January 2006 Newsletter

A. Woodward & Associates Launches New Website!

You are invited to visit our new company website: www.anitawoodward.com. You will find relevant healthcare news, links that might be helpful, and information about our company and our services. Some of our past newsletters are archived on the site, as well.

We invite your input into this site. What other information would be helpful to you? Please let us know what you think of the site, and how we can enhance it to make it more useful to you.
 


 

We have a new email address, too -- please mark your records. With a new year and a new website, we are also launching a new, easier to use and remember email address: anita@anitawoodward.com.

 

Service Recovery:
Why You Should Implement a System This Year
and How To Get Started

The term Service Recovery has come to be used in healthcare circles to refer to a process where front line staff members take responsibility for noticing when patients or families are upset, and then act immediately to fix the problem and "recover" the patient's goodwill and loyalty.

While most hospitals have a Patient Representative or Ombudsman to handle patient complaints, most do not yet have effective Service Recovery systems in place. Your Patient Representative may be able to help launch a Service Recovery initiative, and should certainly be involved in designing and developing the process.

Why Spend Time on Service Recovery?

Why should you implement Service Recovery? By definition, Service Recovery means you recover the satisfaction and goodwill of the patient at the time of service. Here are just a few of the reasons why that is important:

  • Satisfied customers (patients or families) are more likely to return to your facility.
     
  • People who take the time to share their complaint really want it resolved, and trust that you will care enough to want to resolve it.
     
  • Research show that customers who have complaints that are resolved quickly are more loyal to your organization than customers who have not had a complaint.
     
  • Patients who go away unhappy tell an average of 10-15 people! That's a lot of negative word-of-mouth advertising.
     
  • CMS Conditions of Participation mandate that complaints not resolved "immediately, by staff present" become "grievances." CMS rules for handling grievances are cumbersome and require each grievance receive a written response. This is not only very time-consuming, but has risk management implications. (See the October, 2005 issue of our newsletter for more information on this topic, or contact us at anita@anitawoodward.com.)
How To Get Started

Here are some tips that will help you get started with a Service Recovery system that will work well for you.
 

  1. Decide how (and how much) you will empower front line employees to handle complaints, including the process you want them to use. Will they be encouraged to do whatever it takes to satisfy a patient? If not, what limits do you want to set? How will they be expected to approach a patient/family member who seems upset? (See some sample models below for help.)
     
  2. Determine what form of documentation you want. Make it as easy for staff to use as possible. Develop forms (computer or paper) that capture the information you want.
     
  3. Create toolkits for staff members. In them, have sample scripts they can use, lists of ideas for handling different types of issues, and actual tangible items they can give patients when it is appropriate. Items include candy bars, teddy bears, magazines, gift certificates for coffee bar, gas stations, restaurants, movies, and your hospital gift shop! Experience shows us that you need not fear employees will "give away the store."
     
  4. Determine how management will support and reward employees when they do try this new behavior. This step will make or break the success of your Service Recovery efforts.
     
  5. Train employees. Make it interactive and fun, give them plenty of time to practice, and be sure managers are also trained, so they can coach and support staff.
Sample Models

A number of models have been developed. Four examples are listed below. The model you use should include all the steps that you think are important. You can create your own model to be sure it reflects your priorities.

  • LAST - Listen, Apologize, Solve Problem, and Thank [patient for giving you opportunity to improve]
     
  • HEAT – Hear them out, Empathize, Apologize, Take Responsibility [for solving problem]
     
  • HEART – Hear the Patient, Empathize, Apologize, Respond, Thank (Developed by Carol Santalucia, Director of World Class Service, Nursing Division, Cleveland Clinic Foundation)
     
  • 4 A’s – Anticipate [and correct problems before they annoy patients], Acknowledge Mistakes [without placing blame], Apologize, Make Amends.

 
The Role of Your Patient Representative

Your Patient Representative should be available to coach staff when they are dealing with patient complaints. The Patient Rep may be able to offer advice on what to say, how to say it, or what some options for resolution might be. If your Service Recovery system includes staff documenting complaints they handle, the Patient Rep can receive this data, add it to his/her own complaint data, and assure it is all used for trending reports and performance improvement efforts. Finally, the Patient Rep will need to continue to handle those complaints that require specialized skills, such as complaints involving multiple departments or very complex issues.
For more information...
We would be happy to talk with you about implementing Service Recovery in your organization. We can help assure you have done the planning and preparation necessary for success! Contact us at 216-631-1852 or at anita@anitawoodward.com.

 

 

Real Life Customer Service Case

The following situation really occurred. Consider using it as a case for quick discussions in staff meetings.

A woman fell and injured her wrist while attending a convention in a large city far from home. She went to an Immediate Care center near her hotel for treatment, where she was warmly greeted and promptly treated. In the waiting room, she noticed pamphlets describing the center’s commitment to good customer service. Several weeks later, she received a letter with her bill. It was personalized, expressed hope she was feeling better, and mentioned the doctor’s commitment to developing long term relationships with patients. It clearly explained the bill, adding "if for any reason you do not feel the care we provided justifies the fee, please call me." A self-addressed, stamped envelope was included for her payment.

  • What are the Wow’s identified in this case?
     
  • How likely is it that this woman will pay her bill promptly?
     
  • How likely would it be that she would return to the clinic for future immediate care needs if she lived in the area?
     
  • How many of these ideas can you adopt?

 

 
About A. Woodward & Associates

Our company’s primary focus is to help clients develop healthy patient and staff relationships. Our consulting services are customized to your organization, and your specific needs. Areas of expertise include customer service, organizational communications and employee relations.

A. Woodward & Associates was established in 1999 by Anita B. Woodward, MBA, CHE. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, we also have clients on both the West and East coasts. Anita has over 20 years of healthcare management, customer service, and human resource experience.

 We all grow when we learn from each other!

Let us know if you find this newsletter helpful. If you have a case study you would like us to include, or if there are certain topics you would like to see addressed, please tell us by sending an email to anita@anitawoodward.com, or by calling 216-631-1852.

About This Newsletter

This newsletter is published for clients and colleagues of A. Woodward & Associates, and for others who are interested in customer service, employee relations, and organizational communication, especially in healthcare organizations.

If you would like to add someone to our subscriber list, please contact us at anita@anitawoodward.com (or simply reply to this email). If this is reaching you in error, we apologize. To unsubscribe, please email us at the above email address and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line.