July 26, 2011

Hospitals Try to Become Mickey Mouse Institutions

Hospitals are hiring Disney to help them create environments that patients prefer. Katherine Harmon reports

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Hospitals might not always be the happiest places on Earth. But some might get a little happier, with help from Disney.

Hospitals are already required to report their patient satisfaction rankings online. And starting next year, those with the best scores will be eligible for bonus funds. So to improve their chances of getting some of the $850 million pot, dozens of U.S. hospitals have already used the Disney Institute's new consulting services. That's according to Kaiser Health News.

The fees for this advice are no fairy tale—some play out to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Mickey Mouse might seem like a goofy consultant for the health care industry. But the management teams behind the theme parks have a good track record at satisfying customers.

Some of Disney's suggestions for hospitals so far include nicer landscaping, improved patient–employee communication, and, you guessed it, better food. No word yet on whether the Disneyfied medical staff will be required to whistle while they work. Maybe just the otolaryngologists.

—Katherine Harmon

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]

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