A PATIENT'S PERSPECTIVE

A PATIENT’S PERSPECTIVE

OR

AN OPEN LETTER TO DOCTORS

By Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, April 9, 2013

What is the similarity to being a patient in a doctor’s office and being placed on HOLD?

Today I had a 10:00 doctor’s appointment.  I NEVER like to be late for anything so I make it a point to always arrive early.  In this case I arrived at 9:25 for a 10:00 appointment.  I checked in and surprisingly was taken to the “back” early, 9:50.  I was checked in by the nurse and was told that the doctor would see me shortly.

So back to being placed on HOLD while on the phone.  Do you have any idea just how long 30 seconds are to a person who is on HOLD?  You and I both know that 30 seconds is a very brief segment of time. But to the person on HOLD it is an eternity.  Why?  Because usually the first thought is if you are not listening to a very poor audio quality music tape, is to question whether the person who answered the phone and placed you on HOLD has forgotten about you.  Admit it, that is exactly what you thought.  If you want to test this, find a clock or watch with a second hand.  Pick up the phone receiver as if you have just made a call and then wait for 30 seconds to see just how long 30 seconds can is/seem.  It is not long at all to the person who answered the call for they know what they are doing; or not.  But the person who placed the call, that would be you, it does seem like an eternity.

Now back to the doctor’s office.  Once the nurse checked me in and put in the examination room, the door was closed.  The room was an 8x8 room with two chairs, an examination table, cabinet and sink.  Located around the walls were posters created by drug manufacturers depicting the various things that could be wrong with you and their medication that would or might be the solution to a problem you did not even know you had.  The walls were painted grey and an even darker shade of grade baseboards.  The floor was tile and nondescript.

So I took my position in one of the two chairs; not all that comfortable chairs I might add.  I looked around this 8x8 room with no window and a closed door.  I looked at the two magazines that were made available to read, not a good sign.  My thinking was why would they place magazines in an examination room?  Am I going to be here a while waiting to see the doctor?  Will I be waiting long enough to actually read a magazine?  And besides, neither magazine subject matter appealed to me.  Now had one of them been a golf magazine, that’s another story.

Then came the similarity of being placed on HOLD.  The “short time” became several minutes and then several minutes became 17 minutes.  During this time, I could hear the voices of an indeterminable number of assistants and possibly doctors outside the door.  Where any of them coming to see me, I thought to myself.  For at least 15 of the 17 minutes I kept wondering, did they forget about me in here?  There was no way to know for certain.  I kept reminding myself that this is the way they do business, not to worry.  And then I realized that most doctors don’t consider themselves as being in business but they are.  When a doctor decides it is time to move on or retire, the value in their medical practice is their patient database and a database IS the doctor’s business. 

Basic rule of a successful business:  Feed your database every day.  Create relationships with those people in your database and treat them as kings and queens when you get the opportunity to serve them.  All of your technical training and the power of your staff are useless if a patient feels he or she is not appreciated or welcome and instead is being treated like just another number in today’s patient visits.

Giving credit where credit is due, the first words out of the doctor’s mouth upon entering the room was to apologize for the delay.  Let’s face it, no doctor can ever estimate the time it will take to properly serve a patient’s needs just prior to seeing to your needs.

Soooooooo, to all doctors who may read this Nugget, here are few suggestions.

1.     Understand that the patient’s time has a value just as the doctor’s time has a value.  Making a patient wait is costing that patient time-money just as making a doctor would cost the doctor time-money if made to wait or if a patient fails to show for an appointment.

2.     Rooms (exam rooms) without windows begin closing in on most people after a few minutes. 

3.     Instead of posting medical posters around waiting rooms and exam rooms, why not post motivational posters with great photographs and quotations?

4.     Install large, visible stop watches outside exam room doors where the patient can see them.  Hit the start button when the patient is placed in a room and only turn it off when the doctor enters the room.  This will let the patient know the staff is concerned about the patient’s wait time and will let the doctor clearly see when an excessive time has lapsed before the doctor’s actual entrance.

5.     Think about the color used to decorate (or not) the examination and waiting rooms.  Why use drab and depressing colors in rooms where patients who typically have deep concerns about their health are asked to wait. 

6.     Only one doctor that I have seen over the years appeared to keep notes on me regarding life issues other than medical.  For example, I may not have seen this doctor for months, even years, but when I did see him again he immediately asked me about my real estate business, my family and in one case even my dog.  I know that he did not remember these things off the top of his head but maybe he did.  I believe he kept notes.  More importantly, he obviously reviewed those notes prior to meeting with me so as to know what to talk about in addition to my health, imagine that.  Do you think I was impressed?

For patients, how many times, if ever, have you written thank you notes to your healthcare providers?  I won’t wait for the answer because I know this rarely happens.  But think about this.  If your doctor’s business is actually his or her database, which it is, would it not be in your doctor’s best interest to have written testimonials available to show to another doctor how valuable your doctor’s patients are and what they think about the doctor and the doctor’s service and staff?  Such notes would be future money in the bank for your doctor given that you think enough of the individual and service to write a thank you note.

I recently purchased several copies of Joe Tye’s “The Florence Prescription.  From Accountability to Ownership” and have given a copy to each of the doctors I have seen over the past several weeks.  This is a great book about healthcare but more importantly a great book about good business sense regardless of the type of business.  Copies can be purchased for just $5.00 a copy at http://www.sparkstore.com/motivational-book-florence.html.  Give a copy as a gift; it may be the best use of $5.00 you will have ever made.

If I Were Building A Home Today...

NUGGETS FOR THE NOGGIN

IF I WERE BUILDING A HOME TODAY;

THINGS I WOULD CONSIDER

By Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, February 28, 2013

Disclaimer:  I have been a real estate broker since 1982, first licensed in 1980.  I am familiar with real estate and more specifically residential homes.  So with that said…..

If I were building a home today, I would look to both the present and the future.  One never knows nor can one be certain just what tomorrow will bring.

Safe Room:  I would definitely build what is referred to as a “safe room” somewhere towards the middle of the home.  If you are in a tornado prone area, that safe room should definitely be on the ground floor or below the ground floor level.  The safe room should be big enough to accommodate the entire family and be equipped to serve your needs for up to several hours.  This room is not necessarily intended to be a safe haven from criminal activity as depicted in the movies but rather as a safe haven from severe weather alerts.  Personally I would consider some form of sliding door as compared to one on hinges as opening and closing a door on hinges could be extremely difficult during period of high winds.   The room should be equipped with storeage areas for food, water, emergency radio with extra batteries.

Built-in Safe:  If you ever had to evacuate your home you know that there are very important papers that you need and should take with you.  But what do you do if you have to evacuate in just a few minutes or seconds as in the case of a fire.  Are you prepared to grab hold of a container with those papers already in it?  You should be.  Another alternative would be to install a safe in your new home where you can store valuable papers and personal items you do not want to lose or have stolen.  The safe should be water-tight and fire resistant for obvious reasons.  The cost of such a safe would be a very small price to pay given its potential long-term benefits.

Emergency Wiring:  As long as the home is going to be wired anyway, why not ask the electrician to create a separate wiring for essential appliances and lights throughout the home that you can wire directly to an external emergency generator.  Items such as a refrigerator, freezer, specific lights throughout the home and even a place to install a window air conditioner in one or more rooms.  If you live in hot and arid areas of the country you know just how valuable having a room to cool off in is to you and your family.  It is not necessary to install a permanently installed emergency generator but it certainly wouldn’t hurt. 

External Electrical Outlets:  In standard home construction, there are never enough exterior electrical outlets.  Plan ahead for yard maintenance and/or special external lighting you may anticipate including patio areas, roofs, etc.

Solar Attic Fans:  I have one and it takes no electrical current to operate.  The price difference is negligible.  This should not be an option.  Just do it.

Exterior Water Faucets:  Again, there are rarely enough or they are not located where you need them the most.  Plan ahead.  Account for fences where you may be near a faucet but not have direct access to it.  I know this because…..

Low Voltage Garden Lighting:  Again, work with your electrician and plan head.  This is both from a beautification project as well as from a safety issue.  It is difficult for burglars to linger around your home when there is sufficient lighting around the base of your home.

Installed Lawn Sprinklers:  Consider it rather than waiting until you have everything in place to decide that you want to have sprinklers installed for your lawn and garden areas.  Much easier to install upfront rather than later on.

Whole House Surge Protection:  Often overlooked.  Plan ahead.  Have a whole-house surge protection system installed on your electrical service to help prevent damage from electrical spikes in the system.  Inexpensive but worth its weight in gold.

Home Security System:  This too is worth its weight in gold.  Such a system should include alarms on all exterior doors, motion detectors within the home, alarms on all ground floor windows if not all windows.  You might also want to consider a Panic Button located in your master bedroom and other ideal locations throughout the home.  The button should activate an exterior light on the street side of the home to alert emergency responders that it is your home where there is an issue.  Guns within the home are fine but nothing can take the place of an extremely loud interior and exterior siren to alert the neighbors and first responders that there is an issue.  No burglar or home intruder is going to want to stay around with a siren blaring in his or her ear.  Monitoring the system is not absolutely necessary but why wouldn’t you have it monitored.  The cost if very reasonable.

Doors:  You never know when you or someone you care about will need a wheelchair or scooter to move about your home.  Again, the key words are “plan ahead.”  Give serious thought to installing nothing but 36” wide doors that can accommodate such mobilization devices. 

Bathroom Vanities:  If you have never used a wheelchair or know of anyone who has you are probably not aware how difficult it is for someone bound to a wheelchair to gain access to bathroom vanities because the section directly beneath the sink is usually blocked by drain pipes and water connection.  There are vanities that take this into consideration where the center section can actually be removed without creating an eye soar where someone in a wheelchair can put their chair directly up to the sink to use it.  Give this some thought.

Walk-in Showers/Tubs:  There are now numerous bath tub/shower installations that enable someone with difficulties to use these facilities and not be hampered by the old style showers and tubs.  You may want to consider outfitting at least one bathroom in your new home with such modern and convenient features.

Shower/Bath Grab Handles:  Much easier to install such handles during construction rather than after construction.  You don’t have to have a physical problem for these to be very valuable to you or anyone using your shower/tub.

Emergency Shut Off For Gas Service:  If you have natural gas to your new home, you may want to consider having a very obvious emergency gas shut off located in a convenient spot outside your home but not so convenient where vandals could wreck havoc on it.

BBQ Gas Line To Patio:  It costs money to install and bury gas lines after the fact so again, plan ahead to determine (1) if you will be using a gas fed BBQ and (2) where will the BBQ be located.  Then have your contractor install the gas line BEFORE any concrete work is completed over the same ground.

Light Switches:  There was a builder who placed light switches through the homes he built that were easily 12 to 16 inches lower than where you would expect them to be.  His logic was that when you enter a room, at what level are your hands.  He placed the switches about belt level.  His thinking?  That is where you are hands typically are PLUS that is a height that both children and people in wheelchairs could easily use the switch.  Food for thought.

Finally;

Rising Sun/Setting Sun:  Before you place your home on your building lot, determine where the sun will predominately rise and set to determine the best location for your home.  Do you want the sun to awake you?  Do you want to watch the sun set in the evening from your patio?  Once determined you also need to consider the best window coverings to either take advantage of the sun rays or to protect your home and furnishings from the sun rays.

ROOF EXIT:  After I had written and posted this Nugget, I had need to go onto the roof to retrieve a toy that somehow suddenly appeared on the roof.  For what it’s worth, I hate putting a ladder up to my roof and climbing up the ladder and then straddling the latter to get onto the roof.  Going up always seemed much easier than going down; at least for me.  If I were building a home today, I would have a door of sorts included in the roof design where I can easily gain access to my roof through the attic.  It would be much safer.  In the area I am from, Southeast Louisiana, you never know when flooding may cause you to exit your home through your roof as was evidenced during Hurricane Katrina.  Just a suggestion.

Hopefully these items will provide you with food for thought BEFORE you get to the point when you find out it is too late to include such items without incurring a heavy cost to do so.