During these challenging times, time is of the essence. In healthcare, complicated decisions are made every day to keep patients, families and staff safe and supported. No one in healthcare has extra time to deal with irrelevant or superficial things.
I have sat in the CEO chair and dealt with strategic planning, daily operations, crises, personnel issues, patient complaints, risk issues, financial analyses, corporate deadlines, and as Murphy’s Law would have it, it’s all at the same time. I understand the complexity of decisions that are made all day, and how it impacts patients, patient families, and employees and their livelihoods. I understand how precious time is when there are that many balls in the air, and you don’t want one to drop.
Because I have sat in that chair, and I am sensitive to the varying challenges at each hospital, I wouldn’t want to waste anyone’s time. It’s important to listen to the challenges that are being faced at all levels in the organization. Based off each person’s function in the organization, the challenges vary significantly, and may involve overall operations, financial viability, clinical integrity, regulatory compliance, employee safety, etc. With every hospital and with all resulting relationships, I want time spent to be ameliorating issues and developing an operational recipe for success.
It is interesting that in many hospitals, behavioral health issues are seen as a problem. “Psych patients” in the ED decrease throughput and exhaust precious resources, and on the medical/surgical floors, these patients are viewed as exhausting “sitter” hours and hospital and provider resources, all while being high risk from a risk and regulatory compliance perspective.
Knowing how to turn the “psych problem” into a positive solution is very valuable, and worth the time. Converting pain points to an area of success is exciting for me, and the hospitals I have worked with. Also, it is important to note that these pain points are likely to be exacerbated over time. Most hospitals will need to have a behavioral health infrastructure in place that supports clinical and financial success, particularly coming out of this pandemic. Without establishing this infrastructure, the “psych problem” has the potential to become exponentially greater. Is your organization ready?
