Posted by Kristin Baird on March 28th, 2017 • No Comments »

Last week, I had the pleasure of spending a few days with fellow patient experience leaders at The Beryl Institute Conference in Denver. During my time there, I asked attendees to tell me what they wished their CEOs knew about leading the patient experience. After reviewing nearly 200 responses, I identified a few significant themes. The most pervasive theme is that PXPs would like their CEOs to be more realistic about the speed of patient experience and culture change. In other words; be patient with the patient experience. Read more...

Disparity in the Patient Experience

Posted by Kristin Baird on March 23rd, 2017 • No Comments »

We hear many stories today about disparities in healthcare. Many of those discussions have to do with access to care with a focus on insurance. In public health circles, disparities have been studied and reported for decades, shedding light on the plight of our most vulnerable populations. It’s no secret that people of low socio-economic status are at greater risk of unmet medical needs and ultimately more chronic and costly conditions.

What does disparity have to do with the patient experience? More than you might think. Many healthcare leaders proudly proclaim, “We treat all our patients the same regardless of their payment source.” While that is a noble statement, I challenge you, the patient experience leaders, to drill down into that claim within your own organizations. Read more...

Finding Purpose and Community

Posted by Kristin Baird on March 21st, 2017 • No Comments »

Having a connection to purpose is a personal thing. It’s the feeling you get when you know that your work makes a difference, and that you are doing exactly what you’re meant to do. For me, working in healthcare for the past 40 years, I’ve felt grounded in a strong sense of purpose – to serve others and to make healthcare better for patients and the people who serve them. But a sense of community is equally important as we travel these roads. We need to feel that we have others with whom we can connect, share and inspire us. Having a sense of community reminds us that we aren’t alone – that there are other like-minded individuals sharing a similar experience. Read more...

Beware of Lip Service – Your Patient Experience is at Stake

Posted by Kristin Baird on March 16th, 2017 • No Comments »

It’s imperative that leaders set goals for the organization. We need metrics that serve as vital signs of the overall wellbeing. The problem is, many leaders set a numeric goal, and then pressure everyone (often the nursing staff) to meet those goals. In these cases, well-meaning patient experience managers hustle to help nurses to implement best practices, but nothing sticks. Why? Because the culture has still not embraced the essentials.

Think of it this way. The culture is a living breathing organism – like the human body. And, like the human body, all systems must work together to support optimal health. When one system breaks down, it places the rest of the body at risk. Read more...

What Stands in the Way of a Great Patient Experience?

Posted by Kristin Baird on March 15th, 2017 • No Comments »

Over the years I’ve seen some of the best and worst patient experiences. I’ve worked with organizations ranging from one to five star satisfaction scores. All top performing organizations have five things in common. They have senior leaders who hold everyone accountable for engagement in service, and they put into place very specific actions and systems to ensure success. Without that, you can have all the best practice tactics in the world but they won’t stick. Read more...

What’s the Last Patient Experience?

Posted by Kristin Baird on March 9th, 2017 • No Comments »

We’ve all heard the adage, “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” But let’s place a respectable amount of importance on the last impression as well. The last impression should be a fond farewell that leaves the patient with a sense of clarity, security and overall good feelings about the organization.

I was working with a long term acute care hospital where patients stayed for months. With that length of stay, the patients and staff bonded, becoming like family after a while. When it was time for a patient to leave, the staff would line the halls to say goodbye and wish them well. They would applaud and wave as the patient was wheeled down the hallway and out the door. This was a heartwarming event for both staff and patients. Read more...

Throwing Each Other Under the Bus – The Patients are the Ones Wearing the Tire Tracks

Posted by Kristin Baird on March 7th, 2017 • No Comments »

A great patient experience requires that every person does everything within his or her power to build patient trust. One thing that quickly erodes trust is when a patient hears that someone else or some other department isn’t doing their share, or isn’t living up to the standard, failing service recovery. They are throwing each other under the bus and the one getting hurt is the patient.

You may think that this doesn’t happen in your organization, but I’m here to tell you that it probably does. I’ve heard it myself so often that I’m fairly confident that it happens more than you think. Read more...

Service Recovery Boosts Patient Experience

Posted by Kristin Baird on March 2nd, 2017 • No Comments »

There has been some great research on the importance of service recovery in developing customer loyalty. In many cases, when a service failure is met with immediate attention and recovery, you can actually build greater loyalty than when no service failure occurred in the first place.

When we teach our 4-A’s service recovery process, we start with “Anticipate.” Why? Because, try as we might, there will likely be some service issues that arise. You’re best equipped to handle anything that comes along if you have taken the time to anticipate potential problems. And the people best suited to anticipate issues are those on the front lines. Read more...

Are You Focused on the Report Card or the Customer Experience?

Posted by Kristin Baird on February 28th, 2017 • No Comments »

I recently had an experience with a car dealer customer experience survey that made me shudder. I’ve been a loyal customer at one of my local dealers for years, for both new car purchases and service. During my last purchasing experience, I had run into a problem which I pointed out to the dealer, and they quickly rectified the situation. I was pleased with their openness and responsiveness to my concern. Read more...

Is your experience statistically significant?

Posted by Kristin Baird on February 23rd, 2017 • No Comments »

Healthcare organizations benefit from a wealth of quantitative data measuring everything from clinical and safety performance to patient experience. But it seems those who perform the best in the patient experience realm are those that place high value on qualitative research as well. They delve into the individual stories that can shed more light on opportunities for improvement.

It’s not unusual for people to confuse qualitative and quantitative research. Quantitative research, such as your patient satisfaction survey results (including HCAHPS) tell you how many people responded to specific questions in a certain way. You seek to have a sample size that represents the population studied. In this case, you can calculate statistical significance. Qualitative research delves deeper into how the individual felt about the experience and what specifically influences their overall impression and willingness to recommend. Read more...

Blog Home

Categories

Attention CEOs – Let’s Get Real About the Culture Change Timeline