What is your EQ?

As recently related to HHI by a former chief medical officer:

“patients care primarily about three things in this order: 1) Don’t hurt me; 2) Heal me;  and a distant 3) Be nice to me”

HHI was invited to partner with a large integrated health system to explore ways to improve their patient’s healthcare experience. During this project, we had the opportunity to explore many aspects of care delivery – ranging from primary care encounters between physicians and patients, to the handling of patient needs regarding test results, appointment scheduling, billing and reimbursement.

One of the core principles which emerged from this work is the concept of IQ + EQ. It turns out that patients (like any other consumer segment) want the practice of first-rate medical care combined with the ability to anticipate and respond to their emotional needs – emotional needs which may vary based on treatment received.

Given this perspective, let’s consider the above CMO’s list through the patient’s eyes:

1. Don’t hurt me --- [hoped for and assumed IQ]
2. Heal me --- [wished for and anticipated IQ]
3. Be nice to me --- [prayed for and often missing EQ]

The combination of IQ (which is expected and anticipated) and EQ (which can often surprise and delight and ultimately contribute to the patient’s healing) is what separates truly great health care from simply good enough.