09/18/2026
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 “𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞.”
Wait times fell because we changed staffing.
Denials dropped because we redesigned the workflow.
Revenue improved because we introduced new technology.
Patient volume increased because of the campaign.
Maybe.
But something happening after a decision does not automatically mean it happened because of that decision.
Volume may have changed.
Case mix may have shifted.
Seasonality may have moved.
A payer rule may have changed.
A different provider may have been working.
Another process may have changed at the same time.
And sometimes, even the way the metric is captured changes.
The number can still be correct.
The improvement can still be real.
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠.
That matters because organisations don’t just act on results.
They learn from the story they attach to those results.
If the wrong intervention gets the credit, the next decision may be built on a lesson that was never actually proven.
So after a metric moves, perhaps the next question shouldn’t immediately be:
“What worked?”
It may be:
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞?
Because:
𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 ≠ 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.
A good result deserves attention.
A good explanation deserves evidence.