"I AM MORE THAN JUST A NUMBER!"
Chant that to yourself 10 times as you stand in a line the next time!
Well...I'm not here to gripe about standing in lines when they're necessary, but bear with me as I explain. I was standing in line at the cutting table of a fabric store and as it was my turn, I stepped up to the table, dropped off my stuff, smiled and said, "Two yards of each, please," only to be confronted by a, "Did you pull a number?" Trying to hide my scorn, I looked to my left and realized that I was supposed to pull a number from the ticket dispenser...and when I realized that no one was actually behind me in line and that I didn't really NEED to pull a number, I broke out into a classic existential mental monologue moment (hereafter referred to as EMMM, if I ever remember to use this acronym again anywhere!): Am I just a number in life? A number to a business? One out of billions? Who am I? What am I? Where am I? (Ok, Ok, so it didn't get quite THAT far! *self snicker*)
I started to think about individuality not only on a micro level (personal), but also on a macro level (business/life). The more we immerse ourselves into a globalized sense of transparency, the more we become obsessed with the concept of numbers. Dollars. Statistics. Site hits. Enrollees. Viewers. Kids. Followers. I've got more. You've got more. They've got more. Dare I call it a societal perversion? Well, whatever you choose to call it, it's not just apparent in the business world, it's prevalent. And the downside is that if you're not thinking in terms of the numbers game in some shape or form, you may potentially be left behind to inhale the dust of those already on the fast track. But, just because you jumped off a cliff, does that mean I/we should??
Here's the thing: in the business world (speaking in terms of capitalism), you've got a fairly cut & dry path to take for success. You can differentiate your business by appealing to the mass market and keeping your prices close to cost (quantity), or you can differentiate your business by appealing to a niche segment & offering a more unique experience/product (quality). It sounds fairly black or white, right? Well, what about the various service industries such as the medical and dental ones that can almost predominantly operate in the grey zone? Grey practically sounds "mediocre" here, but my point was that because there are a plethora of such professionals, it gets harder and harder to differentiate oneself with the black vs. white categorization. Instead, what a patient gets hit with are medical professionals who charge the big bucks for a non-unique, non-personal and oftentimes sub-par experience. They may get success in the short run, but in the long run...I consider this to be the grey zone.
But, isn't it just a case of HMO vs. PPO, you ask? Well, it's true that more often than not, you know that with an HMO plan your medical professionals will adhere more to the quantity over quality ideology. Yet, it's almost equally the case that a PPO doctor will seek a similar ideology of quantity, though trying to maintain the quality. Inevitably, one of the two points will suffer...
So, coming from where I work (Smiles Northridge) as a PPO provider, I'll be the first to tell you that we're in a pickle to try and incorporate both! Our business model tries to integrate the opposite of what I described above; thus, we strive to provide the boutique/unique experience/family environment (the quality) and couple it with the affordable prices usually seen with HMO providers...in the hopes that, over time, the unique differentiation and the low price combination will translate into long-term and loyal patients in quantity. It seems like a natural or even easy fit, but it's honestly a difficult (yet hopefully rewarding!) feat. Can it even be done without it becoming a negative cycle or are we crazy? Should I call my good ol' business school marketing professors about this one??
The bottom line (juicy puns are my thing) is that it's a tricky business when you tie a numbers game to something so important as your health, because as a patient, you may find yourself wondering if the ultimate monetary motives of certain offices will cheat you of an experience you deserve. Whether an office is quantity-focused or quality-focused, you may still find yourself wondering what part of the number scale of importance you, as an individual, fall on. And with the economic downturn wreaking such havoc, it's more often the case that you feel milked dry now (as a patient) in order to make up for someone's overhead cost increases. It feels like...I can almost hear it now in a distant haze...someone behind a counter telling me, "Gimme all your money and I'll show you the door."
*shudders*
- LH
www.smilesnorthridge.com
An office that cares! :)
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