One Model to Reach Them All: Why the Human‑Business Model© Works Everywhere in Healthcare

Let me start by saying this clearly:

There are many excellent healthcare communication frameworks in use today.

Models like AIDET® and CARES are structured, memorable, and help ensure that critical patient interactions—especially at the bedside—are delivered with clarity, compassion, and professionalism.

But here’s the catch…

What about the employees throughout healthcare who aren’t at the bedside?

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The Styrofoam Lunch Special

Not long ago, I was facilitating a leadership workshop at a hospital client site. Between sessions, I had about 30 minutes to grab lunch, so I headed down to the cafeteria. The day’s special? Chicken and pasta. It looked quick and easy—perfect for a working lunch.

I grabbed a styrofoam box with the special, walked to the cashier, and smiled.

"Open it."

Her greeting?

“Open it.”

No eye contact. No smile. No “Hi.”

Just… “Open it.”

I replied, “It’s the chicken-and-pasta special.”

She repeated—louder and flatter this time:

“I said open it. I have to see it.”

Now, I don’t expect anyone to roll out the red carpet in the cafeteria—but I was struck by the tone. It wasn’t hostile, but it also wasn’t human. It was transactional. Robotic. Like I was being processed, not served.

And it got me thinking: What communication model are non-clinical employees being taught?

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Patient-Interaction Models Aren’t for Everyone

There are thousands of employees in healthcare who aren’t delivering direct clinical care—cafeteria workers, valet staff, environmental services, facilities, finance, call centers. Their interactions with patients and coworkers are often brief, unpredictable, and varied.

For many of them, traditional patient-interaction models just don’t fit.

You’re not going to ask a housekeeper or food service worker to walk through five structured communication steps every time they enter a room. It’s not practical—and honestly, it’s not necessary.

But here’s what is necessary: humanity.

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Enter: The Human‑Business Model©

That’s where the Human‑Business Model© comes in.

It’s not a script. Not a checklist. It’s a mindset. And that’s why it works—across roles, settings, and time constraints.

Take the cafeteria example:

• A simple “Hi there!” starts the interaction on the human level.

• Then, “Can I get a quick look at your lunch choice, please?” covers the business level.

• A friendly “Thank you... enjoy your lunch!” brings us back to human.

Three steps. Twenty seconds. No clipboard needed. But everything about the “Open it” interaction would have felt different if she had zig-zagged from human, to business, back to human again.

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Culture Isn’t Built in Clinical Alone

We spend a lot of energy coaching bedside manner—and that’s important.

But hospital culture is built in every hallway, breakroom, cafeteria, and valet stand. It’s shaped in quick touches, passing hellos, and simple kindnesses.

When we teach people a model that’s both simple and flexible, they can actually use it.

That’s why in my speeches, consulting work, leadership retreats, and even in my new book Wait Management, the Human‑Business Model© isn’t just sprinkled in—it’s baked in.

Because it works for:

• Surgeons and schedulers

• Transporters and team leads

• Housekeepers and hospital presidents

In short—it works for humans.

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Universally Practical. Endlessly Applicable.

The Human‑Business Model© doesn’t ask for polish or perfection.

It just asks us to remember that every interaction is a chance to connect on the human level.

And whether it lasts twenty minutes or twenty seconds, we always have time for:

Human first. Business next. Human again. Always.