Manufacturing Consent

Foxnews reports “Russian police say they have discovered the body of a local politician reported missing last week, in a barrel of cement in a garage near Moscow. Another politician has been accused of ordering the murder, over an $80 million debt.”  So, we’ve got that going for us.

This weekend I caught a bit of NPR’s “Wait, wait don’t tell me.”  One of the guests was Al Gore.  Oscar winner, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, a Tony, and an Emmy. The host neglected to point out that Mr. Gore, former vice president of the United States and Internet founder is standing in line to cash a check for one hundred million dollars from Al Qaeda’s (Al Jazeera’s)—you say potato I say potahto.  I know I promised not to cross the line, but that is why you read this and not some missive from the CMS.

What does it mean if when you Google a topic all of the hits to that topic link to you?  It may not mean much if the topic you Googled is “sliding revolving doors.”  But what if the topic has slightly more potiential.

I Googled—v. past tense of Google—the term “Family Experience Management” and every returned URL is to something about which I wrote.  Just so you know, the groundswell begins today.

Perhaps before we get too carried away we should define Family Experience Management (FEM).  FEM is the set of interactions a “family” of a patient has regarding a family member’s interaction with various components of the healthcare system; providers, payors, pharmacies, Medicare.  It is the superset of interactions for patient experience management (PEM).

Most PEM efforts I have studied are like shutting the barn door after the horses get out.  I happen to think there is much greater value in stopping the processes that have led the way to opening the barn door in the first place.

There is reality and there is perception, and with regard to PEM, rarely the two shall meet.  Some things are just true, perception be damned.  That is why what is right should always supplant who is right.  That a majority of people within any given organization have the objectivity of an insider is why the top two prevailing business rules are ‘we can’t do that’ and ‘that will not work.’

A little dissent can be a healthy thing.  Or not. 

One of my favorite axioms is ‘You don’t ask directions from somebody who has never been where you’re going.’

I am a fan of a good adage, so let us try this one on for size.  A hospital executive falls into a hole—the ‘w’ is silent.  Someone from CMS walks by and the man in the hole hollers, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get out.”  The CMS acolyte tosses down a check, and the man replies, “What is this?”

“That’s some of the ARRA Meaningful Use Lottery. We’ve got tons of it that nobody is going to collect.

An hour later a seven sigma guru passes by.  The man in the hole hollers, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get out.”  Seven Sigma man tosses him a set of workflows and a stop watch and departs.

Days later a consultant happens along.  Recognizing the man’s plight the consultant hops into the hole.

“Why did you do that?” Queries the man.  “Now we are both stuck.”

“No worries,” says the consultant.  “I’ve been down here before and I know the way out.”

Sometimes, perhaps way too often, we get trapped by our own thinking.  By the misguided belief that we already know the correct solution, or we know that the one being proposed will never work.  This is like having my son telling me he does not like broccoli even though he has never tried broccoli. 

We get caught up in the notion that we already have a vision of how we want the world to be and we are willing to do anything to make the world conform to our vision.  We limit ourselves to the possible, to what has already been done.  If however, we limit ourselves to the possible, how does progress happen?

We need to be saved from the shortsighted politicalization of our own intelligence; progresses’ Catch-22.  Once everyone thinks they are thinking out-of-the-box, are they really, or have they simply moved the box.  Sometimes it is best to be the person advocating for coloring outside of the lines.

Patient Experience Management can benefit greatly if only a handful of people began to color outside of the lines.  This link is to a presentation of mine on SlideShare I have given on how to improve patient experience management, something I also call Patient Equity Management. 

You can download it or use a yellow highlighter to help you recall the tasty bits.

I welcome your thoughts, especially learning why you may think I may be all wet.

Thanks Al for making file sharing possible.