Experience Matters (Edition 21) ~ Healthcare Edition: Putting the 'Care' in Healthcare: Embracing Service As A Transformational Tool

Putting the 'Care' in Healthcare: Embracing Service as a Transformational Tool

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou

This quote has never rung more true than in the healthcare sector today. Amidst complex medical jargon, technology advances, and bureaucratic hurdles, the human touch sometimes gets lost. Just a reminder to those of us who work in healthcare, we are in a service industry that isn’t just about treating illnesses. It's about treating people. Here’s where experience design comes into play. It's not a frill; it’s an essential, yet overlooked, element in healthcare.

Let's delve into the five core principles of experience design to see what they mean for us in healthcare.

1. Know Me: Personalizing healthcare goes beyond addressing patients by their names. In the age of data and technology, it's about understanding their history, fears, preferences, and expectations. It's also about taking the time to understand our team, building relationships founded on loyalty and transparency.

2. Surprise Me: Novelty inspires delight. A study by PwC found that 73% of all people point to customer experience as an important factor in their purchasing decisions. So, go on, challenge the status quo in healthcare. Let’s look for ways to pleasantly surprise our patients and team, from out-of-the-box healing spaces to creative health education.

3. Value Me: Recognize the patient’s role in their care journey. Encourage active participation and decision-making. Value their time, respect their choices, and appreciate their trust. Remember that your team members are equally valuable; their honesty and integrity are the heartbeat of your organization.

4. Care For Me: This isn't just about the medical aspect. The ethos of healthcare is care. Physical comfort, emotional support, empathetic communication - these all play a part in demonstrating our love for our patients and each other.

5. Make It Easy For Me: As providers, we need to simplify the healthcare journey, be it through intuitive interfaces, clear communication, or efficient processes.

All this might sound idealistic. However, I want to challenge you to think differently. Embrace honesty, integrity, transparency, and loyalty as core values, not just buzzwords. Make relationship-building the bedrock of your leadership style. Understand that we’re not just treating symptoms, but people.

We're in a service industry, yes. But the essence of service is love. And in healthcare, that translates to caring - not just for our patients but also for our team members who give their best every day. Because in the end, it's all about how we make people feel. Let's make them feel valued, cared for, and above all, loved.

Keep challenging. Keep innovating. Keep kissing your dragons. The future of healthcare is in our hands. Let's shape it with love and empathy.

Remember, the question isn't, "What's the matter with you?" but "What matters to you?"

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Geoffrey Roche is a son of a nurse. He is an executive, public figure, strategist, connector and collaborator, who has leveraged the skills that helped make him successful. His recipe? Empathetic leadership that focuses on others first as represented by his superpower of building meaningful relationships and human-centered connections, always daring to think and go big while fostering prosperous environments for change, and my proven track record of building ecosystem partnerships to drive new solutions and results.