“Change Only Occurs
When We Rigorously And Endlessly Question Our Clinician’s Opinions,
Beliefs and Convictions”
(PART 2 OF 3)
The noted German
philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer stated that there are always three
normal reactions to change. The first reaction being that “it is
ridiculed”. The second is that “it is violently opposed”.
Finally, “it is accepted as self-evident.” Hasn’t this
also been your experience when you propose a MAJOR product, service or
technology change to your clinicians?
This truism had
been the experience of one of our clients recently when they recommended
to their clinicians that they discontinue the policy and procedure of
purchasing filtered IV sets for ALL of their patient’s. The first
reaction to this change was, “we are going to risk law suits -- are
you willing to take that risk (ridiculed)?” The
second reaction was, “I’m not going to loose my license over
this change (violently opposed).” Finally, after the
clinicians reviewed articles and benchmarked what their peers were
doing, they accepted the change by stating that, “I guess if
filter-less IV sets are now considered a best practice -- we should do
it also”, (accepted as self-evident).
Now how EXACTLY
did our client move their clinicians from a NO to YES on
this IV set evaluation?
The
Power of BENCHMARKING Leads To The RIGHT Questions
The first step in
our client’s change management strategy was to benchmark with our
assistance all of their commodity purchases, which identified that their
UTILIZATION on IV sets was $75,000 higher than their peer group. This
set off BELLS and WHISTLES that something was different about their IV
set purchases than like hospitals doing the same work.
Next, our client
approached the key customers, stakeholders and experts on these IV sets
to share this benchmarking information and to ask this
DISTURBING, MIND CHANGING QUESTION, “What is different
about our hospital’s IV set purchases -- than our peers -- that would
cost us $75,000 more on our IV set purchases annually ?” The blank
faces of the IV set customers told my client that they had hit a nerve!
More in-depth benchmarking by my
client showed that their peers didn’t utilize FILTERED SETS for
all of their patients. Yet, this salient fact set off a storm of
denials, recriminations and ridicule by this customer
group, until a new disturbing, mind changing question was asked
by my client of these customers,“ Why are we so different that we too
can’t go to filter-less IV set for most of our patients?” This
question finally DISRUPTED their customers thinking and moved the
customers to search current articles on the subject to understand why
their hospital was different.
This investigation by their customers
revealed that their hospital was OUT OF STEP with current IV set
practices and moved them to change this practice at a savings of $75,000
annually and the ACCEPTANCE OF THE SELF-EVIDENT.
DISTURBING MIND CHANGING QUESTIONS LEAD TO YES’s
New information
or experiences will change your clinician’s opinions, beliefs, and
convictions ONLY if you can cause them to QUESTION them. This can be
accomplished handily by asking your clinicians the DISTURBING and
MIND CHANGING QUESTIONS. I have found the best way to find these
disturbing, mind changing questions is through BENCHMARKING.
Benchmarking or
the search for best practices always leads to disturbing, mind
changing questions because it uncovers hidden patterns and practices
about your healthcare organization that can’t be captured in any other
way.
Like -- why is
your hospital standardizing on disposable blood pressure cuffs when no
other hospital in your region has done so. Why is your hospital buying
thousands of dollars of pediatric contrast media annually when you don’t
have any pediatric patients? Or, why is your pacemaker cost $4,000
higher per pacemaker than your peers?
When these and
other disturbing, mind changing questions that you uncover
through benchmarking are asked of your clinicians, it will lead to more
YES’s, than NO’s in your evaluation, because you will make them doubt
their opinions, beliefs and convictions with UNASSAILABLE SELF-EVIDENT
FACTS.
by
Robert T. Yokl, President