The Ripple Effect: Together, We are a Growing Global Movement

On the Road at Patient Experience Conference 2018 – April 2018

by The Beryl Institute Team

Patient Experience Conference represents a time of learning and intentional networking for the patient experience community through identifying strategies and discovering solutions in improving patient experience at their organizations. These three days in Chicago also represented a time of celebration – where we acknowledge a year of significant work since we last came together and where participants leave inspired to further their commitment to enhancing their own global patient experience efforts.

With over 1,100 participants from across the world, PX2018 was comprised of patients, families, caregivers, hospital executives, physicians, consultants, nurses and industry leaders from across the care continuum all working together to improve the patient experience. In our commitment to including patients, families and care partners in the dialogue and recognizing the value and impact of their stories in the patient experience movement, we were excited to provide conference scholarships to five patients/family members and to our Global Patient and Family Advisory Council members.

A Ripple of Hope
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope…” – Robert F. Kennedy

Conference Opening – #PXTOGETHER
PX2018 started with a premiere of a conference opening video, a tradition at Patient Experience Conference. Recognizing that experience integrates ALL the critical elements of healthcare, reaching beyond the clinical encounter to all interactions and driving the outcomes we all aspire to, the video was a reminder that changing healthcare takes all of us together. Focusing on how each person represents a ripple of hope, the video shared global perspectives on how patient experience continues to be a growing movement impacting people every day.

Together….

We are a growing global movement.

We are impacting countless lives.

We are ensuring an unwavering commitment to the human experience.

Consumer Study Results Revealed
During the opening session, Jason A. Wolf, PhD, CPXP, President of The Beryl Institute, announced initial key findings from Institute’s inaugural PX Consumer Study on consumers’ views on patient experience. The study, encompassing the voices of 2,000 consumers over 5 countries globally, was the first of its kind to ask the general healthcare user their perspectives on what mattered to them. The headlines shared in this work revealed that consumers identify patient experience as important to them, not just overall, but as a critical driver of their healthcare decision-making.

What consumers shared was of greatest importance to them in any healthcare encounter was not efficiency, or environment, but first and foremost how they were treated – that they were listened to, communicated to in a way they could understand and treated with courtesy and respect. They also shared that in in any experience good or bad they would tell others and those stories and ultimately recommendations would drive healthcare decisions for most going forward. You can learn more about the consumer study results in our complimentary Patient Experience Week Webinar The Patient Experience Consumer Study 2018: Insights and Opportunities for Action, this Thursday at 2pm ET.

Social Media
Reinforcing our value to accessibility, the Institute streamed the opening session and plenary panel discussions through Facebook Live. With close to 4,000 views, this was an opportunity for the community to engage with PX2018 beyond the conference floors. If you missed the live broadcasts, you can view it on Facebook here.

Conference participants shared and reflected on their learning experiences with others via social media by tagging photos, tweets and posts with the #PX2018 hashtag. Tweets were live streaming on monitors throughout the conference foyer and PX Marketplace area, providing an interactive way for people to engage. By the numbers during conference week, the #PX2018 hashtag had 10,130,000 impressions, 3,004 tweets and an average of 5 tweets per hour.

What’s New at PX2018
Hospital Tour
New this year, participants were able to add the option of a hospital tour after the conference close. The University of Chicago Medicine, located in Hyde Park on the South Side of Chicago, welcomed conference participants to tour its state-of-the-art hospital, the Center for Care and Discovery, a 10-story, 1.2-million-square-foot facility which brings together the best minds in research and medicine with a focus on cancer, digestive diseases, neurosciences, advanced surgery and high-tech medical imaging.

City Tour
Also a new pre-conference option this year, over forty conference attendees donned their winter coats and hats for a bus tour of Chicago on Sunday afternoon. Chicago is renowned for its beautiful architecture, and the two-hour bus tour provided attendees a glimpse of some of Chicago’s greatest landmarks. Popular points of interest were the famous John G. Shedd Aquarium, one of the largest aquariums in the world, the Adler Planetarium, and the famous Field Museum of Natural History. The tour continued along the Lakefront Trail providing attendees a beautiful view of Lake Michigan. Although a big city, Chicago provides plenty of green space and parks. Participants were very excited to see “The Bean”, a large stainless-steel reflective structure that serves as the park’s centerpiece.

Charity Partner / PX Store
We were excited to collaborate with StoryCorps as our charity partner this year. For the first time, PX2018 had a PX Store available to provide participants the opportunity to purchase publications and products from the Institute. 10% of proceeds from the PX Store were donated to StoryCorps.

StoryCorps is a national oral history organization committed to connecting people through storytelling. Their program offers participants a way to celebrate the lives of loved ones with generations to come. Five members of the Institute community were invited to share their unique patient experience story in a StoryCorps interview recording. Each conversation will be preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Learning Sessions
With a CPXP Prep Course, three pre-conference workshops, two keynote speakers, two plenary panel discussions, over 50 breakout sessions and 27 e-poster presentations, PX2018 speakers comprised the voices of patients, families, caregivers, hospital executives, physicians, consultants, nurses and industry leaders sharing proven practices, innovations and strategies. To help participants choose sessions specific to their learning needs, breakout sessions were categorized in the related content areas:

• Communication Skills
• Cultural Competence & Diversity
• Culture & Leadership
• Employee Engagement
• Environment
• Global PerspectivesMetrics & Measurement
• Patient & Family Engagement/Partnerships
• Patient Advocacy
• Patient Experience Strategy
• Physician Engagement
• Policy & Regulatory Issues
• Process Improvement
• Technology

CPXP Prep Course
The Institute’s Learning and Professional Development faculty welcomed 42 participants in a pre-conference option on Sunday. During the full-day interactive workshop, participants reviewed content and learned more about the four domains outlined in the Certified Patient Experience Professional (CPXP) Classification System on which the CPXP examination is based. In the afternoon, the group spent time with individuals whom have successfully achieved the designation of CPXP learning from their insights and preparation strategies. In addition, participants tested their understanding of the many concepts shared and walked away with heightened confidence that they too will be joining their CPXP colleagues.

Pre-Conference Workshops
Patient Experience Conference began with three pre-conference workshops. Healthcare leaders from Kaiser Permanente, Tandem Healthcare Solutions, The Beryl Institute and Health Innovation Network discussed strategies to implement next level-partnership approaches that empower, engage and heal both staff and community members through co-design, Contagious Change shared leverage coaching principles and practices to discover and encourage the best in people and Language of Caring conducted a hands-on activity building strategy maps based on effective improvement planning.

Keynote Speakers
John Foley, former lead solo with U.S. Navy Blue Angels, shared the parallels between an elite team like the Blue Angels and what we do every day to improve the patient experience. John encouraged the audience to take action and rethink what they believe is possible.

Lee Woodruff, author and CBS Contributor, shared her story as a successful freelance writer and businesswoman, mother of four children and how her life turned upside down when her husband, Bob Woodruff, co-anchor of ABC’s World News Tonight, was severely wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Iraq. Lee conveyed a message of love, healing and an understanding that we’re all fighting our own battle as she shared her story as a family caregiver and reminded participants that words matter.

Plenary Panel Discussions
The two plenary panel discussions brought together both the voice of executives and patient and family members. The Executive Panel opened with a video highlighting a group of rich and diverse leadership perspectives working to address excellence in patient experience. Through the discussion, they shared insights, practices and key takeaways to inspire us along our patient experience journey.

The Patient and Family Panel provided a 360 degree view of patient experience and shared that every patient has a story and every interaction matters. Through the intro video, we met the Holliday family and the some of the care providers from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago who have taken part in one family’s patient experience. This interactive session provided an opportunity to explore the voices and perspectives that come together in healthcare to help ensure the best in experience.

E-Poster Presentations
27 e-poster presentations gave authors and PX grant program recipients the opportunity to share graphic displays with participants highlighting their proven practices, successful ideas and innovative programs. The e-posters were displayed electronically via flat screen monitors in the PX Marketplace where authors had designated times at monitors to answer any questions on their research. Research ranged from a variety of patient experience topics such as health literacy, patient journey mapping, empathy huddles, patient and family advisors and more.

Roundtable Discussions
This was our second year to offer roundtable discussions. Participants joined one of seven conversations on Patient Engagement and Partnership, Effectively Using Experience Data for Impact, Employee Engagement, Interpersonal Relationship Practices and the Patient Experience, Healthcare Disparities, Patient Experience in the Ambulatory Setting and Patient Experience in an Uncertain Healthcare Environment. Each discussion was hosted by a thought leader in the field of patient experience exploring ideas, practices and solutions.

Community Gatherings
More than 250 conference participants joined the community gatherings as an opportunity to network and engage in facilitated discussion with peers. Community Gatherings serve as a virtual connection among healthcare leaders committed to improving the patient experience in an identified area of interest. They offer a venue for sharing ideas, practices, challenges and opportunities.

Patient Advocacy Community
The Patient Advocacy Community (PAC) kicked off Monday morning with their annual member gathering led by community leaders Kim Pedersen and Kate Clarke. Sponsored by RL Solutions, the gathering started with breakfast and time for patient Advocates to network and build relationships with peers around the world before two presentations from PAC members.

Sara LaForce, Manager, Corporate Patient Partnership, Novant Health, shared lessons learned regarding the recruiting and hiring of individuals who are the best fit for patient advocate positions. She provided examples of skills, experience and personal character traits that are key elements for success in this dynamic role. Then, Brenda Radford, Director, Guest Services, and Suzie Zeunges, Program Coordinator, Concierge Services, Duke University Hospital shared how Duke developed an interactive dashboard to track guest concerns in order to identify trends, allow comparisons with patient satisfaction data, and assist in strategic planning.

The gathering also included the presentation of the 2018 Ruth Ravich Patient Advocacy Award to Melissa Thompson, Cancer Patient Advocate, Cancer Patient Advocate, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Patient and Family Advisors Gathering
The Patient and Family Advisors (PFAs) gathering was led by our Global Patient and Family Advisory Council Co-Chairs David Andrews and Shari Berman and provided opportunities for PFAs to connect and share both their own experiences as well as elevate needs they hope to see addressed by the growing community of PFAs connected to The Beryl Institute.

Pediatric Community Dinner
Facilitated by community leaders, the Pediatric Community came together to continue the dialogue on how this community can best support our members in addressing patient experience in the pediatric setting. Lori Gunther, Director of Quality and Strategy, NICU, from the March of Dimes, shared an opportunity to provide benchmarking around the NICU experience. Through dialogue, participants also shared opportunities to provide resources to help further the growth of the community.

Physician Community Gathering
This annual gathering is a dedicated time for physicians to share with colleagues their passion, commitment and the specific work they are doing to elevate the patient experience conversation. This year the Physician Community came together in a roundtable discussion format. The collective group selected three topics that were top of mind to explore in depth: Physician Engagement, The Integration of PX to Include Clinical, Safety, Outcomes and Service and Physician Burnout. At the conclusion of the gathering, physicians walked away with new insights, renewed energy and an expanded network of support.

Additional Networking
First Time Attendee Welcome
Representing the #PXTogether movement, over 350 participants gathered for the first time attendee welcome where new connections and friendships were formed as they learned what to expect at the conference. Participants actively engaged in the opening icebreaker hosted by longtime friend and Executive Board Member of the Institute, Colleen Sweeney, as well as received energizing advice on how to get the most from their conference experience from members of the conference planning committee and Advisory Board, Nicole Bailey, Bryanna Gallaway and Mike Ross.

Exhibitor Reception
On the first night of the conference, participants had the opportunity to network with colleagues and learn more about services and resources available to help expand their patient experience efforts in the PX Marketplace area. Participants were encouraged to use their PX Passport to explore the PX Marketplace area during breaks, before and after each day’s program and during the exhibitor reception. Popular with participants last year, we were excited to offer a new conference ‘#PXTOGETHER’ t-shirt to those who turned in completed PX Passports. There was also a large wall with a list of conference participant names. Participants were excited when they found their name and were encouraged to take a photo with it.

Networking Reception and Dinner
These connections continued throughout the conference, and we saw many new friendships being made. Day two of the conference ended with an evening of fun, live music and dancing at the House of Blues. Private rooms and the restaurant area also were an opportunity for participants to relax and listen to music outside of the main Music Hall. There was also a green screen photo opportunity where individuals were able to take fun group photos with props in front of a Chicago skyline.
PX Collaborative

The PX Collaborative is comprised of organizations that share the Institute’s commitment to improving patient experience and allows like-minded organizations to share resources to help others in their patient experience journey. We are never in this work alone and are thankful for organizations that come together to expand the conversation.

Many thanks to our PX Collaborative partners: Academy of Communication in Healthcare (ACH), The Arnold P. Gold Foundation, Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP), Caregiver Action Network (CAN), Center of Health Design, Foundation for Hospital Art, Ken Hamilton Caregivers Center, March of Dimes, Patient Advocacy Community (PAC) of The Beryl Institute, Patient Experience Institute (PXI), Patient Experience Policy Forum (PXPF), The Society for Participatory Medicine (SPM) and StoryCorps.

Patient Experience Policy Forum
The Patient Experience Policy Forum (PXPF) held its second in person meeting in conjunction with Patient Experience Conference on Sunday afternoon. The healthcare leaders and patient and family members in attendance reinforced the unique model of this effort to link healthcare organizations and patient and family perspectives together in advocating for healthcare policy that focused on the core ideas impacting patient experience.

The session was focused on working the key issues outlined in the PXPF charter and identifying priorities for action in moving the policy conversation forward including better addressing the data collected from patients and families and how to best partner with patients and families and engage providers in this work. More updates from PXPF will be forthcoming as the agenda for the year ahead is shared. We invite you to learn more about the PX Policy Forum.

Nurse Executive Council
The new Nurse Executive Council of The Beryl Institute held its first in person meeting at PX2018, bringing together nurse leaders from across North America. This growing group of leaders committed to the patient experience movement reinforced their desire to not only learn from one another in strengthening their own organizational efforts, but they also looked to contribute to expanding the patient experience conversation, especially as it related to nursing in significant ways.

From providing more extensive learning opportunities for emerging nurse leaders to working on grounded research to supporting the broader work of the patient experience community, the Nurse Executive Council is quickly becoming a powerful voice of how and why the experience conversation can and must be supported by and led from the highest leadership levels in healthcare today. As our plenary Executive Panel suggested and this group reinforced, experience is the new business imperative for healthcare and we can do this in a purposeful and focused manner. The council will continue to grow as a valuable voice for clinical team members in driving an unwavering focus on experience.

Moving Forward Together
In Jason’s opening session, he shared the definition of movement as an ‘act of moving ‘ and ‘a group of people working together to advance their shared ideas.’ This reinforces how it takes ALL of us together to continually expand the global dialogue on experience. He shared some insights on what we can do to change healthcare by advancing an unwavering commitment to the HUMAN EXPERIENCE.

• Intention and clarity matter.
• Consistency is the antidote to uncertainty.
• Shared understanding/ownership will change how we work.
• Listen to understand ALL the voices that comprise the healthcare ecosystem.

In a commitment to shift how healthcare works, we must dedicate ourselves to the broader human experience, honoring both the patient experience at its core and the experience of all driving and supporting healthcare’s efforts every day.

As we close another year at Patient Experience Conference, we encourage you to push the human experience idea further, learning from each other, honoring the voices of all engaged in healthcare, truly clarifying what matters to those impacted by what healthcare chooses to do and ultimately reinforcing that in each of those choices, we each make tiny ripples that touch thousands and thousands of lives around our globe.

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” – Ryunosuke Satoro