In this special Speaker Series, Becker's Healthcare caught up with Umesh Sharma, MD, chair of the community division of hospital medicine at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic Health System.
Dr. Sharma will speak on a panel during the Becker's Hospital Review 4th Annual Health IT + Revenue Cycle Conference titled "Epic EHR, Revenue Cycle, and Non-Clinical Application Strategies," at 1:15 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21. Learn more about the event and register to attend in Chicago.
Question: In the past 12 months, how have you adapted to new patient experience expectations in the age of consumerism?
Dr. Umesh Sharma: I had to accept the fact that we are in the business of treating people with medical problems. Any business has to satisfy the needs of their stakeholders, especially patients. Patient experience is a vital part of the value proposition that healthcare organizations have to focus on as we transition from quantity to quality-based healthcare. We have engaged with our patient experience team, leadership and frontline staff and started [to develop a] process to improve our overall patient experience.
Q: What is your No. 1 dealbreaker when it comes to evaluating vendor partnerships?
US: If I cannot "like, trust or respect" a vendor — or any person — I am less likely to do business with them.
Q: What's the best thing you've read lately?
US: I read a book called "How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success" by Leil Lowndes, [and it] has helped me improve my social interaction skills.