Collaborative Construction: Implications for Hospital-Physician Relations

Despite the stresses of moving, I am excited to buy a home that a builder built for himself.  As several people in construction have told me, builders use their knowledge, experience, and leverage with their subcontractors to make sure that they are living in a home that meets and exceeds specifications.

My grandfather, who sold commercial real estate, told me to begin a tour of a house for sale at the basement, where one can see, feel, and even smell the quality of workmanship and attention to detail.  Witness the I-beams used in construction of skyscrapers that support the top two floors of my new home.

Two healthcare analogies come to mind:

1) During my residency, an attending surgeon stayed in the Operating Room until the skin incision was closed; he told me, “If patients see perfectly approximated skin edges, they assume that their surgeon paid attention to detail on the inside. First impressions count.”

2) When I help hospitals set up Physician Advisory Panels, I encourage them to pick physician co-chairs who, based on inside knowledge, are the physicians that physicians turn to for advice and care; these physician champions create a safe environment for learning and growth that builds transparency and medical staff trust from the ground up in the same way that a home builder starts construction with a solid foundation

Imagine the potential, as we design a system to deliver more collaborative cost-effective healthcare, of being builders designing a home that we are going to live in.  For those of us at or nearing our mid-century mark, the timing could not be more favorable.

As always, I welcome your input to improve healthcare collaboration.

Kenneth H. Cohn

© 2010, all rights reserved

Disclosure:

I have not received any compensation for writing this content. I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

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