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February 26, 2008 NEWSLETTER
Doug Wojcieszak, Founder & Spokesperson
Contact phone/e-mail address: 618-559-8168; doug@sorryworks.net
THIS WEEK'S EDITION:
- Sorry Works! - Like saying "sorry" to your spouse, only easier?
- Over 2,600 copies of Sorry Works! Book Sold in first six weeks
- Pharmacy gets customer service right/Good lessons
SORRY WORKS! - LIKE SAYING "SORRY" TO YOUR SPOUSE, ONLY EASIER?
You ever had one of those knock-down, drag out fights with your spouse or significant other? You know....the kinda of squabble that stretches into the wee hours of the morning, leaves you both with a splitting headache, and struggling to remember what generated the fight in the first place? Most of us have been there. And most of us know what calms the water: "I'm sorry, I screwed up, I made this mistake, here's how I'm going to fix it, let's go out for dinner tomorrow night, and I love you." Empathy, admission of fault, explanation of how the problem will be fixed or prevented from happening again, and compensation to amend for lost time and hurt feelings. Works everytime.
Sorry Works! advocates the same approach for physicians, nurses, hospitals, and insurers struggling to deal with medical errors. Now, a cynic might counter that the stakes are much higher in medicine, which can be true. However, all the more reason to do disclosure and do it right, because no apology or a botched apology will surely lead to litigation and a trip to the local courthouse.
Again, the cynic might counter that medical treatment is more complicated, more people involved, two or three insurance companies, lots of attorneys, etc. Yes and no. Yes, there are more people involved, some of whom have large egos and important reputations to protect, but the emotions can be more simplified. And emotions are where the action is at in apology and disclosure.
After a medical error, a trained disclosure team in a medical practice, hospital, or insurer can be objective about the situation and sort through the problem. Think about it: In the time leading up to the medical error your organization has had a professional and probably a positive experience with a patient or family. No family emotions, no family politics, no revisiting and unfairly bringing up the last 10 fights you had as a couple. No, your disclosure team has the opportunity to focus on this one event and fix the problem - and then move on. A trained disclosure team can step back and honestly evaluate the situation without emotional baggage.
The point of this column is we all know that "sorry" can patch up holes in our marriages and other relationships - but sometimes it can be very difficult to get to the word because we are so close, so personally connected to our spouse or significant other. We have a history - not always pretty - that gets in the way. Also, most love birds, especially the young ones, aren't trained or experienced in saying "I'm sorry." With good disclosure training, healthcare and insurance organizations can achieve objective, fair resolutions in a short time frame. Take home message: Disclosure is easier than you think!
OVER 2,600 COPIES OF SORRY WORKS! BOOK SOLD IN FIRST SIX WEEKS
The Sorry Works! Book has been on the market for approximately six weeks and already 2,600 copies have been sold - and several more large orders are in the pipeline. Many hospitals are considering a bulk order for Doctor's Day Gifts. For ordering information, visit this link: http://www.sorryworks.net/booksoon.phtml
The Sorry Works! Book is getting great early reviews - read below for a sampling of quotes:
- "The Sorry Works! book is wonderful, and just what I needed for my organization! It is concise, informative, and very sensible. It should be required reading for any group considering development of a Disclosure policy and for those training to become champions for their organization." Rhonda L. McGlothlin, Director, Risk Management & Insurance Operations, Centra Health, Inc.
- "For the first time, the authors have clarified the difference between empathy and apology, which will help everyone to move forward with this important concept that can improve patient safety and reduce liability risk," Pat Sedlak, Director, Aon Risk Services
- The Michigan Society of Healthcare Risk Managers bought a copy of the Sorry Works! Book for every one of their members and had this to say: "We felt this book would make an excellent resource for our members and assist them in promoting and teaching disclosure and apology of medical errors in their institution." Margaret Curtin, President, Michigan ASHRM
- "Every hospital risk manager should read this simple and profound book. It makes the case that expressing empathy and sympathy to patients and accepting responsibility, when appropriate, is kind, humane, and liberating." Brian J. Teusink, Senior Vice President, PHT Services.
PHARMACY GETS CUSTOMER SERVICE RIGHT/GOOD LESSONS
Customer service is a major theme in the Sorry Works! movement. Talk to good attorneys - defense or plaintiffs - and they will tell you people most often file lawsuits because they are angry over poor customer service, not so much medical errors. Another way of looking at: If medical errors are handled with pro-active, problem solving customer service techniques litigation would decrease. Important lesson we can't drive home enough. Read the story below from the Consumerist for some great healthcare customer service lessons.
THE CONSUMERIST
Editor: Ben Popken
Rite Aid District Manager Successfully Handles A Customer Complaint
With all the customer service horror stories we post, you'd think businesses in the United States have lost the ability to treat their customers with respect - and by and large, you'd be right. But every once in a while we get a tip that proves that there are still intelligent, competent people out there who can answer a customer's complaints forthrightly and honestly...now comes this story of a Rite Aid pharmacy district manager in Seattle and his band of idiots at a specific store.
"I wanted to tell you of a good resolution I had at the Seattle, Rainier Ave. Rite Aid pharmacy in Seattle, WA. First, little background. I have Celiac Disease. It's an immune response to wheat, specifically the wheat protein gluten. This is an issue for prescriptions because some medications use wheat products to bind the pills. Even a spec of gluten can make a celiac sick for a few days. It's not a terribly rare condition because 1 in 130 people in the USA have it.
I went to go get a prescription filled at the closest pharmacy, which was the Rite Aid on Ranier Ave, in Seattle, WA. As I was filling out paperwork to get in their system, I told them I had celiac disease, and could they double check to make sure my medication was gluten free. This is a pretty run of the mill request. I have been a nurse since 1998, and I have had to call in this kind of prescription before I even knew I had celiac disease myself. It's a very basic.
The gal at the counter had to have me repeat myself multiple times, which is okay, it was early morning. However, she still doesn't even understand my request, and starts asking the pharmacist if this medication has "glubellium". The pharmacist looks annoyed, and says he doesn't know. I put on the brakes, and tell her that I can't get that medication then, because I can't have gluten in me. The pharmacist just shrugs, and the gal takes my filled out paperwork and starts putting me in the computer, ignoring me.
I ask again, that there has to be a way to check. Celiac is not that unusual a condition. They continue to show me the bottle, and say there isn't any way to check. Then, the gal asks to help the folks behind me, ignoring the fact that I can't even get the medication if I can't be sure it's gluten free. The pharmacist starts filling my prescription, and I am exasperated.
I tell them don't fill the prescription because if they can't tell me if it's gluten free, I don't want it. The pharmacist looks really irritated by now, and says, "I suppose I could call the manufacturer. That could take a few days." I just start walking out, and tell him I will go to a pharmacy that can deal with celiac disease. There are places that know if there is wheat products in my meds.
I then go home, and call the Kelley-Ross Pharmacy in downtown Seattle. They are flabbergasted that a pharmacist would not look this up for me, and laugh at the Rite Aid guy. Needless to say, I go get my prescription filled down there. They even show me the medication insert to make sure it all looks safe. The nice insert that accompanies most medications, and shows all the inactive ingredients. (When I work in facilities as a floor nurse, often those insert papers come attached on bulk meds we get, so I knew they existed, while at Rite Aid.)
When I get home I write an angry but polite email, containing pretty much what I wrote here.
Flash forward to today.
I just got a call from Billy who is the pharmacy district manager for Seattle. He wanted to contact me to make sure I knew that not being able to tell if a medication was gluten free, is not acceptable. They have a Clinical Service Line, that contains that information, as well as all sorts of other stuff. He was especially hard on the pharmacist for not wanting to even initially look it up. He said he thought only "blind stupidity" could be the reason this happened. The pharmacist in question is out for vacation, but he is going to talk to him when he comes back in. Billy agreed this is a pretty common request, and over all seemed stunned that his pharmacist could have done this.
He was also very cool, and said he understands that I get my medications elsewhere now, but if I ever decided to come back, they will be able to handle gluten free medication. He also talked about some of the PDA supported software that you can use to check the gluten free status of meds and foods.
Overall, I am very happy at this. Billy didn't make any excuses, and took credit for the situation. The pharmacist involved will be retrained, so the next celiac that comes in won't have to deal with what I did. That's the kind of apology, that makes me think I will keep shopping at Rite Aid, although my meds are still set up at Kelley-Ross. My husband still has his medications at Rite Aid, and I am no longer in any big hurry to change that.
It made me very happy to know that the corporation does care that its customers are taken care of."
Here's what's fascinating about this from a business perspective: Billy didn't give away any free goods or services, and he didn't try to bribe her to come back, but he still made an irate customer happy with a simple phone call. That's because he treated her like an equal - something representatives of businesses rarely seem to do anymore - and talked frankly about the source of the complaint. He shared a clear plan of action to prevent the problem from happening in the future, without resorting to extreme punishment boasts like promising anyone would be fired (a claim that always makes us suspect we're being lied to).
He also shared some advice with the customer on how she can be better prepared to deal with similar situations in the future - so if she runs into another couple of ignorant pharmacy employees, she can answer her own questions about gluten. And finally, he invited her back. Result: he may not get her business in the future, but he effectively cauterized the wound, and can be certain she won't bad- mouth Rite Aid to other potential customers.
Maybe it's too expensive to train employees to have that much emotional intelligence, but it would be nice if businesses would at least screen for that natural ability in customer-facing new hires.
What do you think - still not enough? Or did Billy handle this the right way?
To see the book's Foreword, Table of Contents, and Author Biographies, click on this link: http://www. sorryworks.net/pdf/SorryWorksForeword.pdf. To see additional information on the book, visit this link: http://www.sorryworks.net/booksoon.phtml
To purchase the perfect Doctor's Day Gift call today at 618-559-8168 or e-mail doug@sorryworks.net to get your copy of the Sorry Works! Book. Thank you!
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