We all must lead to improve patient experience

by Jason A. Wolf Some fundamental ideas have been shared about efforts to impact and improve the patient experience, many right here at Hospital Impact. We have seen the conversation range from the bottom-line impact of making the right choices to the power of compassion in influencing patient and family encounters to the importance of engaging and recognizing staff. One thing that has been implicit in all these discussions, embedded in much of the research and apparent in my travels to healthcare organizations, is that the engagement, focus and commitment of leadership is central to patient experience success. In recent research conducted at The Beryl Institute, we asked U.S. healthcare leaders what they saw as the drivers for patient experience success. The top response noted by more than 72 percent of participants was "strong, visible support from the top." This is significant, as my personal encounters have shown that those organizations recognized not only in scores, but also in reputation for providing the best in patient experience, have highly involved leaders. The power of leadership involvement is not found in one particular style or specific practice, but rather emerges in the way the leader brings who she or he is to the overall organizational objectives and purpose. In one case, a CEO conducted "Mr. Clean Rounds," which allowed him to spend time walking the halls looking at the presentation of the facility, its cleanliness and potential clutter. He also u...
Source: hospital impact - Category: Health Managers Authors: Source Type: blogs