J U N E 2 0 1 7 O U T P A T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T 2 5
P
atients come second. How can you
dare say that in health care? Simple,
says employ-
ee engage-
ment expert
and ORX speaker Paul
Spiegelman. You'll provide
patients with improved care
by improving the team caring
for them. Treat your employ-
ees with dignity and respect,
and they in turn will treat
patients the same way. If it
sounds to you like he's turn-
ing the traditional healthcare model on its head,
you're right. "We can't fix the patient," he says, "until
Paul Spiegelman
Patients Come Second
Like any business, in surgery you
can't take care of your customers if
you don't take care of your employees.
• FIRST PRIORITY Mr. Spiegelman's
book, "Patients Come Second: Leading
Change by Changing the Way You Lead."
Co-author of The
New York Times
bestselling book,
"Patients Come
Second" and a
columnist for
forbes.com.
Chief culture
officer for
Stericycle, a
globally traded
public company
with more than
25,000 employ-
ees.
CEO of the Small Giants
Community, a membership
organization of small-busi-
ness leaders, and chairman
of The Beryl Institute, a glob-
al thought leader around the
patient experience in health
care.
we fix ourselves." Mr.
Spiegelman details how
the rest of the dimen-
sions of health care will
fall into line when your
employees come first in
"Patients Come Second:
Leading Change by
Changing the Way You
Lead," The New York
Times bestselling book
he co-authored.
• The new order.
Healthcare leaders
should foster a culture
that puts employees'
needs first, patients sec-
ond and financials third.
This notion runs counter
to the current hierarchy
