Transforming Healthcare Through Negotiation by Lee, Stacey B.;

Short description:

This book provides readers with the tools to develop a special skill set suited to healthcare and any situation that encompasses the relational aspects of human communication, such as the workplace or one’s personal life.

Long description:

Every day, healthcare professionals face high-stakes negotiations that directly impact patient outcomes, organizational success, and career advancement. Transforming Healthcare Through Negotiation introduces the HEAR Approach™—a proven system developed specifically for healthcare's unique challenges across clinical care, service delivery, and business operations.

This practical guide equips physicians, administrators, and healthcare leaders with immediately applicable strategies to transform potential conflicts into collaborative solutions that advance patient care while balancing competing priorities.

Inside, discover:

• A Relational Mindset that builds trust across professional boundaries


• Field-tested negotiation strategies tailored to healthcare’s distinct environments


• Tactical approaches for maintaining momentum in time-sensitive situations


• Ready-to-use tools, including the Negotiation Planner and Trilingual Planner

"Transforming Healthcare Through Negotiation is an essential read for healthcare leaders... Stacey Lee’s HEAR Approach™ masterfully provides a structured, relational approach that balances clinical, operational, and financial priorities."
— Regina Herzlinger, PhD; Brian Walker, DrPH; Ben Creo, MDiv, Harvard Business School

"The HEAR Approach™ has improved healthcare and will make you better... aligned beautifully with principles of optimal clinical practice."
— James K. Stoller, MD, MS, Chair of the Education Institute, Cleveland Clinic

“The HEAR approach to negotiation has improved healthcare and will make you better. Its relational context anchored in emotional intelligence aligns beautifully with the principles that underlie optimal clinical practice. Transforming Healthcare Through Negotiation is a ‘must read’ for caregivers!”

James K. Stoller, MD, MS

Chair of the Education Institute, Cleveland Clinic

“As Director of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine at NYU Langone Health in New York City, I have often seen firsthand how vital sophisticated negotiation skills are for advancing multidisciplinary care and clinical innovation. In my own role, I must navigate negotiations with various stakeholders across our health system, including those in the clinical, educational, and administrative realms. It is imperative, therefore, to acquire nimble and substantive skill sets to allow me as leader in healthcare to successfully traverse these domains and to advocate effectively for my faculty, staff, trainees, and, of course, our patients and their families. Stacey Lee's HEAR Framework offers a practical, evidence-based approach that resonates with the complex realities of modern academic medicine. Her book provides healthcare leaders such as myself with innovative, concrete tools for driving collaboration across clinical, research, and educational domains. I have had the privilege of witnessing Ms. Lee’s negotiation seminars in person, and her book takes these crucial lessons to the next level for the reader, who will benefit immeasurably by the experience.”

Daniel H. Sterman, MD

Director, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, NYU Langone Health

“Dr. Lee understands that the complex environment of the healthcare environment requires a unique negotiating framework that is relationship centered versus traditional transactional exchanges. Having spent a career as a healthcare entrepreneur, I have been involved in countless negotiations with constituents including medical professionals, managers, bankers, and private equity sponsors. Looking back, I see so many instances where Dr. Lee’s HEAR Framework would have provided a more structured, thoughtful, and actionable approach to align stakeholder interests and shift negotiations from adversarial exchanges to strategic collaboration. Her book is an invaluable guide for all clinical, operational, and financial professionals working to achieve sustainable innovation.”

John Heller

Healthcare Entrepreneur and Executive; CEO of myOrthos; Founder and Former CEO of HealthPRO-Heritage

“Transforming Healthcare Through Negotiation is an essential read for healthcare leaders navigating today’s complex landscape. Stacey Lee’s HEAR Framework™ masterfully aligns with the principles of market-driven healthcare innovation—a core focus of our work—by providing a structured, relational approach to negotiation that balances clinical, operational, and financial priorities. This book is a powerful tool for those looking to drive transformative change in patient care, organizational strategy, and health system leadership.”

Regina Herzlinger, PhD

Nancy R. McPherson Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Brian Walker, DrPH

Executive Fellow, Harvard Business School

Ben Creo, MDiv

Visiting Lecturer of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

“In describing a negotiating approach uniquely tailored for use across the different ‘pillars’ of health care—the practice of medicine, care delivery, and the business of health care—Professor Lee advances an appropriately aspirational paradigm of ‘empathetic cooperation that advances the profession’s higher calling.’ Its underlying principle—that the best outcomes are achieved when everyone’s needs and perspectives are considered—is a welcome antidote to a cynical winner-take-all mindset that too often characterizes the business and its stark realities of costs.”

Susan Dentzer

Healthcare Policy Analyst; Former Editor, Health Affairs

“Stacey Lee provides a thought-provoking and personal guide for navigating successfully through the challenges of work, bias, and self-confidence in turbulent healthcare settings.”

Leonard J. Marcus, PhD

Founding Director, Program for Health Care Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Table of Contents:

Part I: Foundations of Healthcare Negotiation Introduction to Part I Chapter 1:  The HEAR Approach: An Overview of Transformative Healthcare Negotiations Chapter 2:  The Relational Mindset: The Foundation of the HEAR Approach Chapter 3:  Mastering Multifaceted Negotiations in and Across Healthcare’s Three Pillars Chapter 4:  Empowerment: Embracing Vulnerability, Knowledge, and Advocacy Chapter 5:  Acknowledgment: A Catalyst for Mutual Understanding and Shared Goals Chapter 6:  Recasting: Navigating New Realities Together Part II: Advanced Negotiation Strategies, Tactics, Planning Guides and Case Studies Introduction to Part II Chapter 7:  Advanced Negotiation Strategies for Complex Challenges Chapter 8:  Mastering Real-Time Negotiation Tactics Chapter 9:  The Negotiation Planner Case Study: Applying the Negotiation Planner Chapter 10:  The Trilateral Negotiation Planner 
Case Study: Applying the Trilateral Negotiation Planner Chapter 11:  Final Thoughts