From package delivery to car maintenance
From package delivery to car maintenance
Can you learn from other industries?
The Ritz-Carlton isn't the only business that can teach something to medical practices. (See related story, p. 135.) Consider Federal Express, which gets packages to their destination efficiently and quickly. Even your local Saturn car dealership, which usually can get your car in and out of scheduled service exactly when they say they will, can provide an example of businesses which can teach your practice something about quality care of your patients.
The similarities aren't that hard to find. One example is Saturn of Bellevue (WA). The more cars that go in and out the doors of its service bays, the more money that dealership can make. But Robert Ware, senior service advisor and person in charge of scheduling service appointments, doesn't know how long each car will take. Sometimes, a seemingly small problem can take a lot longer than anticipated, or a complex problem turns out to be simple. Ware has to deal with different technicians with different working styles. And he knows that if his on-time performance flags, then corporate headquarters in Spring Hill, TN, could cut the car allocation at the dealership. "We don't know what we will find when we look at a car," he explains "It's like a guessing game. And we don't even know if the scheduled customers will show up."
Ware solves his myriad problems by only scheduling 85% to 90% of his technicians' time. "You do that to keep time available for an emergency or if a problem the car is scheduled for turns out to be more complex than we anticipated."
One way Ware limits such events is by coaxing more information from his customers than they might otherwise give. For instance, if John Smith calls to schedule an appointment because his car is making a funny sound, Ware will ask questions to help him make a good guess as to what the problem may be - "When does it make the noise? Where does the noise come from? Can you imitate the noise?"
"Over five years I've become pretty accurate," he says. He also knows that certain models with certain mileage and age are more likely to have specific problems. That, too, helps Ware to book the appropriate amount of time.
Ware keeps his technicians' personal working style in mind when he schedules, too. If he has a technician who is more efficient than another, he schedules that person's day more thickly. But he revisits each technician's schedule weekly. "If one tech has a lot of dead time over a period of weeks, then I up his appointments the next week."
Lastly, Ware keeps in mind that if something delays his technician, the customer deserves an explanation. "You have to keep the customer informed. Tell them why they are sitting there."
So far, Ware's methods have worked. Saturn of Bellevue has an 87% to 90% on-time record.
Efficiency is another lesson many physician practices need to learn. In his book, Take Charge of Your Medical Practice Before Someone Else Does it for You (1996, Aspen Publishing, Inc.), Neil Baum, MD, a urologist in practice in New Orleans, recalls a trip he took to Federal Express' Memphis sorting plant. There, from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m., Baum watched employees work hard on tedious, repetitive tasks "with enthusiasm and excitement and a sorting accuracy of 99.6%."
How they achieve that efficiency, according to Baum - who heard it straight from the senior manager of employee benefits - comes directly from the company's mission statement.
Putting the customer and employee first
That statement says that Federal Express is committed to a "People-Service-Profit philosophy." Baum says that by putting people first - including employees - the company has become the well-regarded, efficient delivery machine that it is today.
"Why does the Federal Express philosophy work?" asks Baum. "[Its] success is based on the principle of people first. From the chief executive, Fred Smith, to every manager, they believe that taking care of their employees is the key to having a completely satisfied customer at the end of each transaction. If they do that, then the profits will take care of themselves."
Baum says the similarities between FedEx and the health care industry are simple: Both have a customer at the end of the line, and the goal is to make that customer "delighted that they have done business with us" at the end of the visit.
By putting in place a mission statement that puts people first, you can achieve that goal, Baum says. "Once your mission statement is in place, then you are in a position to deliver the product and services. Do it like Federal Express. It works for them, and it will work for you." n
· Robert Ware, Senior Service Advisor, Saturn of Bellevue (WA). Telephone: (425) 746-6462.
· John Bruns, General Manager, Ritz Carlton, Cleveland. Telephone: (216) 623-1308.
· Neil Baum, MD, Private Practice of Urology, New Orleans. Telephone: (504) 891-8454.
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