1. What inspired your journey in advancing patient and staff experience in healthcare, and why do you believe human experience is becoming a central priority for healthcare systems today?

In every area of business, good old-fashioned customer service is very important. AS I advanced in my career, I noticed a need for it in the hospital systems, both from the patients and staff, but also from hospitals who wanted to further develop that area. With a lot of experience in this area outside of the hospital environment, I wanted to bring this expertise to healthcare. Human experience should be the focus, because the patients and staff want to be viewed as a human or as family. No one wants to be just a number or just a random employee, but rather focusing on what is best for human’s can make your hospitals the best place to receive care and the best place to work in healthcare.

 

2. From your perspective, what are the most pressing challenges healthcare organizations face today when trying to improve both patient and staff experiences simultaneously?

I think staffing and budgets are pressing, especially with recent legislation that makes it harder for smaller hospitals. At times when people are stressed and short staffed, it is hard to focus on patient and staff experience because everyone is just trying to stay afloat and make it through. Understanding the realities of this, rather than hiding from it, can help figure out the “why” behind it, in order to tailor your changes to ways that will be most effective.

 

3. What innovative approaches, technologies, or strategies do you believe are transforming how healthcare organizations deliver more human-centered care?

AI can help in many ways, even if it is just used to free up some time from staff so they can focus more on the patient and reduce charting time. Meeting patients where they are helps (when the patient wants it), so utilizing more virtual visits and more inpatient communication screens where the provider can chat with a patient from their office and quickly get from patient room to patient room. Leveraging technology in the patient’s MyChart (or similar technology) so they can see more updates, plan of care, and be more a part of their healthcare journey. It is a careful balance to leverage technology to be a human experience enhancer and not do it in a way that appears to further remove the human element from healthcare. Patient Advisory Councils are great help in this area.

 

4. How can healthcare leaders foster a culture where both patients and healthcare professionals feel heard, valued, and supported?

For patients – leverage your complaint and grievance department to be front and center as another layer of patient experience, so they can help facilitate and keep patient happy, which then can take some time from staff. For professionals – foster a lean and just culture, where employees are not afraid to speak up, suggest improvements, and work to make some changes that they want. At times people in C suite make changes, but are not going to Gemba and seeing what the nurses, doctors, EVS workers, etc really feel about how that would work in practice and on the units. Utilize a website for Caregivers to suggest changes and improvements. These suggestions are put into a random drawing for winners. Include on the site some of the ideas chosen for further review and keep updates on the status and where it is in process so staff can follow along and see that the hospital is actually doing something with it.

 

5. Can you share an example or initiative that has made a meaningful impact on patient or staff experience in your organization or the wider healthcare ecosystem?

Focusing on empathetic boundary setting, in order to empower staff to have the tools needed to set boundaries with patient and visitor issues, but also in an empathetic way.

 

6. Looking ahead, what does the future of human experience in healthcare look like to you, and what one change or action should healthcare organizations prioritize today to move in that direction?

I would go all in on AI opportunities, in an area with ever tightening budgets, less staff, but more and more patients needing care, we must find ways to remove a lot of the burden from staff so they can focus on the care and the patient experience, while keeping themselves resilient by removing some “busy work” from their plate. Some people are afraid of AI, but realistically it is the future, like lasers, robotics, and other healthcare advancements people were afraid of in the past that are now commonplace. If you ignore it and hide from it, your hospital could be left behind, whereas if you are on top of it and cutting edge, you will have a leg up over others.