Smart phones have changed everything. I was recently looking at the apps and features on my iPhone and it is amazing all the things I used to own or do which have been replaced by this device.
For example, I used to own a camcorder, camera, home telephone, CD player (Can you even remember your CD or record collection?), and subscribed to newspapers and magazines. I used to keep maps in my glove compartment in case my Garmen GPS broke down. I always would print out hard copies of plane, concert and sporting tickets. And if my brother and I wanted to play chess or scrabble, we would have to pull the game off the shelf when we got together on holidays. I could go on and on but it is difficult to fully appreciate all the changes that have happened since smartphones first emerged. Every year, the phone or an App slowly replaced something.
It’s also hard to believe that the iPhone recently celebrated only its ten year birthday. Some folks were late to the revolution but today nearly everyone has a smartphone on them at all times. We could easily draw the comparison of the iPhone to the focus on patient care.
Although it was always important, the emphasis on patient care first really started getting attention about a decade ago. There were some early adopters who slowly over time began to eliminate things from their organization to simplify the approach.
Others came along later but now the majority of organizations get how increase patient care drives many other key indicators. Organizations must continue to evolve and embrace the new as they continue to shed the old way of doing things. Make sure your team enters 2018 the same way Apple is. Encourage them to continue to “Think Differently” about the patient’s experience and encourage them to never be stuck in the past with the equivalent of a patient care flip phone.
