In this special Speaker Series, Becker's Healthcare caught up with Patrick McDermott, vice president of revenue cycle at Sutter Health in Sacramento, Calif.
Mr. McDermott will speak on a panel during the Becker's Hospital Review 4th Annual Health IT + Revenue Cycle Conference that is titled "Transforming Revenue Cycle Culture with Analytics, Automation and Training Working Together," at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19. Learn more about the event and register to attend in Chicago
Question: Can you share your best advice for motivating your teams?
Patrick McDermott: People are intrinsically motivated, but "bosses" get in the way because they unintentionally discourage or diminish people. This lowers confidence, initiative taking and overall morale or energy at work. So the key is for "leaders" — not bosses — to become more self-aware, present and intentional on how they are motivating or the opposite. Now, on occasion, when we [goof] up, we need to apologize and humble ourselves to restore trust.
Q: In the past 12 months, how have you adapted to new patient experience expectations in the age of consumerism?
PM: [We have been] rethinking our patient facing processes to be more like Uber [and] Amazon [by] using a "design with empathy" approach.
Q: What's the best thing you've read lately?
PM: Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace by Gordon A. Mackenzie