These days, there is a lot of talk about “the patient experience” in health care. Insurers are looking at this topic, and providers and clinics are being “graded” on related metrics. We even have our own “Balanced Score Card” that our division and department leadership, and the health system, are held accountable for. You can find the survey and its results for Duke Health overall at this website.
But just what does this phrase mean? The Beryl Institute, a well-known health care organization that focuses on improving patient experience, defines the patient experience as, “the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organization’s culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care.”
This means that there are at least four components that matter here:
- Interactions
- Culture
- Perceptions
- Continuum of care
How does this apply to our clinic?
First, how we treat each other matters. Every single interaction anyone wearing a Duke ID badge in our practice, in our building, and around campus has with a patient or family member, and every single interaction a patient or family member sees us having with anyone else, matters.
Second, the culture of our practice matters. Do we really mean it when we say we “care” about the people we see? Do we act like that is true? Do we have a culture that rewards outstanding customer service and addresses it when it’s not? Do we have a culture that values safety and optimal health outcomes for our patients above everything else? Do we take time to learn the newest information about the care we provide? These things matter.
Third, patient perception matters. Whether we intend to leave a good impression or a bad one, it is that impression that people remember – we can’t get that impression back. We often judge ourselves by our intentions, but others, including our patients and their loved ones, judge us by our IMPACT on them.
Finally, all of these things matter across the continuum of care. That means in the hospital, in our clinic, on the phone, by email or by MyChart. The standards we hold ourselves to are important in all these arenas.
I bring this up in this month’s post not because we don’t do these things, but because we do. I want to challenge all of us, myself included, to create the best possible patient experience in our clinic at all times, remembering that our culture and our impact, in all interactions across the continuum of care, are important. How we treat each other matters.
Thanks for your interest in the things I write, and please have a wonderful early summer!
Sharon K. Hull, professor and chief of the Division of Family Medicine, can be reached at sharon.hull@duke.edu.
Editor’s note: Dr. Hull guest blogs the first Friday of every month.