the American Way of life today is
drastically different than that of the
mid twentieth century back then families
gathered around their television to
watch The Ed Sullivan Show the early
days of rock and roll played on
jukeboxes milk was delivered to your
doorstep and doctor’s appointments
looked something like this
back then the polio vaccine was being
developed the first open-heart surgery
took place in Philadelphia and you had
one doctor your family doctor who
provided all aspects of your care if you
didn’t feel well enough to go into the
office they came to your house for a
house call
they provided passionate and personal
care because they knew you really knew
you
not only as a patient but as a friend
and a neighbor this was a very special
relationship feelings of trust knowledge
regard and loyalty didn’t have to be
sought out they were instinctive now
today that relationship looks a little
bit different you may wait weeks for an
appointment and when you finally arrive
you will spend on average just 13
minutes with your doctor and as you talk
to them they may be looking at a
computer screen typing and taking notes
about your symptoms the doctor you see
today may be a different doctor from who
you see at your next appointment because
a practice now has dozens of caregivers
with just one click your prescription is
sent off to the pharmacy and your
after-visit summary is emailed to you
via patient portal now some of these
things are great but what happened to
that relationship
40% of Millennials today feel that if
they pass their primary care physician
on the street he or she would not
recognize them trust loyalty how can
these things exist if we can’t even
spend enough time together to remember
each other’s names the world of high
touch relationships have changed to high
tech relationships now that’s not to say
there isn’t great things that come with
medical advancements we have new
treatments new technologies better
outcomes higher mortality rates but at
the same time the patient relationship
is being impacted interaction today has
dramatically dramatically changed when
thinking of the patient satisfaction a
recent survey found that 35% of patients
only 1/3 of patients feel completely
satisfied with their care provider and
half of them feel that their doctor
doesn’t care about them or communicates
well our industry is named simply with
two words health and care and it seems
we are seriously falling short on the
care so in order to talk about patient
satisfaction and to improve on patient
satisfaction we must first define it
patient satisfaction is far more than
numbers that are read after a survey is
completed patient satisfaction examines
the quality of care that a doctor
provides through the patient’s
perspective and it’s not just about
outcomes the University of Wisconsin did
a study that looked at people who had
positive surgical outcomes
meaning their surgery went well the
issue was taken care of and they’re
generally in good health afterwards and
then they looked at patient satisfaction
and what they found is that there wasn’t
necessarily a correlation between
positive outcomes and patient
satisfaction in fact what they found was
that the relationship between a doctor
and their patient as well as the care
and compassion they felt they received
had almost an equal effect on how well
they were satisfied many of us today
forget just how important that medical
relationship is and it’s not just with a
patient and a doctor it’s with the nurse
it’s with the person at the front desk
who checks you in or even whoever was on
the phone who scheduled your appointment
we are longing for that feeling of
old-fashioned relationships but we know
we need and want the technology of today
so to rebuild that relationship we have
to go back to the qualities that made it
special to begin with trust knowledge
regard and loyalty the foundations of a
successful relationship have not changed
only the tools to build them have now
one of those tools that I’m sure we all
know about is the online patient portal
at my organization we have over a
hundred and seventy thousand people
subscribed to our portal and by far the
most used function is the secure
messaging tool it allows patients to
communicate with their doctor anytime
and anyplace but a possible downfall of
this is that often when you message your
doctor you receive a message back from
one of their care team now we in the
medical community know how important
a team approach is but if we’re going to
involve that team we need to make the
connection
doctors make sure you are introducing
your team to the patient when you invite
them to message you on the portal tell
them that you will read their message
but one of your knowledgeable and
valuable team members may be the one
replying patients if you don’t know
who’s responding to you you have no idea
if you should listen to them say
something
a doctor will trust their team but you
will not necessarily trust a nameless
face behind a computer Trust has to be
built if you’re the person who is
replying to messages on a portal make
sure you introduce yourself basic
communication 101 introduce yourself and
then mention the doctors name that will
build on the communication and the
connection that the doctor has already
put in place now I hear often that
patients are not receiving the attention
that they crave from their doctor and I
get it but I often ask this question
look around see all the cell phones on
the table when was the last time you
went to dinner or to a meeting and you
didn’t have that cell phone next to you
our friends and our family are
constantly battling with technology for
our attention every day and doctors feel
that same struggle for attention between
their patients and technology it’s
important that we put ourselves in
someone else’s shoes and it can
illuminate an entirely different
perspective and at the end of the day
empathy puts all of us on the same
playing field now one thing I want to
emphasize here Trump and regard
have to work both weights of course a
patient should trust their care team
they did go to school for like eight
years
but in today’s world the Internet has
made us all researchers of our own lives
and health a study in the patient
education and counseling Journal found
that a majority of patients today are
taking to Google to research their
symptoms prior to and reading more about
their diagnosis after the appointment
now doctors it’s easy to disregard this
research it is often incomplete or
incorrect but we need to embrace the
idea that this behavior is commonplace
when you’re in an appointment make sure
you ask your patient what do you think
about your symptoms or your condition
and why do you think that way on average
a patient is interrupted just 12 seconds
after speaking to their doctor now I
understand the clock is ticking but when
you are face-to-face with a patient you
need to make eye contact listen to what
they have to say and acknowledge it
patience you have a responsibility as
well be honest with your doctor tell
them what you’ve been reading and where
you’ve been getting that information you
can admit that it was from WebMD that’s
fine the doctor it’s the doctors
responsibility to make sure that you are
educated with the right materials ask
the doctor to provide you online
resources so that when you go home at
night you can read more from a source
your doctor trusts it’s the
responsibility of both groups doctors
and patients to respect and to recognize
so you may have noticed a lot of the
things I’m talking about today are
blending together when you share your
knowledge with people you earn respect
respect gives way to regard regard in
becomes trust and Trust will ultimately
lead to loyalty
so loyalty is a really interesting thing
in the medical world back in the day we
didn’t have to worry about loyalty you
would never leave a doctor unless he or
she retired or died but at the end of
the day we know that that behavior today
is very very different
a Deloitte study found that 88% of
people today would not hesitate to leave
their caregiver if they were
dissatisfied now we in the medical field
know it is far easier and less costly to
engage the patients we have than to seek
out and find new ones so our job is to
give the patients a reason to stay and
the way that we do that is by reaching
them on the channels that they are
already communicating on that same
survey found that in today’s world a
majority of people trust social media
for opinions of doctors hospitals and
health systems now those of us here know
social media is not a trend it is not a
fad social media has changed the way
that we communicate with each other and
it is not going away so doctors you
possess a knowledge in your area unlike
anyone else so why not show it off on
social media if you don’t have the time
to manage your own social profiles which
I get
talk to the marketing department at your
organization tell them you want to be
more visible on social media I guarantee
you they will welcome you with open arms
it’s very important that as a physician
as a caregiver the topics that your
patients are talking to you about and
asking you about can be found on social
media patients please go out and find
the social profiles of your doctors your
hospitals and your health systems if you
are going on those channels and finding
content you will know it is reliable and
from the care team that you already
trust now another thing I want everyone
to do is make sure you are using social
media to talk about your medical
experiences everyone says I don’t want
to write an online review unless I had a
bad experience but today people want to
read it all the good the bad and even
the average when you take just a minute
to share your experience it can have
immense influence on someone else’s as
well so earlier today I had talked to
you about what the rheumatica
relationships of the past looked like
and I compared it to a very different
look of today’s relationship so before I
finish I want us all to think ahead an
envision a future today the
doctor-patient relationship is at a
crossroads we are feeling nostalgia for
a connection that has not kept up with
the fast-paced culture it needs to exist
in today technology is obviously here to
stay but that doesn’t mean good
communication has to go away if we
embrace the digital world while staying
true to those qualities that made the
old-fashioned relationship special
trust knowledge regard and loyalty then
everyone wins human relationships are
deep complex and often very difficult
entities but if we use technology not as
a replacement but as an aid these
relationships can be richer and more
meaningful we can get back to the
feelings of personal connections between
our doctors and our patients we can make
that communication easier and more
frequent if we all commit to working on
that relationship both in person and in
the online world not only will patient
satisfaction improve but also our
well-being as a whole thank you [Applause]
drastically different than that of the
mid twentieth century back then families
gathered around their television to
watch The Ed Sullivan Show the early
days of rock and roll played on
jukeboxes milk was delivered to your
doorstep and doctor’s appointments
looked something like this
back then the polio vaccine was being
developed the first open-heart surgery
took place in Philadelphia and you had
one doctor your family doctor who
provided all aspects of your care if you
didn’t feel well enough to go into the
office they came to your house for a
house call
they provided passionate and personal
care because they knew you really knew
you
not only as a patient but as a friend
and a neighbor this was a very special
relationship feelings of trust knowledge
regard and loyalty didn’t have to be
sought out they were instinctive now
today that relationship looks a little
bit different you may wait weeks for an
appointment and when you finally arrive
you will spend on average just 13
minutes with your doctor and as you talk
to them they may be looking at a
computer screen typing and taking notes
about your symptoms the doctor you see
today may be a different doctor from who
you see at your next appointment because
a practice now has dozens of caregivers
with just one click your prescription is
sent off to the pharmacy and your
after-visit summary is emailed to you
via patient portal now some of these
things are great but what happened to
that relationship
40% of Millennials today feel that if
they pass their primary care physician
on the street he or she would not
recognize them trust loyalty how can
these things exist if we can’t even
spend enough time together to remember
each other’s names the world of high
touch relationships have changed to high
tech relationships now that’s not to say
there isn’t great things that come with
medical advancements we have new
treatments new technologies better
outcomes higher mortality rates but at
the same time the patient relationship
is being impacted interaction today has
dramatically dramatically changed when
thinking of the patient satisfaction a
recent survey found that 35% of patients
only 1/3 of patients feel completely
satisfied with their care provider and
half of them feel that their doctor
doesn’t care about them or communicates
well our industry is named simply with
two words health and care and it seems
we are seriously falling short on the
care so in order to talk about patient
satisfaction and to improve on patient
satisfaction we must first define it
patient satisfaction is far more than
numbers that are read after a survey is
completed patient satisfaction examines
the quality of care that a doctor
provides through the patient’s
perspective and it’s not just about
outcomes the University of Wisconsin did
a study that looked at people who had
positive surgical outcomes
meaning their surgery went well the
issue was taken care of and they’re
generally in good health afterwards and
then they looked at patient satisfaction
and what they found is that there wasn’t
necessarily a correlation between
positive outcomes and patient
satisfaction in fact what they found was
that the relationship between a doctor
and their patient as well as the care
and compassion they felt they received
had almost an equal effect on how well
they were satisfied many of us today
forget just how important that medical
relationship is and it’s not just with a
patient and a doctor it’s with the nurse
it’s with the person at the front desk
who checks you in or even whoever was on
the phone who scheduled your appointment
we are longing for that feeling of
old-fashioned relationships but we know
we need and want the technology of today
so to rebuild that relationship we have
to go back to the qualities that made it
special to begin with trust knowledge
regard and loyalty the foundations of a
successful relationship have not changed
only the tools to build them have now
one of those tools that I’m sure we all
know about is the online patient portal
at my organization we have over a
hundred and seventy thousand people
subscribed to our portal and by far the
most used function is the secure
messaging tool it allows patients to
communicate with their doctor anytime
and anyplace but a possible downfall of
this is that often when you message your
doctor you receive a message back from
one of their care team now we in the
medical community know how important
a team approach is but if we’re going to
involve that team we need to make the
connection
doctors make sure you are introducing
your team to the patient when you invite
them to message you on the portal tell
them that you will read their message
but one of your knowledgeable and
valuable team members may be the one
replying patients if you don’t know
who’s responding to you you have no idea
if you should listen to them say
something
a doctor will trust their team but you
will not necessarily trust a nameless
face behind a computer Trust has to be
built if you’re the person who is
replying to messages on a portal make
sure you introduce yourself basic
communication 101 introduce yourself and
then mention the doctors name that will
build on the communication and the
connection that the doctor has already
put in place now I hear often that
patients are not receiving the attention
that they crave from their doctor and I
get it but I often ask this question
look around see all the cell phones on
the table when was the last time you
went to dinner or to a meeting and you
didn’t have that cell phone next to you
our friends and our family are
constantly battling with technology for
our attention every day and doctors feel
that same struggle for attention between
their patients and technology it’s
important that we put ourselves in
someone else’s shoes and it can
illuminate an entirely different
perspective and at the end of the day
empathy puts all of us on the same
playing field now one thing I want to
emphasize here Trump and regard
have to work both weights of course a
patient should trust their care team
they did go to school for like eight
years
but in today’s world the Internet has
made us all researchers of our own lives
and health a study in the patient
education and counseling Journal found
that a majority of patients today are
taking to Google to research their
symptoms prior to and reading more about
their diagnosis after the appointment
now doctors it’s easy to disregard this
research it is often incomplete or
incorrect but we need to embrace the
idea that this behavior is commonplace
when you’re in an appointment make sure
you ask your patient what do you think
about your symptoms or your condition
and why do you think that way on average
a patient is interrupted just 12 seconds
after speaking to their doctor now I
understand the clock is ticking but when
you are face-to-face with a patient you
need to make eye contact listen to what
they have to say and acknowledge it
patience you have a responsibility as
well be honest with your doctor tell
them what you’ve been reading and where
you’ve been getting that information you
can admit that it was from WebMD that’s
fine the doctor it’s the doctors
responsibility to make sure that you are
educated with the right materials ask
the doctor to provide you online
resources so that when you go home at
night you can read more from a source
your doctor trusts it’s the
responsibility of both groups doctors
and patients to respect and to recognize
so you may have noticed a lot of the
things I’m talking about today are
blending together when you share your
knowledge with people you earn respect
respect gives way to regard regard in
becomes trust and Trust will ultimately
lead to loyalty
so loyalty is a really interesting thing
in the medical world back in the day we
didn’t have to worry about loyalty you
would never leave a doctor unless he or
she retired or died but at the end of
the day we know that that behavior today
is very very different
a Deloitte study found that 88% of
people today would not hesitate to leave
their caregiver if they were
dissatisfied now we in the medical field
know it is far easier and less costly to
engage the patients we have than to seek
out and find new ones so our job is to
give the patients a reason to stay and
the way that we do that is by reaching
them on the channels that they are
already communicating on that same
survey found that in today’s world a
majority of people trust social media
for opinions of doctors hospitals and
health systems now those of us here know
social media is not a trend it is not a
fad social media has changed the way
that we communicate with each other and
it is not going away so doctors you
possess a knowledge in your area unlike
anyone else so why not show it off on
social media if you don’t have the time
to manage your own social profiles which
I get
talk to the marketing department at your
organization tell them you want to be
more visible on social media I guarantee
you they will welcome you with open arms
it’s very important that as a physician
as a caregiver the topics that your
patients are talking to you about and
asking you about can be found on social
media patients please go out and find
the social profiles of your doctors your
hospitals and your health systems if you
are going on those channels and finding
content you will know it is reliable and
from the care team that you already
trust now another thing I want everyone
to do is make sure you are using social
media to talk about your medical
experiences everyone says I don’t want
to write an online review unless I had a
bad experience but today people want to
read it all the good the bad and even
the average when you take just a minute
to share your experience it can have
immense influence on someone else’s as
well so earlier today I had talked to
you about what the rheumatica
relationships of the past looked like
and I compared it to a very different
look of today’s relationship so before I
finish I want us all to think ahead an
envision a future today the
doctor-patient relationship is at a
crossroads we are feeling nostalgia for
a connection that has not kept up with
the fast-paced culture it needs to exist
in today technology is obviously here to
stay but that doesn’t mean good
communication has to go away if we
embrace the digital world while staying
true to those qualities that made the
old-fashioned relationship special
trust knowledge regard and loyalty then
everyone wins human relationships are
deep complex and often very difficult
entities but if we use technology not as
a replacement but as an aid these
relationships can be richer and more
meaningful we can get back to the
feelings of personal connections between
our doctors and our patients we can make
that communication easier and more
frequent if we all commit to working on
that relationship both in person and in
the online world not only will patient
satisfaction improve but also our
well-being as a whole thank you [Applause]
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