“Do You Think My Vendor Cares?”

In the last seven years, I have done thousands of interviews with providers to learn about their experiences with healthcare technology. But a recent conversation with an ED director prompted me to put pen to paper. As he explained to me his challenges with an ED solution, he asked a poignant question, “Do you think my vendor cares?”

As the provider waited for my response, dozens of thoughts flashed through my mind. For years now I have worked with well-meaning providers and vendors and have often been surprised to hear that neither side totally trusts the other. I suppose that is understandable as this industry has seen some pretty spectacular failures in delivery over the years. However, I have come to the conclusion that, almost always, everyone cares.

We regularly present provider feedback, anonymously, to vendors who are looking to improve. I remember the first presentation that I did, years ago. We interviewed dozens of customers who told us how their vendor did not care about them at all and how they were convinced that their vendor was just out to milk them for all they had. This quickly shaped my views of the vendor, and I was surprised when we came to present because I saw that the vendor was genuinely interested in their customers feedback and wanted to improve.

There are not as many bad guys as we think there are.

Sure, some people in this industry can be troublesome. They can be dishonest and self-serving, rowing backward while everyone else is trying to row forward. However, these people are the exception.

The challenge comes when we don’t care enough about the right things, we work in our silos, or we let ourselves actually believe our own hype.

So what did I tell my ED director friend? I can’t speak directly for the vendor, but I know that most of the vendors in this industry really do care! As I do with all the feedback we receive, I hope I have a chance to tell your vendor how much you care.

As my team travels the country, meeting often with vendors to give them your feedback, I will be regularly blogging about our experiences. Most of the time, I won’t be able to reveal which vendor we met with, but the stories will still be incredibly interesting. I invite you to engage with us through these blogs as I relate what has really caught our attention.

Because I know you care.