2008 National Conference
November 17–19
Grapevine, TX
INSIDE THE POST EDITION
2008 National Client Conference, Texas Style
CEO Forum Focuses on Leadership and the Future
Hourly Rounding a “Win-Win Situation” for Patients and Staff
Crucial Conversations Enhance Safety Culture in Health Care
Success Starts With Leadership
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CEO Forum Focuses on Leadership and the Future
Senior health care leaders were inspired by a discussion on leadership and informed about coming economic and regulatory challenges at the Nov. 17 CEO Forum.
Featured speakers were Marshall Goldsmith, executive coach to top CEOs and author of the best-selling book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, and Chip Kahn, president of the Federation of American Hospitals.
The path to becoming a better leader may not be the one you are presently traveling, Goldsmith told more than 250 of the nation’s top health care executives.
“The best thing to do as a leader is let those you lead watch you get better as a leader,” he said. “The more you’re like a regular person, the more credibility you’ll have.”
Goldsmith led the executives on a journey of discovery of what it takes to succeed in an ever more competitive business landscape. Leadership, he said, is often the art of discontinuing certain practices, even ones that may have contributed to past successes.
The principles Goldsmith shared, he said, could—and should—be applied in one’s personal life.
“One question we don’t ask is ‘how can I be better?’” he said. “We don’t ask at work and we don’t ask at home. Ask your partner at home, ‘What can I do to be a better partner?’’’
Dr. Melvin Hall, president and CEO of Press Ganey, said Goldsmith’s most recent book is one of the most important books he has read in the last three to five years.
“It teaches you how to improve as a leader. Most books tell you 20 things to do, but he tells you some things to stop doing and how to focus on the most important things.”
Dr. Hall called the theme of what got us here won't get us there, a guiding principle for
Press Ganey associates.
“I believe it should also apply to the health care industry as a whole. We are confronting change on a scale we haven’t seen before, and we must be willing to do whatever it takes to respond to this historic set of challenges. That means what we have been doing, however successful it may have been, won’t be enough to remain competitive in the future. We can—we must—do more,” he said.
“I believe our clients are ready for that challenge. The fact that more than 2,100 of them gathered for this conference—a record-setting turnout, despite the down economy—is testament to their willingness to do what it takes to improve.”
Regarding the plenary session, Dr. Hall referenced an old saying: Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
“What will get us where we need to be is to become our customers’ full partner in improvement; assisting them with their clinical and financial outcomes and helping them bring their employees and physicians more fully on board as partners. We want to help clients improve safety, reduce nosocomial infections, and increase business performance.”
In the second half of the CEO Forum, Kahn, a top health care policy advisor, reviewed the prospect of major health system change that may occur under the incoming Obama administration.
He noted that Congress seems ready to take up the reform challenge, citing the just-released outline of reform from Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee. Kahn also offered his insights regarding what we might expect from Thomas Daschle, the former Senate majority leader and likely new secretary of HHS.
A Democratic President and a Democratic Congress, Kahn said, will be empowered to provide universal health care and this focus will have a significant impact on the pharmaceutical and insurance industries, as well as hospitals, in how they deliver and are compensated for services.
Kahn said the economic results of the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 will drive 2009 policymaking.
Kahn advised hospital professionals to especially be alert to potential changes in the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission rules.
Changes to Medicare could mean hospital value payments, bundling payments, and competitive bidding, as well as cutting Medicare Advantage and changing Part D.
Kahn said other significant changes will include an extension in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), changes in pay for performance and in the pay-go plan, possible establishment of a health board, and insurance reform.
On the subject of changes in national health care policy, Dr. Hall later commented that these changes would require even greater focus on patient safety.
“We need to continue to get our quality house in order because the national government and consumer spotlight is getting brighter and brighter. Quality processes must match words—what we say, we’re doing—to improve. A patient-focused culture needs to be hardwired into the center of the organization. Where rubber meets road are the processes that allow an organization to get there,” he said.
“We simply cannot continue to have a health care system where so many people get infections in our institutions or are injured as a result of slipshod processes. Excuses won’t fix this situation. Nor will suggestions. There need to be prescriptive measures. We must demand accountability, top to bottom. We cannot simply resign ourselves to so many patients dying or being permanently scarred from preventable medical errors.”
