Staging the Experience for the Patient

Shareef Mahdavi has been working directly with physicians for over 20 years, helping them understand how to create greater value for their services. Having launched diagnostic, surgical, and information-based technologies, Shareef understands what it takes to successfully integrate new technology offerings for staff as well as patients.

The success of a new technology, particularly in elective medicine, depends on the physician’s ability to view quality from the perspective of the customer. Many physicians view themselves similar to airline pilots, experts in getting people safely from Point A to Point B. As shown in the model below, patients take a much wider view than physicians in the definition of quality. Most patients assume the skill of the physician (as they do the airline pilot). The patient’s judgment of quality (and overall satisfaction) involves a whole set of questions that extend beyond the procedure and the clinical outcome.

Defining Quality: Doctor's View Defining Quality: Patient's View

In his work, Shareef has been able to analyze and explain what happens when physicians try to expand demand by lowering price: it simply doesn’t work, as shown in the following comparison of pricing and demand for two popular elective procedures. As you can see, demand for LASIK does not increase as LASIK surgeons lower thier prices. Demand actually dropped, which is counter to what we expect in traditional economics and elasticity of demand. Plastic surgeons have a better understanding of this principle as can be seen in the demand for breast augmentation, which has increased over time along with an increase of average surgeon's fees.

LASIK Procedure Volume and Pricing US Averages: 1996 - 2007

Breast Augmentation Volume and Pricing US Averages: 1996 - 2007

Instead, the work at SM2 strives to encourage physicians to take the view of their customer when assessing how to increase demand for procedures. Part of this is done by showing comparable situations from outside of medicine and by doing quantitative analysis such as in the graphs shown above.

He believes that His philosophy can be summed up by saying, "the only true differentiator for the physician is in the realm of patient experience." Much of SM2’s work is in helping physicians increase their perceived value to patients, who have become customers in the new world of elective medicine that reflects the emergence of the Experience Economy. Blending both research and real-world experience, Shareef has lectured to thousands of physicians and published approximately 100 articles and reports on how to allow the patient experience become the means of "marketing" your practice. The model below summarizes the opportunity and the challenge facing doctors who choose to offer elective medicine to their customers.

Current Customer Experience

Desired Customer Experience