Evolving Differently: The Next Generation of Measuring Patient Experience

Charts with patient experience data standing up from tablet

One of the things I am most proud about at PRC is our devotion to creating Patient Loyalty, so it was refreshing to our team to see the latest Health Affairs article, “The Next Generation of Measuring Patient Experience.” In our 40-year history, we have constantly evolved to ensure our methodologies, surveys, and reporting keep pace with the growing expectations we have as both people seeking healthcare, and those equipping healthcare leaders, staff, and physicians with meaningful intelligence to drive patient loyalty.
The article so beautifully points out some important trends:

• Development in technology and the need to expand into digital surveys

• The diversity of staff that interact with patients during a hospitalization

• Declining response rates (learn more about our solution!)

• Factors beyond HCAHPS that matter to patients

• New mediums of capturing patient feedback

We whole-heartedly agree that the patient experience is too important to not continually challenge our measurement systems. To thrive, we must look at healthcare differently and allow ourselves to constantly evolve. In our experience, factors such as the patient’s perception of safety, teamwork among caregivers, staff courtesy, and understanding are among the most influential drivers of patient loyalty. Additionally, our research shows when patient’s can rate their care as Excellent, they are four times more likely to recommend the hospital.

The Power of Excellence
In today’s world of crowd sourcing recommendations, Yelp and social media partnering to find solutions to grow loyalty is more important now than ever before. Leaders, staff, and physicians deserve the best feedback from the voices of their patients and we stand ready and eager to help our industry make the next leap.

We applaud HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment for Healthcare Providers and Systems) and the complementary CAHPS Surveys for elevating our focus and look forward to the journey ahead.


About the Author

Katie Owens Headshot

Katie Owens -Senior Vice President, PRC Excellence Accelerator®

Katie joined PRC’s leadership team in 2018, helping to create the PRC Excellence Accelerator® Division to equip our clients with proven paths to improving employee, physician, and patient engagement. Katie believes the healthcare experience matters for every individual: patients, caregivers, and providers. She has worked both on the front lines of healthcare and in senior leadership roles. Now, she is taking bold steps to assure every organization has access to resources to achieve results. Currently serving as its senior leader, she co-founded the Healthcare Experience Foundation—created with the ambition for every person to receive and deliver the best possible care. She has worked with hundreds of organizations and thousands of leaders to equip their cultures and instill competencies that achieve breakthrough performance with quality, safety, patient experience, and workforce engagement. She is lead author of the HCAHPS Imperative for Patient-Centered Excellence and frequently authors in respected industry publications.

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