How Many $100 Bananas Does your Organization Have?

Aug 13, 2010, June Fabre, EHS Today

A hospital patient asks for a banana. The nurse calls the dietary manager, who says, “not without a doctor’s order.” After talking to two nearby managers who commiserate with her, the nurse mentions it to a senior VP, who was passing through the unit. The senior VP intervenes and the patient, unhappy about the long wait, finally receives the banana.

The cost of that banana exceeded $100. This wasted money, due to miscommunication and failure to integrate department systems, is an example of why medical care costs have escalated. It also typifies why workplace costs in general have increased.

Similar situations occur in many health care facilities and workplaces across the country. Patients or employees experience unnecessary delays and nurses (or managers) are forced to waste time and money because they are unable to satisfy patient (or employee) needs.  They need quick and accurate action from others, but often encounter obstacles and delays.

Suppose, instead of asking for a banana, the patient experienced an emergency? Delayed responses can harm patients and can create hazardous situations for employees. The National Patient Safety Foundation attributes the medical error crisis to an inability to overcome systems problems, exacerbated by the growing complexity in health care systems, which requires improved communication and cooperation among health care professionals. Sound familiar? The same could be said of many workplaces in the United States.

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