Swati Mehta, MD, FACP

Patient:

Alone in the Emergency Dept, breathless, I wait for you

“The Hospitalist will admit you” says the nurse, “she will come in a few.”

Muffled voices – masked faces bustle in & out of the room

Loud beeping machines & the rushed pace, fill me with gloom



You walk in the room, lean in to introduce

You tell me your name and what you will do

For a moment I’m more than a diagnosis, an H&P,

and then the fleeting connection passes, can’t you see?

You listen, seem hurried, but I think you care

Would you sit with me while my story I share?

Physician:

I do see you, I feel your fear & anguish

A moment to know you too, is all that I wish

How do I convince you that I truly care?

When, with all my tasks I have only minutes to spare

Patient:

You diligently ask questions from your checklist of H.P.I.,

Finalizing the diagnosis, when I hear your pager beep.

An admission awaits I know, but please sit by my side

Could we make our new-found meeting, a little more deep?

Physician:

The minute our day begins, it’s go-go-go

There isn’t a second to pause, inhale, or be slow

Missed lunch, it’s 6 p.m., bite to eat I dare?

My shift ended 3 hrs. back but I’m still here

Notes, DC summaries, calls to your PCP

Advocating for you, is more than a job to me.



Tirelessly I work, giving patients my all

Drained, exhausted yet, for you, standing tall

Our bond albeit short lived, is very important to me

Watching you get better each day, is fulfilling for me!

Patient:

You take time to ask about my family, about what I like to do

I tell you all about Beatles & my sweet grandkids

You sit & ask me “what matters most to you”

I reply: getting well for the wedding of my daughter “Sue”

Physician:

I sense loneliness engulfing you at times

Your fear and anxiety, I promise to help overcome

I will help you navigate this complex hospital stay

Together we will fight this virus or anything that comes our way

Each passing minute the line between doctor and patient disappears

That’s when we win over this virus, and hope replaces fear

Patient:

Every day you come see me, tell me my numbers are improving

I notice your warm and kind eyes behind that stifling mask

When they light up as you tell me I’m going home soon

I feel assured I mean more to you, than a mere task

Physician:

Each day I visit, together we hum “here comes the sun”

I too open up and share with you, my favorite Beatles song

Our visits cover much more than clinical medicine

True connection & mutual soul healing begins, before long.

Patient:

Today is the day, grateful to go home,

My body may be healed due to all the medicine & potions,

But my bruised soul was healed due to all your kind emotions.



Time to bid adieu Dear Doc – If I meet you at our local grocery store,

I promise I’ll remember those kind eyes, and wave

After all, you stood between me and death

I’m indebted to you, it’s my life that you did save!
 

Dr. Mehta is a hospitalist and director of quality and performance and patient experience at Vituity in Emeryville, Calif. She is chair of the SHM patient experience executive council and executive board member of the SHM San Francisco Bay Area chapter.
 

Patient:

Alone in the Emergency Dept, breathless, I wait for you

“The Hospitalist will admit you” says the nurse, “she will come in a few.”

Muffled voices – masked faces bustle in & out of the room

Loud beeping machines & the rushed pace, fill me with gloom



You walk in the room, lean in to introduce

You tell me your name and what you will do

For a moment I’m more than a diagnosis, an H&P,

and then the fleeting connection passes, can’t you see?

You listen, seem hurried, but I think you care

Would you sit with me while my story I share?

Physician:

I do see you, I feel your fear & anguish

A moment to know you too, is all that I wish

How do I convince you that I truly care?

When, with all my tasks I have only minutes to spare

Patient:

You diligently ask questions from your checklist of H.P.I.,

Finalizing the diagnosis, when I hear your pager beep.

An admission awaits I know, but please sit by my side

Could we make our new-found meeting, a little more deep?

Physician:

The minute our day begins, it’s go-go-go

There isn’t a second to pause, inhale, or be slow

Missed lunch, it’s 6 p.m., bite to eat I dare?

My shift ended 3 hrs. back but I’m still here

Notes, DC summaries, calls to your PCP

Advocating for you, is more than a job to me.



Tirelessly I work, giving patients my all

Drained, exhausted yet, for you, standing tall

Our bond albeit short lived, is very important to me

Watching you get better each day, is fulfilling for me!

Patient:

You take time to ask about my family, about what I like to do

I tell you all about Beatles & my sweet grandkids

You sit & ask me “what matters most to you”

I reply: getting well for the wedding of my daughter “Sue”

Physician:

I sense loneliness engulfing you at times

Your fear and anxiety, I promise to help overcome

I will help you navigate this complex hospital stay

Together we will fight this virus or anything that comes our way

Each passing minute the line between doctor and patient disappears

That’s when we win over this virus, and hope replaces fear

Patient:

Every day you come see me, tell me my numbers are improving

I notice your warm and kind eyes behind that stifling mask

When they light up as you tell me I’m going home soon

I feel assured I mean more to you, than a mere task

Physician:

Each day I visit, together we hum “here comes the sun”

I too open up and share with you, my favorite Beatles song

Our visits cover much more than clinical medicine

True connection & mutual soul healing begins, before long.

Patient:

Today is the day, grateful to go home,

My body may be healed due to all the medicine & potions,

But my bruised soul was healed due to all your kind emotions.



Time to bid adieu Dear Doc – If I meet you at our local grocery store,

I promise I’ll remember those kind eyes, and wave

After all, you stood between me and death

I’m indebted to you, it’s my life that you did save!
 

Dr. Mehta is a hospitalist and director of quality and performance and patient experience at Vituity in Emeryville, Calif. She is chair of the SHM patient experience executive council and executive board member of the SHM San Francisco Bay Area chapter.
 

Patient:

Alone in the Emergency Dept, breathless, I wait for you

“The Hospitalist will admit you” says the nurse, “she will come in a few.”

Muffled voices – masked faces bustle in & out of the room

Loud beeping machines & the rushed pace, fill me with gloom



You walk in the room, lean in to introduce

You tell me your name and what you will do

For a moment I’m more than a diagnosis, an H&P,

and then the fleeting connection passes, can’t you see?

You listen, seem hurried, but I think you care

Would you sit with me while my story I share?

Physician:

I do see you, I feel your fear & anguish

A moment to know you too, is all that I wish

How do I convince you that I truly care?

When, with all my tasks I have only minutes to spare

Patient:

You diligently ask questions from your checklist of H.P.I.,

Finalizing the diagnosis, when I hear your pager beep.

An admission awaits I know, but please sit by my side

Could we make our new-found meeting, a little more deep?

Physician:

The minute our day begins, it’s go-go-go

There isn’t a second to pause, inhale, or be slow

Missed lunch, it’s 6 p.m., bite to eat I dare?

My shift ended 3 hrs. back but I’m still here

Notes, DC summaries, calls to your PCP

Advocating for you, is more than a job to me.



Tirelessly I work, giving patients my all

Drained, exhausted yet, for you, standing tall

Our bond albeit short lived, is very important to me

Watching you get better each day, is fulfilling for me!

Patient:

You take time to ask about my family, about what I like to do

I tell you all about Beatles & my sweet grandkids

You sit & ask me “what matters most to you”

I reply: getting well for the wedding of my daughter “Sue”

Physician:

I sense loneliness engulfing you at times

Your fear and anxiety, I promise to help overcome

I will help you navigate this complex hospital stay

Together we will fight this virus or anything that comes our way

Each passing minute the line between doctor and patient disappears

That’s when we win over this virus, and hope replaces fear

Patient:

Every day you come see me, tell me my numbers are improving

I notice your warm and kind eyes behind that stifling mask

When they light up as you tell me I’m going home soon

I feel assured I mean more to you, than a mere task

Physician:

Each day I visit, together we hum “here comes the sun”

I too open up and share with you, my favorite Beatles song

Our visits cover much more than clinical medicine

True connection & mutual soul healing begins, before long.

Patient:

Today is the day, grateful to go home,

My body may be healed due to all the medicine & potions,

But my bruised soul was healed due to all your kind emotions.



Time to bid adieu Dear Doc – If I meet you at our local grocery store,

I promise I’ll remember those kind eyes, and wave

After all, you stood between me and death

I’m indebted to you, it’s my life that you did save!
 

Dr. Mehta is a hospitalist and director of quality and performance and patient experience at Vituity in Emeryville, Calif. She is chair of the SHM patient experience executive council and executive board member of the SHM San Francisco Bay Area chapter.
 

It was 6 a.m. on a rainy, cold Pacific Northwest morning as I walked from my apartment to the hospital, dodging puddles and dreaming of the mediocre-yet-hot physician-lounge coffee. Another long day full of clinical and administrative tasks awaited me.

I was 6 months’ pregnant with our first child and working my sixth 12-hour shift in a row. We had recently lost our medical director, and the C-suite had offered me the role. The day ahead seemed like an enormous mountain to climb.

I felt tired and more than a little overwhelmed. But I whispered to myself: “Today is going to be a fantastic day. I will not fail my team. I will not fail my patients!”
 

Physician leadership starts with a decision

The timing of this call to leadership had not been ideal. There’s probably never a perfect time to step into a medical director role. And my situation was no exception.

In addition to the baby on the way, my husband was traveling a lot for work. Also, the job of a medical director seemed a little daunting – especially to a young physician leading a team for the first time.

But I knew that leadership was my calling. While I didn’t yet have decades of experience, I had been selected as the chief resident in internal medicine, completed a nephrology fellowship, and mentored several medical students and residents along my career path.

I also knew that I was passionate about supporting my patients and hospitalist team. I’d previously served as associate medical director in charge of quality, readmission reduction, and patient experience. Having achieved the highest patient satisfaction scores on the team for 2 consecutive years, I was specially tasked to improve our team’s HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) scores.

These experiences taught me that coaching with positive reinforcement was in my blood. This gave me the courage to face my tallest mountain yet.
 

No one climbs a mountain alone

I also stepped into my new physician leadership role with amazing support. Our outgoing medical director had recommended me, and my entire team was rooting for me. My spouse was 100% behind the idea.

Courtesy Dr. Swati Mehta

What’s more, I had received amazing feedback from patients throughout my 3 years at the hospital. I had papered an entire office wall with their thank-you notes. I even had a quilt that an 85-year-old patient’s wife made to thank me for my compassionate care.

As I weighed my decision, I realized that I had a higher calling to be a true advocate for my patients. I loved what I did. Each day, I resolved to bring my best and most authentic self for them – no matter how drained I felt.

My team and patients needed me now, not at some more convenient time down the road. A medical director job was the natural next step for me. And so, I resolved to climb the mountain.
 

Climbing through storms

Stepping into a medical director job forced me to grow into a completely new person. So maybe starting that role during pregnancy was a great metaphor!

Each day, there was immense pressure to perform, to deliver quality outcomes, and to simultaneously meet expectations of the C-suite as well as my hospitalist team. There was no room for failure, because too much was at stake.

Looking back today, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. The medical director role was one of the most gratifying experiences in my life, and I am truly thankful for it.

A leader’s role truly boils down to working tirelessly to collaborate with different care teams. It’s important to care not only about our patients but also about our fellow hospitalists. We can do this by truly leading by example – be it picking up extra shifts, covering holidays so team members can be with family, or coming in at 10 p.m. to round with your night team.

I was also able to bring a unique perspective to the hospital C-suite meetings as a woman, an immigrant, and a true “mama bear” – not only of my infant son but also of my team.

Courtesy Dr. Swati Mehta

My first year as a medical director required more commitment and heart than I could have imagined. But all this hard work paid off when our hospitalist group received the coveted Best Team Award for most improved quality outcomes, financial performance, and patient experience.
 

The summit is the beginning

My first medical director job fueled my passion for patient satisfaction even further. I now serve as the director of patient experience for the more than 4,200 clinicians at Vituity. Together we care for more than 6.5 million lives a year across the country.

In 2019, I coached 300 physicians and hospital leaders on communication, collaboration, and service recovery skills, leading to significant improvement in their HCAHPS scores. I was delighted to receive the Vituity Distinguished Service Award for my contributions. It’s such an honor to be instrumental in impacting patient care at a larger scale.

This year, I was invited to serve as vice chair of the Society for Hospital Medicine’s patient experience committee and to join the executive board of the SHM San Francisco chapter. Together, we have created a COVID-19 patient communication resource and reached out to our hospitalists to provide them with a space to share their stories during this pandemic. I am so excited to share my knowledge and passion with clinicians across the country given the wide reach of Vituity & SHM!

Many hospitalists shy away from leadership roles. The mountain is tough to scale, but the view from the top is worth it. The key is to start, even if you don’t feel ready. I am here to tell you it can be done!

Dr. Mehta is a hospitalist and director of quality & performance and patient experience at Vituity in Emeryville, Calif. She is vice chair of the SHM patient experience committee and executive board member of the SHM San Francisco Bay Area chapter.

It was 6 a.m. on a rainy, cold Pacific Northwest morning as I walked from my apartment to the hospital, dodging puddles and dreaming of the mediocre-yet-hot physician-lounge coffee. Another long day full of clinical and administrative tasks awaited me.

I was 6 months’ pregnant with our first child and working my sixth 12-hour shift in a row. We had recently lost our medical director, and the C-suite had offered me the role. The day ahead seemed like an enormous mountain to climb.

I felt tired and more than a little overwhelmed. But I whispered to myself: “Today is going to be a fantastic day. I will not fail my team. I will not fail my patients!”
 

Physician leadership starts with a decision

The timing of this call to leadership had not been ideal. There’s probably never a perfect time to step into a medical director role. And my situation was no exception.

In addition to the baby on the way, my husband was traveling a lot for work. Also, the job of a medical director seemed a little daunting – especially to a young physician leading a team for the first time.

But I knew that leadership was my calling. While I didn’t yet have decades of experience, I had been selected as the chief resident in internal medicine, completed a nephrology fellowship, and mentored several medical students and residents along my career path.

I also knew that I was passionate about supporting my patients and hospitalist team. I’d previously served as associate medical director in charge of quality, readmission reduction, and patient experience. Having achieved the highest patient satisfaction scores on the team for 2 consecutive years, I was specially tasked to improve our team’s HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) scores.

These experiences taught me that coaching with positive reinforcement was in my blood. This gave me the courage to face my tallest mountain yet.
 

No one climbs a mountain alone

I also stepped into my new physician leadership role with amazing support. Our outgoing medical director had recommended me, and my entire team was rooting for me. My spouse was 100% behind the idea.

Courtesy Dr. Swati Mehta

What’s more, I had received amazing feedback from patients throughout my 3 years at the hospital. I had papered an entire office wall with their thank-you notes. I even had a quilt that an 85-year-old patient’s wife made to thank me for my compassionate care.

As I weighed my decision, I realized that I had a higher calling to be a true advocate for my patients. I loved what I did. Each day, I resolved to bring my best and most authentic self for them – no matter how drained I felt.

My team and patients needed me now, not at some more convenient time down the road. A medical director job was the natural next step for me. And so, I resolved to climb the mountain.
 

Climbing through storms

Stepping into a medical director job forced me to grow into a completely new person. So maybe starting that role during pregnancy was a great metaphor!

Each day, there was immense pressure to perform, to deliver quality outcomes, and to simultaneously meet expectations of the C-suite as well as my hospitalist team. There was no room for failure, because too much was at stake.

Looking back today, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. The medical director role was one of the most gratifying experiences in my life, and I am truly thankful for it.

A leader’s role truly boils down to working tirelessly to collaborate with different care teams. It’s important to care not only about our patients but also about our fellow hospitalists. We can do this by truly leading by example – be it picking up extra shifts, covering holidays so team members can be with family, or coming in at 10 p.m. to round with your night team.

I was also able to bring a unique perspective to the hospital C-suite meetings as a woman, an immigrant, and a true “mama bear” – not only of my infant son but also of my team.

Courtesy Dr. Swati Mehta

My first year as a medical director required more commitment and heart than I could have imagined. But all this hard work paid off when our hospitalist group received the coveted Best Team Award for most improved quality outcomes, financial performance, and patient experience.
 

The summit is the beginning

My first medical director job fueled my passion for patient satisfaction even further. I now serve as the director of patient experience for the more than 4,200 clinicians at Vituity. Together we care for more than 6.5 million lives a year across the country.

In 2019, I coached 300 physicians and hospital leaders on communication, collaboration, and service recovery skills, leading to significant improvement in their HCAHPS scores. I was delighted to receive the Vituity Distinguished Service Award for my contributions. It’s such an honor to be instrumental in impacting patient care at a larger scale.

This year, I was invited to serve as vice chair of the Society for Hospital Medicine’s patient experience committee and to join the executive board of the SHM San Francisco chapter. Together, we have created a COVID-19 patient communication resource and reached out to our hospitalists to provide them with a space to share their stories during this pandemic. I am so excited to share my knowledge and passion with clinicians across the country given the wide reach of Vituity & SHM!

Many hospitalists shy away from leadership roles. The mountain is tough to scale, but the view from the top is worth it. The key is to start, even if you don’t feel ready. I am here to tell you it can be done!

Dr. Mehta is a hospitalist and director of quality & performance and patient experience at Vituity in Emeryville, Calif. She is vice chair of the SHM patient experience committee and executive board member of the SHM San Francisco Bay Area chapter.

It was 6 a.m. on a rainy, cold Pacific Northwest morning as I walked from my apartment to the hospital, dodging puddles and dreaming of the mediocre-yet-hot physician-lounge coffee. Another long day full of clinical and administrative tasks awaited me.

I was 6 months’ pregnant with our first child and working my sixth 12-hour shift in a row. We had recently lost our medical director, and the C-suite had offered me the role. The day ahead seemed like an enormous mountain to climb.

I felt tired and more than a little overwhelmed. But I whispered to myself: “Today is going to be a fantastic day. I will not fail my team. I will not fail my patients!”
 

Physician leadership starts with a decision

The timing of this call to leadership had not been ideal. There’s probably never a perfect time to step into a medical director role. And my situation was no exception.

In addition to the baby on the way, my husband was traveling a lot for work. Also, the job of a medical director seemed a little daunting – especially to a young physician leading a team for the first time.

But I knew that leadership was my calling. While I didn’t yet have decades of experience, I had been selected as the chief resident in internal medicine, completed a nephrology fellowship, and mentored several medical students and residents along my career path.

I also knew that I was passionate about supporting my patients and hospitalist team. I’d previously served as associate medical director in charge of quality, readmission reduction, and patient experience. Having achieved the highest patient satisfaction scores on the team for 2 consecutive years, I was specially tasked to improve our team’s HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) scores.

These experiences taught me that coaching with positive reinforcement was in my blood. This gave me the courage to face my tallest mountain yet.
 

No one climbs a mountain alone

I also stepped into my new physician leadership role with amazing support. Our outgoing medical director had recommended me, and my entire team was rooting for me. My spouse was 100% behind the idea.

Courtesy Dr. Swati Mehta

What’s more, I had received amazing feedback from patients throughout my 3 years at the hospital. I had papered an entire office wall with their thank-you notes. I even had a quilt that an 85-year-old patient’s wife made to thank me for my compassionate care.

As I weighed my decision, I realized that I had a higher calling to be a true advocate for my patients. I loved what I did. Each day, I resolved to bring my best and most authentic self for them – no matter how drained I felt.

My team and patients needed me now, not at some more convenient time down the road. A medical director job was the natural next step for me. And so, I resolved to climb the mountain.
 

Climbing through storms

Stepping into a medical director job forced me to grow into a completely new person. So maybe starting that role during pregnancy was a great metaphor!

Each day, there was immense pressure to perform, to deliver quality outcomes, and to simultaneously meet expectations of the C-suite as well as my hospitalist team. There was no room for failure, because too much was at stake.

Looking back today, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. The medical director role was one of the most gratifying experiences in my life, and I am truly thankful for it.

A leader’s role truly boils down to working tirelessly to collaborate with different care teams. It’s important to care not only about our patients but also about our fellow hospitalists. We can do this by truly leading by example – be it picking up extra shifts, covering holidays so team members can be with family, or coming in at 10 p.m. to round with your night team.

I was also able to bring a unique perspective to the hospital C-suite meetings as a woman, an immigrant, and a true “mama bear” – not only of my infant son but also of my team.

Courtesy Dr. Swati Mehta

My first year as a medical director required more commitment and heart than I could have imagined. But all this hard work paid off when our hospitalist group received the coveted Best Team Award for most improved quality outcomes, financial performance, and patient experience.
 

The summit is the beginning

My first medical director job fueled my passion for patient satisfaction even further. I now serve as the director of patient experience for the more than 4,200 clinicians at Vituity. Together we care for more than 6.5 million lives a year across the country.

In 2019, I coached 300 physicians and hospital leaders on communication, collaboration, and service recovery skills, leading to significant improvement in their HCAHPS scores. I was delighted to receive the Vituity Distinguished Service Award for my contributions. It’s such an honor to be instrumental in impacting patient care at a larger scale.

This year, I was invited to serve as vice chair of the Society for Hospital Medicine’s patient experience committee and to join the executive board of the SHM San Francisco chapter. Together, we have created a COVID-19 patient communication resource and reached out to our hospitalists to provide them with a space to share their stories during this pandemic. I am so excited to share my knowledge and passion with clinicians across the country given the wide reach of Vituity & SHM!

Many hospitalists shy away from leadership roles. The mountain is tough to scale, but the view from the top is worth it. The key is to start, even if you don’t feel ready. I am here to tell you it can be done!

Dr. Mehta is a hospitalist and director of quality & performance and patient experience at Vituity in Emeryville, Calif. She is vice chair of the SHM patient experience committee and executive board member of the SHM San Francisco Bay Area chapter.

I vividly remember the conversation that changed the way I practice medicine today.

During my medicine residency rounds, my attending at a Veterans Affairs hospital stated: “Remember Swati, there are three simple steps to gain your patients’ trust. The three questions they have are: No. 1, who are you? No. 2, are you any good? No. 3, do you really care about me?”

The first two questions are easier to address. The third question requires us bare our authentic human self often hiding behind our white coat and medical degree.

Who are you?

• Introduce yourself (everyone is wearing scrubs/white coats – state your full name and title)
• Describe your role in patient’s care plan
• Hand them your card (your name, photo, and a short description of the role of a hospitalist)

Are you any good?

• Briefly address your professional experience
• Explicitly state all the hard work you have done prior to entering the patient’s room (reviewing past medical records, hand off from ED provider or prior hospitalist)
• State your aim to collaborate with all people involved – their primary care provider, nurse, consultant

“Hello Mrs. Jones, my name is Dr. Swati Mehta. I will be your physician today. As a hospitalist, my role is to take care of your medical needs & worries. I will coordinate with your consultants, primary care physician, and other care teams to get you the answers you need. I have been working at XYZ Hospital for 6 years and have over 12 years of experience in medicine taking care of patients. I have reviewed your medical records, blood work, and x-rays before coming in. How are you feeling today? Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

Addressing the third question – Do you really care about me? – is the foundation of every human interaction. Answering this question involves addressing our patients’ many fears: Do you care about what I think is going on with my disease? Will you judge me by my socioeconomic status, gender, color of my skin, or addictions? Am I safe to open up and trust you? Are we equal partners in my health care journey? Do you really care?

A successful connection is achieved when we create a space of psychological safety and mutual respect. Once that happens, our patients open up to let us in their world and become more amenable to our opinion and recommendations. That is when true healing begins.

The “6H model” is an aide to form a strong human-centric connection.
 

The 6H model: Human connection with patients

Looking back at each patient interaction, good or bad, I have had in my almost 2 decades of practicing clinical medicine, the 6H model has brought me closer to my patients. We have formed a bond which has helped them navigate their arduous hospital journey, including medical and financial burdens, social and emotional needs. Utilizing this model, we were fortunate to receive the highest HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) Survey scores for 3 consecutive years while I served as the medical director of a 40-provider hospitalist program in a busy 450-bed hospital in Oregon.

Dr. Mehta is director of quality & performance and patient experience at Vituity in Emeryville, Calif., and vice chair of the SHM patient experience committee.

I vividly remember the conversation that changed the way I practice medicine today.

During my medicine residency rounds, my attending at a Veterans Affairs hospital stated: “Remember Swati, there are three simple steps to gain your patients’ trust. The three questions they have are: No. 1, who are you? No. 2, are you any good? No. 3, do you really care about me?”

The first two questions are easier to address. The third question requires us bare our authentic human self often hiding behind our white coat and medical degree.

Who are you?

• Introduce yourself (everyone is wearing scrubs/white coats – state your full name and title)
• Describe your role in patient’s care plan
• Hand them your card (your name, photo, and a short description of the role of a hospitalist)

Are you any good?

• Briefly address your professional experience
• Explicitly state all the hard work you have done prior to entering the patient’s room (reviewing past medical records, hand off from ED provider or prior hospitalist)
• State your aim to collaborate with all people involved – their primary care provider, nurse, consultant

“Hello Mrs. Jones, my name is Dr. Swati Mehta. I will be your physician today. As a hospitalist, my role is to take care of your medical needs & worries. I will coordinate with your consultants, primary care physician, and other care teams to get you the answers you need. I have been working at XYZ Hospital for 6 years and have over 12 years of experience in medicine taking care of patients. I have reviewed your medical records, blood work, and x-rays before coming in. How are you feeling today? Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

Addressing the third question – Do you really care about me? – is the foundation of every human interaction. Answering this question involves addressing our patients’ many fears: Do you care about what I think is going on with my disease? Will you judge me by my socioeconomic status, gender, color of my skin, or addictions? Am I safe to open up and trust you? Are we equal partners in my health care journey? Do you really care?

A successful connection is achieved when we create a space of psychological safety and mutual respect. Once that happens, our patients open up to let us in their world and become more amenable to our opinion and recommendations. That is when true healing begins.

The “6H model” is an aide to form a strong human-centric connection.
 

The 6H model: Human connection with patients

Looking back at each patient interaction, good or bad, I have had in my almost 2 decades of practicing clinical medicine, the 6H model has brought me closer to my patients. We have formed a bond which has helped them navigate their arduous hospital journey, including medical and financial burdens, social and emotional needs. Utilizing this model, we were fortunate to receive the highest HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) Survey scores for 3 consecutive years while I served as the medical director of a 40-provider hospitalist program in a busy 450-bed hospital in Oregon.

Dr. Mehta is director of quality & performance and patient experience at Vituity in Emeryville, Calif., and vice chair of the SHM patient experience committee.

I vividly remember the conversation that changed the way I practice medicine today.

During my medicine residency rounds, my attending at a Veterans Affairs hospital stated: “Remember Swati, there are three simple steps to gain your patients’ trust. The three questions they have are: No. 1, who are you? No. 2, are you any good? No. 3, do you really care about me?”

The first two questions are easier to address. The third question requires us bare our authentic human self often hiding behind our white coat and medical degree.

Who are you?

• Introduce yourself (everyone is wearing scrubs/white coats – state your full name and title)
• Describe your role in patient’s care plan
• Hand them your card (your name, photo, and a short description of the role of a hospitalist)

Are you any good?

• Briefly address your professional experience
• Explicitly state all the hard work you have done prior to entering the patient’s room (reviewing past medical records, hand off from ED provider or prior hospitalist)
• State your aim to collaborate with all people involved – their primary care provider, nurse, consultant

“Hello Mrs. Jones, my name is Dr. Swati Mehta. I will be your physician today. As a hospitalist, my role is to take care of your medical needs & worries. I will coordinate with your consultants, primary care physician, and other care teams to get you the answers you need. I have been working at XYZ Hospital for 6 years and have over 12 years of experience in medicine taking care of patients. I have reviewed your medical records, blood work, and x-rays before coming in. How are you feeling today? Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

Addressing the third question – Do you really care about me? – is the foundation of every human interaction. Answering this question involves addressing our patients’ many fears: Do you care about what I think is going on with my disease? Will you judge me by my socioeconomic status, gender, color of my skin, or addictions? Am I safe to open up and trust you? Are we equal partners in my health care journey? Do you really care?

A successful connection is achieved when we create a space of psychological safety and mutual respect. Once that happens, our patients open up to let us in their world and become more amenable to our opinion and recommendations. That is when true healing begins.

The “6H model” is an aide to form a strong human-centric connection.
 

The 6H model: Human connection with patients

Looking back at each patient interaction, good or bad, I have had in my almost 2 decades of practicing clinical medicine, the 6H model has brought me closer to my patients. We have formed a bond which has helped them navigate their arduous hospital journey, including medical and financial burdens, social and emotional needs. Utilizing this model, we were fortunate to receive the highest HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) Survey scores for 3 consecutive years while I served as the medical director of a 40-provider hospitalist program in a busy 450-bed hospital in Oregon.

Dr. Mehta is director of quality & performance and patient experience at Vituity in Emeryville, Calif., and vice chair of the SHM patient experience committee.