Throughout healthcare, the term “patient experience” has been a buzzword that is hard to avoid. With the focus on patient satisfaction scores, there has been an incredible focus on how patients perceive their care and creating strategies to improve them. With reputations and revenue on the line, some may wonder, “what is the hype all about?”
Going beyond talking about the patient experience, The Beryl Institute has done a phenomenal job of developing resources and overall awareness around the patient experience, it’s importance, and how healthcare providers can improve it. Each year, the Beryl Insitute puts together a conference where hundreds of clinicians, healthcare leaders, and patient experience professionals come together to learn best practices and share learnings. This year, the energy was record-breaking high with leaders from all over the country sharing their enthusiasm around the subject and how we can make an impact with patients each and every day.
#ToCareIsHuman was a theme throughout the conference and this is something everyone who works within healthcare needs to keep in mind. Questions asked around this topic showed that providers are focused on what happens both inside and outside of the four walls of the hospital. Attendees asked, How can we make sure patients feel cared for even after they leave the hospital? How can we make patients feel like their illness is actually important to the caregiver and that they aren’t just another name in the chart? Ultimately, it is the responsibility of nurses, physicians, families, friends, and caretakers to work together to help make a positive difference for all patients.
Dr. Rana Awdish, one of the keynote speakers at the Beryl PX Conference, highlighted this idea by sharing her own patient experience story. During the session, Dr. Awdish demonstrated the importance of physician engagement to create the optimal patient experience. Dr. Awdish saw this through her own eyes when being a patient at her very own Henry Ford Hospital. Being able to gain trust in your care team in more ways than one is crucial to having a positive experience as a patient. Sometimes this tends to be forgotten, and this was made evident during Dr. Awdish’s own experience.
When looking at what she and unfortunately other patients go through, it truly uncovers how important it is to bring humanity into patient care. As the patient engagement company, CipherHealth partners with healthcare organizations across the continuum to implement strategies designed to improve the patient experience. Meeting with some of these partners at the Beryl PX conference showed the numerous ways in which organizations are making a difference for the patients. Overall, it is incredible to watch as healthcare leaders prioritize the improvement of the patient experience and we are thrilled to be a part of the continuing conversations.
