Making Issue Resolution the Backbone to a Solid Plan

It doesn’t matter how many times a sales rep visits an office or how often a clinical leader visits with a physician, if the issue doesn’t get resolved or the physician doesn’t know what’s been resolved, you will never have positive physician relations. 

At any given time, there are thousands of issues being resolved everyday in a hospital.  Many are clinical in nature and typically follow a pathway with a planned response, process and system for when something goes awry. Others however, are more operational in nature, and aren’t always of such magnitude that their cumulative importance is known or felt. 

These issues often come from an unexpected hallway conversation, a sidebar at a medical staff meeting, an irate telephone call, a voice or e-mail, or through regular visits. These issues are usually resolved on the spot or are assigned to someone to resolve. They’re not typically tracked, except on the yellow note pad or Palm Pilot, and often don’t receive follow-up once they are passed along.

These are the issues to which we react on a daily basis instead of seeing them in a larger way and thus managing them—and then  we wonder why a physician tells six or eight people about the same issue! They tell so many people because they hope that at least one person will resolve it and let them know!

So, how does an organization develop an issue resolution and tracking process that builds accountability into the system of operational issues? There are three key steps:

1. Define a process for tracking issues and assigning accountabilities. Identify issues and place them into a tracking system that creates a master database that can be managed institutionally. The system may be as simple as a hotline that is called when issues are identified. Issues are then entered into a centralized spreadsheet that tracks key information.
2. Define a process for assigning accountabilities and timelines to issues identified.  Once an issue is entered into the system, a process owner should be identified that will in turn assign resolution accountabilities and communication timelines. The leader with system accountability then has the ability to review all issues related to their area of responsibility so that they can identify redundancy and assess timeliness of resolution.
3. Define a process for providing feedback to the physician so that they know how and when the issue will be resolved, as well as the role that they may play in that process, if desired. 

With a process in place, the physician gains confidence that the organization is working to resolve operational issues, the sales representative becomes more effective in the physician’s eyes, and the organizational leader has a clear system of accountability that produces results and maximizes efficiency.

When receiving an issue from a physician, it is not unusual for the receiving staff to feel a bit defensive. Therefore, the initial response to the receiving the issue is key. Staff should be afforded the opportunity for training and for scripting tips so that they know what to say and do when an issue presents itself. Following the six A’s will greatly enhance a team member’s skill in this area.

The end result of an issue resolution process is better performance by the organization, more consistent feedback to the physician, and enhanced effectiveness of members of the team. See the CHG process for issue resolution for more detail.

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Share your feedback with us. What do you want to know more about? What are some of the issues you’re facing? Your comments will help us zone in on the physician topics of interest to you as we prepare our next issue

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