News and briefs: What is patient experience?

The patient experience is something all healthcare workers must focus on, but is not easy to define, according to a survey from HealthLeaders Media. Senior leaders from hospitals and health systems were asked how they define “patient experience,” and their answers encompassed many factors.

With no right or wrong answer, a recent article from HealthLeaders Media asked leaders how they try to improve patient experience at their organization. James Merlino, MD, Cleveland Clinic’s chief experience officer says his organization does not like to focus on standardized measures—such as the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems—to avoid the mentality of “teaching to a test.”

“We made it more abstract. The idea being, let’s just tell our people that anything that affects the patient outside the delivery of medical care is patient experience,” says Merlino in the article.

To read more tips about improving patient experience, click here.