28 Statistics on Hospitals' Patient Experience Strategies

Written by Molly Gamble

Most healthcare organizations use committees to oversee and direct patient experience initiatives, but there is also a growing trend where hospitals delegate this responsibility to a dedicated leader, according to a new survey from Catalyst Healthcare Research and the Beryl Institute. 

The survey is based on responses from more than 1,000 hospitals or hospital systems representing 672 unique organizations. Chief experience officers accounted for 25 percent of the respondent base, along with chief quality officers, chief nursing officers, CEOs, COOs and clinical staff members.  

Here are some main takeaways from the survey. 

Respondents ranked the following as one of their top three priorities for the next three years:

1. Patient experience and satisfaction: 70 percent
2. Quality and patient safety: 63 percent
3. Cost management and/or reduction: 37 percent
4. Electronic health records, meaningful use and health information technology: 35 percent
5. Employee engagement and satisfaction: 22 percent
6. Accountable care organization development and/or implementation: 18 percent
7. Physician recruitment/retention: 17 percent
8. Construction and/or capital improvements: 11 percent

Who in the organization has primary responsibility and direct accountability for addressing the patient experience? 

1. Committee: 26 percent
2. Chief experience officer or patient experience director: 22 percent
3. Chief nursing officer: 14 percent
4. CEO or senior administrator: 8 percent
5. Chief quality officer: 8 percent
6. COO: 3 percent
7. Physician, nurse or clinical staff: 3 percent
8. CMO: 1 percent
9. Chief marketing officer: 1 percent
10. No one in particular: 1 percent
11. Other: 12 percent 

Those with primary responsibility for the patient experience spend an average of 63 percent of their time supporting those efforts, and most (36 percent) have a staff of one to two people to aid in those efforts, whereas 28 percent do not have a staff and 24 percent have a staff of five or more people. 

The top five key components for organizations' patient experience initiatives are: 

1. Sharing patient satisfaction and experience scores: 52 percent
2. Regular or hourly rounding by clinical team members: 50 percent
3. Leadership rounding by members of senior management: 49 percent
4. Staffing training programs for customer service or other behaviors: 49 percent
5. Special initiatives to improve specific Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and System domains: 38 percent