Most healthcare organizations recognize the critical role that patient and staff experiences play in delivering high-quality care. Positive experiences don't arise by accident, however. They must be intentionally created.
During a Becker's Healthcare podcast, Lukas Voss spoke with two experience design experts — Jennifer Baron, CXO, NRC Health, and Reginald Blaber, MD, EVP and chief clinical officer, Virtua Health in Marlton, N.J. — about the importance of intentionality, listening, real-time feedback and digital tools in reshaping hospitals and health systems
Four key takeaways were:
1. Intentional design of experiences has been a culture shift for healthcare organizations. In recent years, patients' expectations have shifted, driven in large part by consumer experiences in other industries. Hospitals and health systems realize that the status quo in terms of experiences is no longer acceptable. "Historically, we've designed the navigation of healthcare around our teams, knowing that patients need us for care," Ms. Baron said. "Now we recognize we must be proactive and intentional about designing meaningful experiences for patients and our workforce."
2. Real-time feedback is crucial for proactive experience design. In the past, healthcare organizations sent out patient surveys and got data back three months later. Now, hospitals and health systems are turning to real-time systems that deliver fresh feedback daily. "We are seeing a lot of health systems lean into point-of-service feedback while patients are still in their environment. This enables teams to fix issues immediately and supports service recovery," Ms. Baron said.
3. When it comes to strategic experience design, listening is a critical leadership competency. Virtua Health takes listening very seriously. The organization has partnered with NRC Health to send surveys to patients within 24 to 48 hours after discharge. "We get information back from NRC Health faster than from any other third-party rating organization," Dr. Blaber said. "This enables us to quickly act on that information."
Virtua Health also listens to patients via a voice-activated panel with around 35,000 participants. "When we have a question about our care or adding a new service line, we put the question out to this panel," Dr. Blaber said. "The information we've gleaned is remarkably important to us."
4. AI and digital tools save time by quickly generating actionable feedback about the patient experience. NRC Health recently launched an AI-enabled platform called Huey that helps partners surface themes from thousands of patient comments. "AI provides us with a way to ask a specific question and within seconds identify actionable insights," Ms. Baron said. "Leaders and teams no longer have to spend as much time in the administrative space and can spend more time with patients building meaningful relationships."
The gift of time is essential for healthcare employee engagement. "The more time our providers spend at the bedside, the more engaged they become," Dr. Blaber said. "We're reconnecting them with their passion and why they got into healthcare in the first place. It's where they derive their energy to go to the next patient."