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I am amazed by, sometimes frustrated with and occasionally guilty of a misplaced focus on what is truly important about improving the health care experience. It starts with language and how we think about making improvements. Too often the focus is on the numbers. We talk about how to “improve the scores” and/or “increase the top box percent.” Granted, some of this comes from the relationship between numbers/scores and reimbursement and the need to do ...

HONG KONG—I have enjoyed a trip to this city , with its stunning scenery, bustling streets filled with vendors selling everything from watches to clothes, hundreds of islands, a magnificent natural harbor and a breathtaking skyline (especially at night with all the lights). I came not for the sightseeing, however, but for something equally intriguing: The recently concluded annual meeting of the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua).

This wasn’t just another health ...

I have noticed an emerging theme in Press Ganey Employee Partnership survey results. The Opportunity Index (a list of questions that will have the greatest positive impact on overall employee partnership) more frequently includes the question, “Members of my work group (department) are seldom distracted from their work.”

The first response this item elicits from many leaders is, “Health care is full of distractions, so why is this relevant?”

Yes, health care is full of ...

I live in a suburb of Indianapolis. On the night of Aug. 13, my husband, stepdaughter and I attended a lovely dinner party, which had to be moved inside due to a sudden storm that packed some wind with it.  As we were driving home from the dinner party, my sister called me from Cincinnati with a bit of anxiousness in her voice, and said, “Did you hear about what happened at the fair?” We ...