Practical Challenges Employee Face Becoming a Healthcare Consumer

Despite numerous industry advancements designed to simplify access to healthcare, in the moment of diagnose it can be incredibly difficult for your employees to know what may or may not be necessary. In today’s article, I leverage my own health scare to explore how to help your employees become better consumers of healthcare.

It’s been a few years now, but in 2017 I was diagnosed with Basal Cell Carcinoma.

This is what they call “good cancer.” I guess it’s called that because it’s unlikely to spread. Personally, however, there was nothing good about it. It was a brutal process, and it resulted in a nasty hole, ghastly stitches and both internal and external scars.

I don’t mean to be dramatic. Several years later, it’s now a nearly forgotten memory. The scars are mostly unnoticeable. And what at the time felt draconian and completely unfair, has largely faded into nothing more than a bad moment in time.

In retrospect, I was lucky.

Furthermore, I look back on the experience with gratitude as it was my first meaningful taste of the difficulty so many of our clients’ employees and family members experience when they too have to seek medical attention.

With that, it feels useful to share some of the lessons I learned in the hope that your employees become better consumers of healthcare.

In my case, the eventual diagnoses of cancer began with an unresolved blemish. The blemish, which seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary pimple made its unwelcome appearance on my right cheek roughly a year and a half before I had it removed.

As so many of us do, I ignored it.

It took me about six months to schedule my first dermatology appointment — partly out of ignorance, partly out of stubbornness. I was in my early 40s, so “I was too young for skin cancer.” My wife was more persistent, and eventually, I conceded to her concerns that this simply wasn’t normal.

I scheduled my first-ever dermatology appointment. That dermatologist, however, gave me a clean bill of health so I went on my way.

The blemish persisted. Eventually, I went to a second dermatologist. This one had the good sense to perform a biopsy. Unfortunately, it came back negative so I again left with a clean bill of health.

I later learned more there are multiple methods of biopsies that can be done, and this doctor chose the wrong one.

After more time passed, the third dermatologist performed the correct biopsy, resulting in an accurate diagnosis.

It took over 18 months from onset to surgery.

You have to learn to listen to yourself (or at least to the people who love you). Had my wife been less vocal, I likely would have brushed it off as an anomaly after two doctors gave me a clean bill of health – at least until it became so overwhelming and obvious that I had no other option but to deal with it.

You know your body better than anyone. When something’s not right, you have to be your loudest and most passionate advocate. Doctors make mistakes, just like the rest of us. If you know, you know. Trust yourself.

Each of us have to give ourselves permission to have the final say on our own wellbeing.

Lesson 2 – Understand Your Options

Unfortunately, Basal Cell Carcinoma grows roots. Over time, those roots grow deeper and wider into your skin. What may look superficial from the exterior can be a mess underneath. Our doctor used the term “aggressive,” which is a nice way of saying, “that bastard has been growing for a while.”

Of course, I didn’t understand any of this at the time.

The common treatment prescribed for Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) is called Mohs Surgery. From a layman’s perspective, this is basically the equivalent of using a spoon to scoop out the cancer spot. Then, they look at it under a microscope to see if they got all of it, and if not, they come back and get a bigger scoop. They repeat this process until all the edges are clean.

Approximately 85% of BCCs occur on the head and neck. These are the areas most frequently exposed to the sun. What that means practically is that you are likely to end up with a scar visible to the outside world.

Board Certified Mohs surgeons are common. Many excellent dermatologists have this certification. Much fewer have the skills to stitch you up in a way that will minimize your scarring.

Again, I didn’t understand any of this at the time.

In my case, I could have easily done some research to learn that you can locate a board certified Mohs surgeon who partners with a plastic surgeon.

Instead, I simply trusted my dermatologist. He was, after all, the doctor.

That trust left me with about a four-inch scar that was completely avoidable.

Whatever your situation, know your options THEN act. You’ll feel pressure to act immediately, especially when you have something foreign growing in your body. Take the extra step to understand best practices.

Don’t be afraid to demand a full-explanation of your options. If those are not forthcoming, consider changing doctors if it assures a more positive outcome.

Some doctors will stonewall you, trying to force you to have surgery in their practice. Surgeries make money.

Hopefully, you find a doctor who truly puts your needs first, but approach every conversation with a healthy dose of skepticisim.

Lesson 3 — The Emotions are Real

I was fortunate. People deal with more insidious diagnoses every single day.

Even with such a favorable diagnosis, four inches and 20+ stitches across my cheek left me feeling shattered. At no point did the doctor, his nurses or his staff ever indicate this was anything more than a simple procedure. I felt like Frankenstein and immediately mourned my unwelcome and unwanted facial modification.

I don’t consider myself a vain person, but I was disfigured. It hurt my soul. I was angry, embarrassed, sad, and deeply disappointed that I had joined a club I never wanted to be a part of. I was convinced no one would ever meet with me again professionally, let alone choose to be my friend. It threw me into a downward spiral unlike anything else I had experienced.

Maybe that sounds dramatic, but my face was jacked up.

The experience helped me understand the gravity of and challenges that arise when the unexpected happens.

If you have an employee or a loved one who experiences a health scare, don’t dismiss what they are going through. It’s real. It’s rough. It’s raw. Please don’t minimize them by telling them it’s a good kind of (insert illness here).

As well, continue to promote those behavioral health resources, employee advocacy and concierge programs, nurse lines, or whatever tools you have in your arsenal. Often we dismiss the value of those programs because of low utilization, but when they are needed they can be a lifesaver.

Lesson 4 – Promote Self Care

Don’t be as stupid as I was.

You get one body for the entire duration of the trip, however long it may be. Take good care of it.

In many ways, I do this well. I exercise daily. I generally eat well. I try to get good sleep. I consciously try to be a good example and practice what I preach.

But until receiving a cancer diagnosis, I never thought about something as simple as a daily face lotion with SPF. I was a child of the 80s. Not only did we not use sunscreen, we thought it was cool to coat ourselves with the tan accelerator stuff when we were kids.

Maybe for you, it’s also SPF lotion or wearing hats and sun-protection shirts.

But I’m guessing it’s a hundred other micro-failures. You skip that workout. You finished the whole bottle of wine on a Tuesday. You stare at your television or phone long past when you should have just gone to bed. You begin your morning by checking your email. You constantly amplify the cortisol running throughout your body because you haven’t figured out how to quiet your mind.

At some point, we each come to the realization that our every day choices directly correlate into our everyday outcomes. If you don’t like those outcomes, it’s up to you to change the habits that create those outcomes.

And yes, we now have a magic pill available to help you lose that dad-bod, but that comes with its own complications.

It’s something we don’t talk about, and if we do we likely don’t do it at work.

Why is that? Why is self-care not a regular topic in every professional environment.

We spend a majority of our waking hours each week at work. How we approach and promote self-care becomes very much a part of who we are as an organization.

Promoting self care equates to promoting culture.

It’s fundamental to creating a quality employee experience.

And, it’s a critical part of any effort to help you your employees become better consumers of healthcare.

Lesson 5 – People Are Both Amazing and Resilient

When the proverbial hits the fan, we literally put our lives in the hands of others to fix what ails us. It’s kind of crazy when you step back from it, but it’s also awesome.

It’s awesome that certain men and women have been uniquely created to remove the bad that happens to their fellow humans.

When I pause and think about it, I love that humans take care of humans. We are fortunate to live in a time where our medical professionals have the knowledge to solve real problems, and to live in a place where their availability is relatively abundant.

It’s easy to bash the healthcare industry, and it happens all around us. Whether it’s big pharma, the insurance companies, the lack of access to quality primary care, or a hundred other challenges, we hear about healthcare’s failings all the time.

But let’s not forget that most people are inherently good. And a heck of a lot of those good people chose healthcare as their calling.

We have to continue to collectively work to remove barriers, encourage positive healthcare consumerism, and help our people feel safe and comfortable going to see their healthcare providers. They’re good people and they exist to help.

Let us also remind our people that they are resilient.

Unfortunately, we don’t recover from every healthcare scare that occurs. However, most of the time, the scars and memories fade and we end up stronger for having overcome that obstacle.

We have the ability to use it as a catalyst to become a better version of ourselves.

Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that this too shall pass. Help remind your people that they too are resilient.

Part of creating a quality employee experience exists in those deeply personal situations. Be there for your people when things get difficult. Remind them of their own resiliency.

Final Thoughts

Nothing ever gets fixed by ignoring the issue.

Whether it’s a health issue, a relationship issue, or a confidence issue – take action. Go talk to that person. Start. Go see a doctor.

Do.

Taking action on life makes life more livable.

So go live fully.