How to become a better health care manager

Dr Aniruddha Malpani, MDMedical Director

HELPwww.healthlibrary.com

It’s hard being a student of healthcare management !

Need to understand management principles

Need to understand healthcare delivery – complex !

Deal with teachers and professors

It’s hard being a student of healthcare management !

Pass examinations Deal with doctors and hospitals .

These can be scary places – how do you manage ?

Need to get a job ! Keep your parents happy Compete with your peers Have a life !

It’s hard being a teacher for healthcare managers !

How do we teach students Ethics ? Legal principles ? Advances in medical technology ? Managerial principles ? CRM, ERP, IT ?

It’s hard being a teacher for healthcare managers !

How do we make sure the curriculum is uptodate ?

What standards should we follow ?

How do we give them real-life experience ?

It’s hard being a teacher for healthcare managers !

How do we grade them ?How can we ensure placements for

them ?How do we know we are doing a good job ?

Difficult Challenges !Huge opportunities !

Healthcare managers can change Indian society

You can make a difference!

Where do we start ?How do we teach the next generation of healthcare managers ?

A different viewpoint !

You cannot teach anyone anything !

You can only help them to learn

Job of a good teacher

Empower students to learn for themselves

Give real-life opportunities to do so

Let them make mistakes in a controlled environment

“ See one, do one, teach one”

Let students learn from each other !

The web allows them to do this. Online learning communities

where they can share knowledge Allow students to design their

own teaching. Can get useful feedback from fresh grads !

The web !

Web 2.0 technology allows this to happen with ease

Wikis and blogs Online textbooks Online courses E-learning !

Open source

Everyone can contribute ! Free Not to compete – but to co-operate Everyone wins ! Huge opportunities – we have lots of

talents and brains – let’s make use of this.

Good teachers learn from students

India specific !

We need to learn from Indian success stories

Aravind Eye Care – SOPs and systems

We do not need to ape the West or try to borrow their standards – recipe for disaster and failure

My advise for students

Learn to be an entrepreneur These are real-life skills which

will help you for the rest of your life

Don’t only think of your next job – plan a career and a life !

You are your own brand – You, Inc

Think “out of the box” – and apply what you learn to managing your own career !

If you do what everyone else does, you’ll be another cog in the wheel !

What’s your USP ? Differentiate ! For example, start a blog. This is

your digital reputation !

You have certain skills the older generation does not have. Capitalise on this !

Don’t expect to be spoonfed – need to learn how to learn for yourself

You are a lifelong learner !

What does a healthcare manager do ?

Manage what ?Money ?People ?Resources ?Equipment ?

What does a healthcare manager do ?

Help people to get better healthcare

Help people to remain well

How to become a better healthcare manager

Become a patient !This will help you see things from the patient’s point of view

Today’s Health Care Today’s Health Care SystemSystem

Physician

Health Insurance

Self-Care

Information Overload

Media

The Patient

Doctor versus Patient

►Patients are unhappy with doctors►Make them wait►Do not explain

►Doctors are unhappy with patients ►Underpaid►Stressed and burntout

What is a healthcare manager to do ?

You need to keep your doctors happy

You need to keep your patients happy

Doctor and Patient

We are all on the same side – the patients’

Medicine is a service professionDoctors like helping patientsWant them to get better

How can we create a win-win situation ?

We will always have a shortage

Shortage of doctorsShortage of nursesShortage of moneyShortage of equipmentShortage of resources

This is the challenge

Too many patients Not enough

doctors/nurses/equipment/hospital beds/money !

This is seen to be the problem.We are a “poor country”

This is the opportunity !

Patients are not the problem – they are the solution !

Patients are the largest untapped healthcare resource !

Today

Patients make medical decisions all the time !

Can I manage this headache at home ? Should I smoke ? Cheat on my diet ? Go to the gym ? Join a yoga class ? When should I go to a doctor ? Which

doctor should I go to ? Should I take out an insurance policy ?

Often they make poor decisions This hurts everyone !

How can we help them make better decisions about their health ?

Information Therapy !

Information Therapy is Powerful Medicine !

Help patients to make better health decisions

Patients are the largest untapped healthcare resource !

Empower them with information – so they can take better care of themselves , in partnership with their doctor.

Don’t underestimate a patient’s abilities !

1. Patients are smart . With the right tools, they can make the right decisions !

2. Knowledge is Power !3. The doctor is a partner

You cannot afford to leave everything upto God – or upto the doctor !

Information Therapy helps patients save money on

medical care 1. Promote SelfCare . Help you to do as much for yourself as you can, so you are not completely dependent on the doctor

Information Therapy helps patients save money on

medical care 2. Provide Evidence-Based Guidelines , so you can ask for the right medical treatment that they need - no more and no less

Information Therapy helps patients save money on

medical care 3. Help you with Veto Power, so you can say No to medical care you don’t need, thus preventing overtesting and unnecessary surgery .

My personal experience

I learn a lot from my patients !If you treat patients with respect, they will respect you in return

Patients get the doctors they deserve – and doctors get the patients they deserve

Well-informed patients are easier to treat, because they have realistic expectations

Our focus areas now are:

Encouraging health insurance companies to invest in patient education

Makes business sense !

Our focus areas now are:

Encouraging corporate to invest in patient education

Makes business sense !Reduces medical absenteeism and sick leave

National Network

Every hospital should have a Patient Education Resource Center

Win-win situationGreat tool to empower patientsHelps doctors and hospitals too !

Patient Information Patient Information CenterCenter

Core collection of booksCore collection of books DVDsDVDs PC with internet connection and PC with internet connection and

printerprinter Staff member Staff member ““Corner” centers – need just about Corner” centers – need just about

100 sq ft100 sq ft Costs only Rs 2 lakhs per year !Costs only Rs 2 lakhs per year !

Online Information Online Information TherapyTherapy

FreeFree 24/724/7 Easily accessibleEasily accessible Increased internet penetrationIncreased internet penetration Answer questions free by email !Answer questions free by email !

How do we provide the How do we provide the right information to the right information to the

right patient ?right patient ? Free floating information ( google) is Free floating information ( google) is

uselessuseless Information Therapy needs to be Information Therapy needs to be

prescribed to them, tailored to their prescribed to them, tailored to their needs, based on their medical problemsneeds, based on their medical problems

How can we do this ?How can we do this ?

Personal Health Record Personal Health Record

PHR – Personal Health PHR – Personal Health RecordRecord

For the Tax Department, you are For the Tax Department, you are your tax returnyour tax return

For the Bank, you are your bank For the Bank, you are your bank statementstatement

For the healthcare system, you are For the healthcare system, you are your medical record .your medical record .

PHRPHR

Patients store their Patients store their medical records on their medical records on their personal website. personal website.

PHR PHR = organised medical = organised medical

information information = improved medical care= improved medical care

Keeping this record will help them to Keeping this record will help them to get better medical care. get better medical care.

Patients need to manage their own Patients need to manage their own health record. health record.

Doing so will teach them a lot about Doing so will teach them a lot about their healththeir health

How patients can improve How patients can improve the healthcare systemthe healthcare system

Patients can add a lot of value to Patients can add a lot of value to the healthcare system using the healthcare system using Patient to Patient ( P2P) Patient to Patient ( P2P) networking. networking.

Social networking – an online Social networking – an online community , in which patients community , in which patients share informationshare information

“ “ Wisdom of the crowds” Wisdom of the crowds” ““Expert patients “ can act as Expert patients “ can act as

mentors and email buddies.mentors and email buddies.

How patients can improve How patients can improve the healthcare systemthe healthcare system

Grading system for doctors and Grading system for doctors and hospitalshospitals

Get feedback from patientsGet feedback from patients Help doctors and hospitals ( and Help doctors and hospitals ( and

healthcare managers) to healthcare managers) to improve their services improve their services

Today’s Health Care Today’s Health Care SystemSystem

Physician

Health Insurance

Self-Care

Information Overload

Media

The Patient

The Patient as IntegratorThe Patient as Integrator

Care

Choice

Information & Feedback

The Empowered Patient – with the help of Information

Therapy