look out for myself and get mine.”
“See man, that’s the worst attitude I ever heard.”
“Attitude reflects leadership…captain.”
These words were spoken by actors portraying Julius Campbell and Gerry Bertier on the football team in Remember the Titans, however, these could very easily be words spoken in regards to struggling Stroke Teams around the nation.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Alison Bruns for writing today's blog post. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.
The importance of maintaining company culture, teamwork & recognition in a telecommuting, multi-state company.
As a Human Resources professional, I constantly have company culture and employee engagement in the forefront of my brain. Are we doing enough to make sure our employees love working here? Do they feel engaged and included in the team?
In a more traditional business setup with brick and mortar locations and employees working 8:00a-5:00pm in office, it is often easier to gauge these crucial metrics as the ability to physically get ‘a feel’ for the energy is possible in such a setting. And though perhaps a bit more effortful, in a company with several remote employees across many states, it is still very possible to not only maintain, but also foster a strong company culture full of employees that truly feel like part of the team.
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” – William James
Most employees are asked to self-manage to a significant degree, to use their intelligence and experience to direct their work to accomplish important organizational purposes. This is how many of today’s workers give value to what they are doing by improvising, problem solving and innovating under stressful conditions to meet customers’ and business needs. [1]
You’ve probably heard it said before that failure is inevitable, and of course that is true. No one of us is immune to failure. But, as much as failure is a normal part of everyday life, it’s important to know that you don’t have to stay there. Failure is normal, but being stuck in failure shouldn’t be. The following are culprits I’ve found to be shared among people or institutions who feel stuck in a pattern of failure.
We live in a world of constant stimulation, of more is more, and, as a result, of multitasking. Most of us think we’re pretty good at multitasking, and greatly overestimate our proficiency at doing two or more tasks at once. I think I’m better at multitasking than most, but I guarantee that if my wife reads this she will bust a gut laughing … I can’t even listen to her with the TV on. I’m not alone here, am I?
Which is more important?
What you do.
How you do it.
OR ...
Why you do it?
In medicine, what we do makes a difference. The world of evidence-based medicine dictates our practice. When we have certain outcomes we’re not happy with, those outcomes prompt changes in protocol. Those protocol changes are implemented, and we then measure the difference.
Somewhere, sometime, a consultant met with your hospital leadership team and began the process of strategic planning. From there, you developed a vision, mission, purpose, core values and all that jazz. Unfortunately, for most hospitals, this is just rhetoric and jargon. I’m sure that at some level the leaders within the hospital make decisions based off of these “values,” but it seldom permeates in a meaningful way to the people who are providing care for patients.
"A nurse should have fewer patients in order to provide the best possible care, and that care should not [include] caring for the EHR ... we need better technolgy to bind us together."
