Integrated Care Teams: What Makes Us Tick

Southcentral Foundation has shifted from customer service to customer experience. What does this mean? SCF addresses whole-person wellness by recognizing it provides more than “instances of interactions” – the organization provides a journey. The customer experience consists of many things: facility atmosphere, employee helpfulness and successful services. To help convey this, pediatrician Dr. William Browner’s integrated care team shares the keys to their success.

1. The team adopted a philosophy of team unity. With each new visit with a customer-owner, all team members introduce themselves to the customer-owner and indicate the support service they provide.
2. Meeting the complete needs of the customer-owner is our mission and goal.
3. Complete needs of the customer-owner encompass physical, mental, emotional, cultural and social needs.
4. Together, members of the team will meet the needs of the customer-owner as completely as possible.
5. Although team members may have different communication skills and styles, we share our thoughts and opinions with each other as members of a team. Discussions before and after we interact with the customer-owner reduce the chance of confusion in recommendations to the customer-owner. Pre-visit discussions involve record reviews and contributing any information known about the customer-owner’s needs. We seek to make customer-owners feel welcomed, even with the first visit.
6. The team is committed to ensuring the customer-owner understands the task we are asking them to do before departing and that task is acceptable to the customer-owner in meeting his or her needs.
7. Discharge instructions are given by the primary care provider (physician) and are restated by the certified medical assistant. The case management support and case manager will also interact with the customer-owner before discharge to schedule for any future visit, explain any scheduled procedures or referrals, and/or provide any other assistance. The behavioral health consultant and dietitian on the team provide their services on both a scheduled basis and as needed. Their immediate availability is indispensable in meeting the customer-owner’s complete health and wellness needs.
8. We try to be attentive to the daily needs of each team member. Being attentive to each other’s needs and giving support when needed, makes us strong as a team and unified in purpose.