Departments

• Reviewing upcoming ultrasound appointments to schedule reminder calls
• Dividing call duties among different assigned staffers to ensure privacy
• Calling a day in advance of appointments to discuss patient instructions

What can your team do to reach out to patients? And how could your team work with other teams to improve service? 

• Assigning a point person to work with physicians and departments to ensure patients have the needed lab orders
• Coordinating efforts across the multiple departments that engage in a patient's treatment
• Assigning a backup assistant to ensure the point duties are covered

What can your team do to identify where things "fall through the cracks"? What else could your team do to put the patient at the center? 

• Following the successful practice of another team that solved the same problem
• Offering kid-friendly food like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
• Creating restaurant style menus with imagery of zoo animals

What can your team do to listen to the voice of the patient? And how could your team learn from other teams that have tackled challenges similar to yours?

• Assessing the problem and working together to a solution
• Converting extra closet space into a dressing room for patients
• Realizing even small solutions pay large dividends

 What can your team do to use your physical space more efficiently? 

• Using a checklist of important topics as a teaching tool for new parents at discharge with their new baby
• Speaking with them at a time when they are most likely to understand and take in the information
• Creating a script for nurses that doesn't feel rehearsed or fake

What can your team do to improve your communication with patients?

The KP Value Compass commits us to delivering the best quality and service at the most affordable price, in the best place to work. And here’s the thing about service—everybody knows how to tell bad from good and good from great.

It’s not easy, in the crunch of a busy workday, to give every member and patient great service every time they call or visit. But these three simple tools can help. Each can be learned quickly and can be discussed, used and perfected by your team:

Remember, the best efforts to improve and sustain performance happen in partnership. Use these tools to become proficient in performance improvement techniques, then achieve a higher quality of care and service to our members.