The Evolution of Patient Satisfaction to Patient Experience.

AMERICANS HAVE LONG been captivated by the concept of satisfaction. Consider the Rolling Stones's 1965 hit "Satisfaction." A Google search today reports more than 14 million views of the song on YouTube. Yes, Americans still want satisfaction.Unfortunately, satisfaction is often elusive in healthcare; many patients would agree with the refrain "I can't get no satisfaction." But if Medicare's Hospital Compare website and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services's Hospital ValueBased Purchasing Outcomes Scores database work as intended, consumers will at least be more informed in their quest to find the hospitals that will give them satisfaction. In response, healthcare organizations are paying more attention to the assessment of patient care-and focusing on the complete patient experience.In the first feature article in this issue of Frontiers of Health Services Management, Wolf tracks the evolution of terminology from patient satisfaction to patient experience. He defines patient experience as "the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organization's culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care." But, he continues, "whereas satisfaction, typically measured by surveys, captures perceptions at points in time, experience is the lasting story consumers carry with them. It colors the lens through which they see (and will continue to see) an organization, affects how they engage in the future, and influences what they tell others."Wolf points out that leadership support in influencing patient experience is a key factor for high-performing healthcare organizations. He shares The Beryl Institute's eight guiding practices and qualities-accountable leadership, strong culture, a formal definition of experience, a process for continuous patient and family engagement, engagement of all voices, a view beyond clinical experience, alignment across the continuum, and the need to focus on both healing and wellbeing-as "essential actions that serve as aspirational and affirmative statements." These guidelines can serve as a road map for leaders in their quest for a better experience for patients.In the other feature article in this issue, Guler explains how patient experience is reflected in healthcare outcomes. If organizations successfully influence patient experience, outcomes improve. She points out that patient experience has become a critical differentiator in today's healthcare environment. Her organization, Adventist Health System, initially defined patient experience as "treating the patient as you would the person whom you love the most." Now, she adds, "we complement this definition with the concept of whole-person health and delivering a consistent patient experience with uncommon compassion across our entire system."Based on Guler's and Wolf's definitions, patient satisfaction clearly is not the sole focal point in patient experience; care offered throughout the healthcare delivery system must be considered. For example, when a patient, otherwise treated with unsurpassed compassion, has a wrong-site surgery, is administered wrong medications, or develops a hospital-acquired infection, she will view her experience as negative.Guler outlines four critical factors for achieving and sustaining a high level of patient experience: making culture a top priority, engaging physicians, standardizing patient experience practices, and committing to meaningful use of data.I agree that tactics alone-such as bedside shift reports, hourly rounding, leader rounding on patients and employees, and discharge follow-up phone calls-are insufficient for meaningful change. Leadership and culture are the key drivers in the move from patient satisfaction to patient experience.The CHRISTUS ExperienceCHRISTUS Health is a Catholic healthcare ministry with approximately 45,000 associates (employees) in the United States, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia. The ministry was founded 150 years ago, in 1866, by the congregations of The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in Houston and San Antonio. …