Aug. 11, 2009 at 8:51am

Left without being seen: It’s happening in places other than the hospital Emergency Department

Posted by Shari Campbell in Planning and Strategy, Practice Management
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LWBS stands for “left without being seen.” And while it has generally been a term applied to patients who get tired of waiting in hospital emergency departments, it’s what a good friend of mine did last Friday after waiting for nearly an hour in a nearly empty waiting room at a doctor’s office.

After she told the staff she had enough, they said "Well he (the doctor) had an emergency appointment this morning and he’s been behind ever since. I guess we should’ve told you! Can’t you wait just five more minutes? He has your test results.”

My friend is a busy professional. She has worked in many different industries, including for a home health agency, a hospital and health care system and a large medical group practice. And yet she admitted to me her patience has worn thin.

“They don’t get it. I’m busy too. I’ll get my records and my test reports from them and I’ll go somewhere else.”

Consumerism is alive and growing in health care. Just ask our friends at Market Strategies International.

According to Market Strategies, when 16-17 percent of the market is picking up most of the tab for their health care expenses, they’ll behave more like consumers of other products and services. Think about how you shop for car insurance, a home mortgage or, if you’re like me, your child’s orthodontist.

A major employer in our community is considering significant changes to their medical, dental and retirement benefits. They kept using this phrase “consumerism.” When asked what it meant, they put it pretty simply, “We’ll be spending less on benefits, employees will be spending more and the incentives will be on our employees to shop around, compare prices and think more about prevention—you know, like the regular maintenance you perform on your car.”

Employers are coming to terms with the fact that paying for expensive medications and procedures is not only a costly endeavor, but it also may not be the best investment of their limited benefit resources.

And whether you work for a hospital, multi-specialty physician group or free-standing surgery center, one implication is clear: patients will act more like consumers of other services and, in return, expect your organization to deliver better service and more transparent pricing.

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