Healthcare executives have long been focused on patient satisfaction scores. The primary reason for soliciting feedback from patients has always been to improve hospitals and healthcare systems by better understanding and meeting the needs of patients and their families.
Today, healthcare providers are shifting their attention from the “soft” aspects of patient satisfaction to the totality of the patient experience, which encompasses the clinical, operational, cultural, and behavioral aspects of services provided across the continuum of care.
Every person, every place, every day
Historically, the term “patient satisfaction” connoted a superficial metric that could be improved with a mere smile as a staff member closed curtains for privacy or delivered the daily newspaper to patients during their hospital stay. Now when we speak of measuring the “patient experience,” we take into account every facet of care provided in every setting, by every person, every day.
Clinical expertise is no longer enough. Today, great caregivers see patients as unique individuals with lives, families, and goals—instead of as illnesses or injuries that need medical attention. In this regard, the best healthcare providers:
- deliver the right resources at the right time;
- demonstrate behaviors that show they understand individual needs;
- involve patients and their families in care and decision making; and
- ensure a culture of transparency.
Implications for Caregivers
In SHSMD’s Futurescan 2016-2021: Healthcare Trends and Implications, Christy Dempsey, chief nursing officer for Press Ganey Associates, Inc., shares her insights on how new delivery models, changes in reimbursement, and consumerism will drive the evolution of the patient experience. According to Dempsey, understanding the totality of the patient experience will be paramount to remaining competitive in the healthcare marketplace of the future.
To learn more, read the full article, "The Evolution of the Patient Experience", plus seven others in Futurescan 2016–2021.