Healthcare isn’t the only industry experiencing whiplash-inducing change. Think about the significant change in the way we travel. We used to hear about a place or a particular hotel from a travel agent or friend, or gasp—the phone book. Today, the number of sites offering advice, recommendations and resources is astounding. In this post, we’re highlighting a few tried and true resources that leverage big data to make travel easier.

Standard work is a visual guide to accomplish a job quickly and accurately. We asked our resident etiquette expert, Patient Advisor Mary Martha Tripeny, to put this Lean tool to the test by creating standard work for thank you notes. The holidays are stressful enough. This year, when nagging your children to write thank you notes, give Mary Martha’s standard work a try.

Support Services Supervisor Michael Bown warns us of the “Top 5 Things NOT to Do” in an angry encounter, which he coins “common quicksand.”

In this podcast, Utah’s Chief Medical Quality Officer interviews Brigitte Smith. A vascular surgeon who joined the University of Utah in 2015, Dr. Smith has quickly become a thought leader in transforming training for future physicians in value (both medical school and residency programs). Their conversation pinpoints an inconvenient truth—we may be a generation away from a culture of value-driven healthcare.

Lawrence Marsco, Director of Inpatient Nursing at Huntsman Cancer Hospital, shares this candid reflection about his tumultuous journey in health care. Today, he relies on shared governance, transparency and shared decision making to lead others through their journey.

We asked Zac Watne, Utah’s payment innovation manager (he gets paid to understand the volatile world of payment reform) to give us a primer on “bundles.” Regardless of change happening in healthcare, thought leaders predict that payment reform, and specifically bundled payments, are here to stay. Why? Bundles deliver care with improved outcomes at a lower price all over the United States.

What is the strongest predictor of an effective solution? It’s not the size of the committee or the length of the brainstorming session. The best predictor of successful solutions is how well the problem is understood. Investing time in defining, investigating and analyzing the problem can lead to transformative solutions.

In addition to his day job as Director of ENT Clinics, Kirk Hughs orients all new specialty clinic and endoscopy employees to the Exceptional Patient Experience. His goal is to engage new team members about how they can create exceptional experiences for their patients.

Follow Utah’s Nutrition Care Services as they produce and deliver over 300 lunches to inpatients all over our hospital, all at the same time. The work of this exceptional team highlights a complex lean operation that—before now—has largely gone unseen.

Improving patient experience often starts with survey questions and comments, but reliance on these elements alone can be insufficient. Incorporating the voice and experience of the patient can provide a deeper understanding of the problem and unlock more effective solutions.

Sarah Sherer is the Director of Employee Relations. We know her as the sounding board, place of last resort and coach for leaders throughout the organization. We asked her to share her wisdom on engaging employees of different ages. What she said might surprise you.

1 in 3 healthcare dollars is paid for by the United States Health and Human Services, making them the largest payer in the United States. Chrissy Daniels shares this podcast that explains why HHS is changing and how Utah is keeping up.