Communication the Cleveland Clinic Way: How to Drive a Relationship-Centered Strategy for Exceptional Patient Experience

Preface

My pager went off before I even made it through the hospital doors. Returning the call, I was greeted with “Hey, good morning. It’s Joe in the ER. Your patient in Bed 5 is asking for Dilaudid. I don’t want to give it to her, but it’s up to you.” I didn’t know the patient in Bed 5 and communicated that as soon as I met her, I’d be happy to treat her pain with something else. Shortly thereafter, I was rounding on the neurology inpatient service, and the residents told me about a young woman, “the patient in Bed 5,” who had been admitted overnight for two months of head pain with innumerable requests for Dilaudid. Their frustration and annoyance were palpable. They described treating the patient with IV steroids, magnesium, Compazine, ...