8 Key Practices In The Health Care Industry

The health care industry has only in recent years begun to see its stakeholders as customers and realize how central customer satisfaction is to the success of a health care entity. At the same time, their customers increasingly expect a positive experience as well as the best possible outcomes from the services they receive, having raised their standards as they have been given more choice in meeting their needs.

While patients are the ultimate customers, health care entity employees are the customers upon which the success of the organization rests, as they drive the experience for all other customer types. The operating principles of total quality management (TQM) include eight key practices, which also serve as the most important areas

o Responsiveness – staff are trained on expected turnaround times and in how requested information is best delivered when there is a payor inquiry (staff complete the appropriate form and attach the necessary supporting documentation related to an adverse

o Responsiveness – leadership/HR are trained on and enforce all policies and procedures (leadership/HR promptly and effectively address environmental and personnel issues as they arise) o Assurance – leadership/HR are trained on policy and procedure development (policies and procedures are reviewed annually and revised as needed to meet the needs of employees and the organization) o Empathy – leadership/HR are trained on workforce demographics and needs and design or revise employee benefits to better meet those needs (offering onsite daycare for night shift employees with small children) o Reliability – leadership receives ongoing training on budget forecasting under changing reimbursement models (appropriate budgetary adjustments are made to ensure an adequate staffing budget, paychecks are issued on schedule, few to no reductions in force due to revenue constraints) o Tangibles – leadership/HR are trained in transformational leadership strategies that inform, motivate and inspire employees and express appreciation for their efforts (employees’ performance objectives are built around quality outcomes and meeting or exceeding expectations results in financial