 The patient service conundrum. How far do we go? By Sharon Lee Parker, Director of Patient Advocacy and Hospitality Training. What is a conundrum? Well, a conundrum is a puzzle or a dilemma that can be difficult to figure out in which direction should we turn? With advanced technology pulling us in one direction and human service pulling us in another, is there a happy medium we can all live with together? How far should we go when it comes to patience and the need for kindness, caring, direction, compassion, and personal follow-through? My theory of positivity is that passion is not quantifiable, but you can feel it in the pulse of the John Thurrock Cancer Center and our hospital, just like a heartbeat. Everything is moving in a positive direction. It is somehow pleasant to be there, even though a cancer or some sickness abound. Patients reach out to us for help in the hope that we will have the right answers, which will lead to the best possible outcomes. It is their sole mission and our challenge and why patients seek us out. It is a well-established fact that we have among the best clinical staffs and support teams working to cure these cancers every day here at the John Thurrock Cancer Center, also known as the JTCC. Are we at risk, however, of becoming depersonalized? Because it is often hard to justify the costs and involved areas that are hard to quantify. The intangibles, including passion for the job, caring, concern, dedication, and going that extra mile. How do we educate the decision makers and policy formulators to really comprehend that the total patient experience absolutely does matter? Personally, I can see it in the patient's faces when we share a few moments, hearing their concerns and making a difference in their lives. A smile and a friendly hello can add warmth and comfort to a patient and their families, and that's whether or not you're wearing a mask or not. This may not be measurable statistically, but you all know what you said or did to improve the situation. And always remember to give yourself some praise if you know you did a good job after you leave the area. It's the feeling of success that brings a smile to your face and adds an inch of confidence to your very being. Everyone who works at the JTCC and HUMC and Hackensack Meridian Health needs to practice a friendly hello, a good morning, or have a nice day. It is becoming apparent to people involved in cancer care that patient experience is a leading indicator of how we measure up to others in the field. What can we do to improve our skills on behalf of everyone involved? The patient, the caregiver, and family members is open for discussion and your input, of course, is paramount to our greater success. As most of us are already aware, wait times in both exam rooms and waiting rooms need to be reevaluated and improved for the patient. Their time is valuable too, and we need to be able to justify why the waits can sometimes be more than an hour in different sleeves and for chemo. It is realistic to assume that there are times that no one foresees and the oncologist becomes tied up with the previous patient or the blood for some reason is held up. Maybe there's a previous patient, an important call or meeting, but how we react and what we can do to ease the wait for the patient is of paramount importance and can make all the difference. Wait times. Can I offer you a drink of water or something to eat while you wait? Can I help you? Are you lost? Can I offer you a chair? All things up for discussion. Things that can make a patient feel that we do really care. Here's a sampling of patient comments. I love all the nurses. Overall, this has been a very positive experience. Oh, I love Dr. McNamara. Dr. Viesel and Dr. Siegel are extraordinary. Dr. Gua and Dr. Richter as well. I'm very happy with Dr. Alter and Diane and Phyllis. Well, they are saints. It's been months since I received my first treatment. And there were so many that were so helpful, knowledgeable and considerate that it's impossible for me to remember all of their names. All of the nurses and chemo are wonderful and caring. Dr. Weintraub and his team makes a horrible situation tolerable, as Dr. Gutierrez does too. They have often taken the time to answer all of my questions and concerns. I often wonder if the staff takes happy pills. Tara and Colleen are the sweetest girls ever. They help you any way they can. And thank you, Claritza, for the hats. Additional patient comments are always welcome, whether they're positive or negative, because that's what helps us grow. A wonderful experience and facility only complained is sometimes it takes over an hour for the medicine to arrive from the pharmacy. Will that ever change? I'm not sure, but we can certainly work on it. When I do have blood drawn on the ground floor, they are as the rest of H-U-M-C exceptional from Dr. Lewis, from the people in radiation oncology, Dr. Ingenito, extraordinary. Becky and Anastasia are the finest nurses ever. It's very hard to find staff as wonderful as yours. In fact, it was better than Holy Name Med. They are superb. The process works well. I wish my workplace was as well organized and proficient, but it isn't. Thank you very much. Very good service, very good facility. All of the doctors and their staff members are wonderful. My scheduler always tries to accommodate my time and how important is that? Additional patient comments. JTCC is perfectly organized from the time you enter to the time you leave. Isn't that great when people can say, even though I have cancer, I love coming to the JTCC. The care and concern from the staff, from the main lobby to the different floors, I might have to go for some treatment or follow up. I just hope one day the center like this one can be located closer to where I live. A wonderful comment from a patient. I had stem cell recovery performed by Dr. Rowley at the hospital. Everything went exactly as he told me and Dr. Donato extraordinary. Scheduling very good. Registration. Excellent. Facility. Superb place. Tests very organized. Overall assessment. Superb place. And fine staff. If you have negative, yes, that's how we learn to improve what patients are feeling that are not quite right. I want to speak to a human that can and is willing to help me. Many patients have my cell phone number and now others as well so that they know that they can call the nurse on call, or someone in the sleep if they're having difficulty. It's more uncomfortable enough for family members in the infusion area. Well, that's up for debate. Some people love them. Some people don't waiting times and billing questions and registration are still areas that need more work. Wait times need to be managed better as they can be extremely long, which can be tough to manage when patients do not feel well. It can also cause the doctors to be rushed, which can offset the patient experience. It's not perfect, but we're trying very hard to make it better. If wait time and exam rooms could be reduced, it would be great. The ID badges are so important to have your name in the front so people can read them. You don't want patients to say, I can't read it. The appointment time is 1030am, but I wasn't seen until 1.30pm. The wait time was too long. Some of the staff could care less about life outside that office. I feel that when I leave, I'm forgot. When I call with a problem, it's about like I'm bothering that. Hopefully we don't have that anymore. Every patient is important, whether they're in the cancer center or they're home, and any way we can help them is what we need to do. Comment from someone else billing a constant problem. Yesterday I had a billing issue with the patient and I was able to hear about it and call up the right people and fix the problem. How great I felt and how wonderful the patient felt. Patients often say, I'm not sure why I owe what I owe, and discussing that and clarifying it is very important. How we say it in what tone of voice is very important. Negatives continue as to an overall comment. The food provided in the infusion room needs to be improved. They often cannot find my file was another. Well, the food has improved. And I can tell you that I had the tuna salad today from our food service and it was absolutely delicious. They didn't want unwrapped food because people touch everything and everything is sealed for our patients. Voice mails are sometimes full and they couldn't leave a message. That always needs to improve and we need to answer the phones in a more responsive quicker way often. Wait times too long as another person said and of course if you're waiting for an hour or two and somebody else gets in. In 15 minutes, you know that the wait times are too long. Not enough time not enough time with the doctors emergency room has much too long wait for an inpatient bed and you bet we need to improve the inpatient emergency rooms for our patients. We should really have a not only a separate area but maybe an entirely separate wing for patients a different area totally. We would love to have one at the J2CC. And if someone donates a lot of money, maybe one day we will anything to make the patient experience better. And if someone's having an emergency that we can try to help them. When human services rewarded we have a lovely picture here with parameters Catholic students giving back, and this was with Dr Stanley wine trout giving back, thanking us for a wonderful job for patients that they are aware of. Thank you parameters Catholic for your caring and your support. Always have an angel by your side by Sharon Lee Parker. It may be your mom, your dad or your friend, someone who's there from beginning to end the person who cares and goes all the way standing beside you to brighten your day. Who is this someone so special so true. It may be an angel just there for you. Each one is different and that we're aware. It's a feeling we get someone special is there. It may be a best friend a woman or man, someone who cares and says yes you can. Sometimes we see them in spirit and love. Sometimes they're flying in clouds high above. Someone that loves you and will be your guide. May you always have angels right by your side. Thank you so much. Enjoy your day and make it better for the next person.