Welcome
If you are a regular reader of MedicalGPS’ blog, Thinking Thursdays TIPs, we likely already know each other- it’s a pleasure to be with you again. If we do not currently know each other, my name is Jerry Stone, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer with MedicalGPS.
To all, I’d like to say, “Welcome”, as you explore this written version of MedicalGPS’ service improvement program, Endeavor for Excellence: Start Where the Patient Starts.
MedicalGPS has been deploying Endeavor for Excellence, or E4E, dating back to 1995. Over the last two-plus decades MedicalGPS has continued to refine and improve E4E so much so that the program today is both highly efficient and very effective. E4E has been field tested in hundreds of physician practices, in both primary care and specialty care settings, resulting in measurable, tangible improvements to practice workflow and customer service quality levels.
We trust you’ll find E4E provides practical tips, tools, and techniques to enable you and your team to improve patient flow and customer service levels at your physician practice. Endeavor for Excellence approaches process improvement from the patient’s perspective, with the goal of improving the patient experience such that all practice constituents — including physicians, support staff, leadership, and of course, patients — enjoy the upside benefits of E4E.
In years past, Endeavor for Excellence (E4E) was delivered via a series of live, online webinars, sequenced over six to 12 weeks, depending on the client’s unique needs.
Starting with this redeployment and online distribution, MedicalGPS is offering the same content to you, free of charge, through a series of upcoming videos complemented by MedicalGPS’ blog posts.
Feel free to use some or all of MedicalGPS’ E4E content to aid you and your team as you endeavor to reach new levels of service excellence for your physician practice(s). Please know that E4E is copyrighted as MedicalGPS intellectual property, as such, we ask that you give credit to MedicalGPS whenever you use or share E4E content with your colleagues.
Let’s Get Started
Following E4E’s 10-step service improvement process, physician practices often see performance improvement within three to four weeks after beginning the E4E program. E4E is focused on assisting practice managers with implementing E4E’s 26 Best Practices, resulting in tangible, measurable improvements to both practice workflow and customer service quality levels.
The key to success involves tapping into the expertise of the practice’s leadership; including physicians, administrators, and front-line support staff, coupled with years of knowledge represented by E4E’s curriculum, now accessible to you and your team.
To ensure E4E is tailored to meet the unique needs of your physician practice, you’ll want to establish an E4E team comprised of influencers from each of the three roles as mentioned: physicians, administrators, and front-line support staff. As your E4E team comes together, you’ll work to evaluate process, policies, and procedures, and then collaborate to explore solutions to improve patient flow and practice operations.
Endeavor for Excellence focuses on a short-list of high-return process-improvement opportunities. Physician practices that embrace E4E Best Practices realize improvements across several patient experience performance metrics, including Appointment Access, Message Turn-around Times, Office Wait Times, Receptionist Courteous, Telephone Handled, Recommend to Family and Friends, and other key performance indicators.
Endeavor for Excellence: A Step-by-Step Path to an Improved Patient Experience
- Step 1: Review E4E 10 Steps and Consider if E4E Might be Right for Your Practice
- Step 2: Identify and Select Members for Your E4E Team
- Step 3: Complete the E4E “Before” Best Practices Checklist (Checklist coming soon)
- Step 4: Establish Performance Baselines (Utilize patient experience survey data or contact MedicalGPS to obtain a version of M3-Patient Experience®)
- Step 5: Administer Customer Service Training (MedicalGPS YouTube Video coming soon)
- Step 6: Conduct Quality Assurance Observations (QC Checklist coming soon)
- Step 7: Review and Administer “Messaging: What, When, and Why” Training (MedicalGPS YouTube Video coming soon)
- Step 8: Administer “Scheduling: Protocols, Patient Flow, and Exceeding Patient Expectations” Training, (MedicalGPS YouTube Video coming soon)
- Step 9: Administer, “Sustaining Effective Implementation and Measuring Success”, (MedicalGPS YouTube Video coming soon)
- Step 10: Review Patient Experience Performance Trends and Compare to Baselines, (MedicalGPS YouTube Video coming soon)
Step #1: Review E4E 10 Steps and Consider if E4E Might be Right for Your Practice
If you are this far along in exploring the E4E process, you most likely have reviewed the 10 steps involved in administering the E4E program. Your interest level is right where it needs to be at this point. The E4E program looks promising, but you have questions about the program. Just the fact that you have reviewed the 10 E4E steps, you indeed have a sense that E4E just might work for your practice. If so, you have completed step #1. Move on to step #2. The MedicalGPS team will answer any questions you may have as you progress through the remaining steps.
Step #2: Identify and Select Members for Your E4E Team
The process improvement techniques employed by E4E includes evaluating workflow of each of the major components of the patient’s experience, including, but not limited to; appointment access, appointment booking, check-in, visit prep, procedure/exam, checkout, and messaging. A successful E4E team will be comprised of at least one staff member from each of the roles mentioned here, and most importantly, a physician champion that is genuinely passionate about improving the patient’s experience. A well-rounded E4E team, with a cross-section of support staff from all job functions, and at least one physician champion, is essential.
If you are interested in beginning the E4E process, go ahead and identify potential candidates for your E4E team. An example of a successful team may include a receptionist, an MA, LPN, or RN, a physician champion, the front-office supervisor (if applicable), the back-office supervisor (if applicable), and of course the practice manager. If there are other members of your team that are key players, of course include them too — perhaps a team lead or your right-hand person that fills in as the office manager whenever you are out of the office. A team of four to six members is a good size.
MedicalGPS will publish details for step #3 next, and the remaining E4E steps over the weeks to come.
In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about Endeavor for Excellence, please let me know. You may click here to contact us, or contact me personally at JStone@MedicalGPS.com or 615-364-4415.
Thank you, we look forward to supporting you and your team.
