 Good afternoon and welcome to patient perceptions and expectations, building a culture around service and putting yourself in the patient's shoes. I'm Sharon Lee Parker, Director of Patient Advocacy, Hospitality Training, Cancer Coaching, and an author of several cancer books, including Look Out Cancer Here I Come, How I Beat the Odds and came out a winner. Patient perceptions and expectations, it's such an interesting idea. I believe so strongly in patient advocacy after having had cancer myself and knowing that the people who surrounded me and tried to help me made a huge impact on my life that I've never forgotten. We value every person that walks through our doors at the JTCC. Patients, guests, caregivers, healing teams, everyone is important and plays a vital role in keeping us at the forefront of cancer centers across this country. We are a team, really a family working together every day to provide our patients not only the best cancer care in the nation, but also the best overall experience during their time with us. In 2018, U.S. News and World Report raided Hackensack University Medical Center as one of the top medical centers in the northeast of our country. In addition, the John Thurrock Cancer Center, also as we lovingly call it, the JTCC, was recognized as the most comprehensive cancer center in New Jersey. We continually need to improve our cancer center so that we can continue to stay near the top or at the very top in every area and specialty. Patients' expectations, what do they want? When we look at pictures of people and we actually study them, we know that the patient expectations are key for us and need to be addressed by every single staff member of the JTCC family. Each patient is always the most important patient and needs our full attention whenever it is possible. Of course they want to be heard. When a patient feels neglected or confused, it's time to step in and try to fix the situation. They want to know what they're going to go through, try to take away the fear, take away the anxiety whenever you can. Focusing on patient perception is so important. And the first thing to do is to always introduce yourself and call the patient by name. That makes them feel so much more comfortable. Explain procedures and communicate what you are doing. Something like, good morning Mr. Smith, I'm Jane Alvarez from the lab. I'm here to get some blood samples for Dr. Alter. And we thank you so much. Listen to the patient's comments and concerns and thank them if they have merit. This is an opportunity to assess what the patient is experiencing and improve their quality of life. How important that is. Caring and positive responses to a patient's questions or comments can make the difference in the patient's perception of how well we are doing it. I love it when a patient calls me and says, your staff really cares. Your staff goes out of the way. I feel so good when I come to the John Thura Cancer Center. That makes my day, and I'm sure it makes your day as well. In our systems organization, we have to remember to take advantage of following up with phone calls. If we have some laws, if we think a patient needs that follow-up phone call to make sure that they're doing okay, leaving a message even if they don't answer the phone to see how a patient is doing is always an appreciated gesture and something I do every single day. We're streaming our phone's directory system and in fact have done it several times trying to improve. We need to know when do we receive the highest call volume and who is available during these times, even during these COVID times where staffing sometimes may be shorter in one area than we would like. Having a nurse information specialist and additional staff available to pick up during off hours is key. We can't ever be less than A plus even if our world around us is crumbling a bit. We have to stay right on top. Talking to a human being instead of a machine personally, and I'm sure to many of you makes a world of difference and eliminates the patient frustration, eradicating gaps and flaws in the scheduling system, getting everyone involved in the CAT and the MRI scans. We need them on the same page. We need the left hand to know what the right hand is doing. And that is so key, even if you have to call a personal leader, find out the answer if you're not sure. Finding a way to eliminate a patient scuffling. We don't want any patients to be frustrated with their appointments. We want them to know exactly what they're doing in the most positive and constructive way possible. Have designated times for meeting to eliminate patient inconvenience and problems. If they're having a problem, we want to know. And then there are the intangibles. Remember to be aware of your body language. Patients are focusing on not just what you're doing, but how you're doing it. If you're doing it efficiently. If you're doing it with a smile on your face, even if you are wearing the mask. I have the mask. I know all about the mask. I've been wearing it for so long. But as I mentioned, I smile underneath the mask because then I know that my eyes smile and the patient sees it. It's not as good as no mask. I really will have a major celebration the day we all don't have to wear these masks and we can see our faces and who we are. But in the meanwhile, show your passion for helping others, not only in your eye smile, but in your tone of voice. Patients pick up on these indirect signs. Let our patients know you care. A random word of kindness goes a long way to brightening a patient's day. And remember that the patient is the reason we are here. Always keep their best interest in mind. It's a fragile commodity success. We can have it today or lose it tomorrow. Our goal is to have each patient look forward to coming to the JTCC for initial evaluations for their treatments and then their follow-up. And any education that we can offer them that will stimulate and increase their positivity towards whatever is confronting them. It's important to remember that recent regulatory changes have made providing exceptional patient experience even more important than ever. We're not a C. We're not a B. We want to be A plus. And by maintaining our passion for excellence and by working to improve how we do our jobs every day by putting our patients in the forefront, we can achieve the success we desire. Mr. Parker, I'll have to call you back in a moment. I'm in the middle of a recording. Even I get telephone calls from family members whom I love and adore, but it doesn't mean that I stop what I'm doing. The expanding role of patient ratings is very important. We are measured in many ways by our peers, by your peers, by outsiders, by surveys, by magazines, by conversation. Measurement provides the vital sign for our cancer center. How we interact with our patients can make all the difference in their perception of how well we are doing. We are all high achievers, so we need to make sure we are satisfying the needs for our patients at every level. Remember my famous phrase, aim for that A. Evaluations that are randomly sent to our patients can mean the difference between securing more funds or falling behind our peers. 30% of total bonus payments paid to us are based on patient experience ratings. It's interesting that nine out of possible 10 may be needed to be eligible for Medicare reimbursement in the future, and even now in some cases. So everyone matters all the time, not only on the personal level, but also on the renumeration level. We want to receive the credit as patients rank their experience as always good and better if it's superior. Improvement caps, hospital rankings are partially based on comparisons to their evaluations in previous years. We go from warrior to warrior to winner. And as we discuss amongst ourselves or during lunch, what have you seen or done lately that is positive and how can you help that grow? What would you like to do? What can we do to improve and communicate? How can we better understand the patient's experience? Patient input while they undergo treatment and post treatment follow-up. How can we improve that? How do we stay in contact with our patients so that they never forget us? Don't forget to say I love you. Don't forget to say I care. Don't forget to say tomorrow we will have so much to share. And by the way, in case you missed it, thank you all for being there. Doctors, nurses, healing teams, and of course caregivers all deserve our love and gratitude because they hear our call. Even when days are stormy and the clouds consume the sky. Remember the words hope and love fill the world for you and I. So give a hug and share your smile and let our people know that every time they save a life, the world is all aglow. Healthy, well and on your way is what we want to hear and to share a great big secret every one of you is dear. So remember folks that in our world, you never stand alone. The JTCC is on your side by car, by plane, by phone. The people's house, the house of hope with windows to the sky, filled with brains and forward thinkers who love life and want to try to give us one that's cancer free so we can spend the day in making our world a better place. So everyone can say I love my life and all it brings the moon, the stars, the sun and thank you all for being here. You are the special ones and remember in order to get our patients well, we need a dedicated, caring, compassionate, highly intelligent staff. Thank you so much.