Last week, one of the most trusted advisors and colleagues in my life, Jeanne Stafford, dropped another one of her brilliant Forbes pieces. Jeanne, a leadership advisor, came to me weeks before with her idea to feature my work. It was the easiest "yes" I’ve given since my last family trip for ice cream. I can’t say easier than ice cream, because…well, if you know, you know.
The topic? Experimenting with existing systems. You can read the piece here.
Why experimenting and why existing systems?
First, experimenting is the way of the future, especially when considering an industry that has had challenges for so long—I'm talking about behavioral health.
Second, existing systems are exactly as they sound – they exist, and they’re systems. Those are two huge steps in a new or redefined solution.
Rather than recreate the wheel, we need to consider re-imagining the system that turns the wheel.
Where do we start? Three places:
Collaboration
The healthcare industry is riddled with organizations fighting for pieces of a small pie, when the ingredients to make a bigger pie are staring us in the face.
A couple months ago, I became aware of the imminent closure of a program. I approached multiple governmental agencies with a plan. Bringing several providers together, I offered a solution that would support the hundreds of clients that would be impacted.
The two results, surprising to most, though not to me: The organizations in the coalition said yes as fast as I did to the Forbes piece.The governmental agencies didn’t act quickly enough.
The end result: of the 600 enrolled in the program, several hundred lost access to services. The coalition was able to serve several hundred others. That's what happens when serving people in need is the ultimate focus.
Outcomes
Many of us LOVE to talk about outcomes. Few go beyond that. There are two significant pitfalls with outcomes, in my experience:
1. IF they exist in an organization, they aren’t regular enough, and
2. they aren’t explored in a way that makes them useful.
When I took my first leadership role, I inherited a large financial problem – half a million dollars that might never be recouped. Everyone knew there was a real problem, but no one knew precisely how large the problem was, and more importantly, WHY the problem existed.
I spent months laser-focused on the causes and within a year, nearly all the money was captured, and the ongoing problem was gone. In fact, the net savings to the company was pushing $1m.
Without outcomes being regularly discussed, and a way of life for those serving people, they aren’t meaningful. The good news, and reason for my optimism – there’s so much room to improve, and when it happens, people will get better, and they’ll do so faster.
The great link between the two:
More collaboration = better outcomes. Working together to help those who need it most creates the best outcomes. It seems simple, but it’s often missed.
Better outcomes = more collaboration. People and institutions want to work with those who not only do good work (most providers do good work), but can demonstrate it with positive outcomes.
My mission is to drive a system of care that creates the highest levels of collaboration and continues to move the needle on outcomes from poor to excellent.
A Forbes mention is only the beginning. Our industry needs a radical shift. And when that happens, we’ll unlock the unlimited power that exists in the people we serve, the people who’ve survived the unimaginable.
Will you join me? Explore ways to Work With Me and I look forward to the collaboration.
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