Earlier this month, my friend and colleague, Maureen Bisognano, President Emerita and Senior Fellow for Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), graciously agreed to address Massachusetts Health Care Advocates (MAHCA) during our Second Spring Symposium — The Current Climate in Healthcare: Looking at the Future with Hope!
Her presentation — Planning for a New Way to Care — offered a new approach to healthcare; it had everyone in the room excited and inspired to join a movement.
Maureen shared many personal family experiences, as well as those of thousands of others from around the world with whom she has had the privilege of interacting. She spoke of her mom’s encounter with a “doctor for her soul” and how different he was from the “doctor for her care.”
Maureen is unique in how she learns from every new person and culture she encounters, how she studies best practices, how she infuses new and innovative ideas into our healthcare system, and how widely she spreads the information, thus producing profound change.
Maureen described an encounter she had with someone on a plane on her way to giving a speech and how that random conversation led her to rip up what she had prepared and rewrite it, changing the focus from “What’s the matter?” to “What matters to you?” (WMTY).
WMTY is truly patient-centered care because it emphasizes the patient’s voice and puts it out front. Research has demonstrated that this change in approach helps patients feel their care team truly cares about them. Additionally, staff describe their work as more meaningful, a change which helps them become more engaged and experience more joy.
In the face of a healthcare system in which patients are frequently frustrated and providers often leave the profession due to burnout, this truly is a paradigm shift.
Maureen implemented WMTY as a foundational element of the IHI Framework for Improving Joy in Work, thus spreading the word and creating a movement.
Change Can Be Simple
Change can feel difficult — it elicits fear of the unknown and many people assume they just don’t have the time. However, when new ways of doing things are tried, and when they result in positive and connected experiences, the behavior is reinforced and begins to spread.
Asking “What Matters to You?” is simple to do and takes very little time. In addition to the benefits mentioned earlier, this approach leads to greater patient adherence to treatment regimens and reduced pain, while leading to fewer medical errors by providers.
It can also lead to greater satisfaction. Maureen told the story of a man who was close to death. When asked, “What Matters to You?” he simply asked for a grilled cheese sandwich. It was an easy request for his nurse to satisfy, bringing both him and her immediate joy.
Following this experience, this nurse began to routinely ask her patients, “What Matters to You?” As the practice spread, it became a “New Way to Care” in her hospital.
Join the Movement
“What Matters to You?” has become an international movement, spreading to more than 2000 teams in 50 countries. It is having a significant impact by improving:
- Workforce engagement
- Clinical outcomes for patients, along with increased quality and safety
- Financial strength and performance of health care institutions through reduced cost of care
- Communities, as demonstrated by improved trust, increased access to care, and decreased health disparities
To join the movement, visit wmty.world and register for the upcoming May 21st meeting or listen to a recording of a previous event. It’s free and open to everyone (I will be attending my first event in May!).
Summary
As I experienced the symposium, reviewed the slides, and thought about the day and the joy of receiving incredibly positive feedback from our attendees, I reflected on how we at Healthassist interact with our clients.
Every day, and in our own way, we uncover what matters to them and make sure it is communicated repeatedly to all involved in a client’s care, especially as the health of a client declines.
After attending this symposium, we will be more direct in asking, “What matters to you?” We encourage you to ask the same question of yourself and of those you love, and to then be proactive by sharing it with your healthcare team.
You, too, can lead by modeling the way to spark and then spread a movement.
P.S. Click here to read more about the WMTY movement.