Consumerism in Health Care
Articles
The phone rang on a Thursday afternoon in Marie's home. It was a hospital-based home health care organization, Insidious Institute, returning her call about retrieving a wheelchair that had been leased to her spouse, Larry. Marie no longer needed the wheelchair, because Larry had died that morning. She asked the customer service representative from Insidious Institute to have their staff pick-up the chair at her home anytime the next day, Friday. Marie told her that otherwise, the pick-up would need to occur on the following Wednesday, because she would be traveling and attending Larry's funeral from Saturday through Tuesday. Insidious Institute's representative agreed to have the wheelchair retrieved on the next day. She couldn't tell Marie what time on Friday the pick-up would occur. Since Marie planned to be home the entire day anyhow, she told the Insidious Institute customer service rep that their driver could retrieve the wheelchair anytime on Friday. Marie completed her telephone conversation and hung up.
Next, Marie spoke with the telephone representative at a different home health care medical equipment supplier, Capable Care, and arranged for the return of an air mattress pump that was also on loan to Larry. She told the staff about Larry's death early that morning, and about her availability on either Friday or the following Wednesday for pick-up of the air pump. The representative told Marie that their driver would plan to pick up the air pump on Wednesday of the following week. They would call to set-up a time on Wednesday morning to stop by and get the device.
Now, let's compare how Insidious Institute and Capable Care responded to Marie's routine request for retrieval of a simple medical supply item.
On Wednesday morning, Marie called Insidious Institute to remind the representative that she needed to pick up the wheelchair today, because they did not show up on the previous Friday. The “customer service representative” informed Marie that the staff tried to pick-up the wheelchair on Friday as intended and could not do so, because they could not find her home. Marie insisted that she was at home the entire day and that, in fact, she never left the premises. Marie reminded the representative that she still needed the wheelchair picked-up. The representative told Marie that she could not tell her exactly when someone would arrive to pick-up the wheelchair. She said that she could send a representative to Marie's home sometime on Thursday, the next day. Marie informed her that she couldn't afford to be home waiting all day on Thursday. Marie had to return to work then. The representative said that this is the best she could do for Marie. The representative began lecturing Marie about the difficulties the Insidious Institute driver encountered in getting to her home on the previous Friday. Marie protested, saying impatiently that no one had called that day to request directions. Again the representative grumbled about Marie's lack of availability that day. Marie repeated that she was home that entire day. The Insidious Institute representative then recommended that Marie consider leaving the wheelchair on her front porch or even perhaps with a neighbor on Thursday, their preferred day for pick-up. At this point, Marie became so frustrated and felt so powerless that she said “Good-bye!” and slammed down the phone receiver.
Five minutes later the phone rang. It was the customer service representative from Insidious Institute calling to protest about the fact that Marie hung up on her. Marie, clearly angry now, informed her that she did not appreciate hearing a lecture about their problems. Marie reminded her that all she ever wanted was simply to arrange for the pick-up of her deceased spouse's wheelchair. Again, Marie reminded her that she was home on the previously scheduled pick-up day, and that no one from Insidious Institute called to request directions or to cancel the pick-up. Now, Marie needed to have the wheelchair picked up today, and wanted to know when to expect someone to arrive at her home. The customer service representative told Marie that she needed to speak with the Insidious Institute residential delivery driver. Within five minutes, a driver for Insidious Institute called Marie. He informed her that the driver on Friday could not find her home. That driver did not call to get directions and this new driver apologized for the mix-up. He told Marie that he would arrive at her home between 1 and 3 p.m. today (Wednesday) to retrieve the wheelchair and he did so.
These two transactions actually happened side by side. Why should any consumer encounter difficulty in resolving such a simple matter? A comparison of the companies and their responses to a simple request provides an astonishing contrast of how the health service industry responds to the needs of its consumers. Dissatisfaction that health care professionals hear from their consumers may very well have started with simple conflicts with other staff members from the organization. The inconsistency both between and within organizations is a key factor in the poor satisfaction that consumers have with this industry. Clearly, some organizations understand the importance of meeting consumer needs. Unfortunately and regrettably, consumers also encounter the inexcusable behavior observed in the case of Insidious Institute. These situations leave people feeling angry, frustrated, powerless, and dissatisfied with the people who are responsible for delivering health services and products. All too often, such poor service is totally preventable and unnecessary. Everyone in the profession is responsible for indoctrination and training. Yet, in many cases, consumer expectations and needs are not given full consideration. Unfortunately, there is a lack of understanding on the part of those who are responsible for providing health services and sometimes consumers are left disgruntled. Ironically, if Insidious Institute had only handled Maria's needs as she originally requested, the transaction would also have been more profitable for the organization. Good customer service does not need to be more expensive.
by Diane M. Eade and Sharon M. Mikolanis