Do you remember the first time that you heard a playback of your recorded voice?
You were probably surprised. “Is that really how I sound?” Yes, it is.
As if audio isn’t harsh enough, I remember the first time we shot one of the Wisdom. Applied. videos. I was convinced that the saying that the camera adds 5 pounds was a lie; it must be 15.
The same thing’s true about your medical practice or healthcare business. In fact, not only is it very difficult to know what it sounds and looks like to outsiders (your patients, customers, referral sources, and business associates), it’s difficult for you to know what’s actually going on inside of the business.
You’re just too close, too acclimated, and too busy to notice.
If you think about it, we’ve all seen examples of this. The medical group that loses its exclusive contract (“It happened without warning!”), the practice that stops getting referrals from Dr. X (“She just stopped sending me patients!”), or the medical group that has an internal revolt (“No one complained about anything!”).
But there’s a really elegant way to have your eyes and ears opened. Then, armed with an accurate image of reality, you can take any necessary corrective action.
I’m talking about the use of a “red team,” one or more individuals drawn from outside or even inside of your group or business who are charged with trying to find your weaknesses.
As you might have realized, so called “white hat” hackers, those hired by a company to attempt to breach its own IT systems, are a form of “red teaming” that we read about in the popular and business press.
Within healthcare, depending on your practice or business, the red team’s tactics might range from posing as patients, to riding shotgun with your billers, to devising a faux plan to steal your hospital contract.
You can assign someone from within your practice to play on the red team. Even better, you can assign someone from the outside to play that role. Or, you can continue to have a blind spot.
Sure, it’s work to ferret out the truth. But it’s much preferable to an actual competitor, whether from the outside or from the inside, engaging in those efforts and then taking your business.
