Making Invisible Work Visible: Building Patient Trust

Much of the work that shapes a patient’s experience happens before, between, and after the clinical encounter: reviewing records, reasoning through options, coordinating care, navigating barriers, and following through. Yet patients can only interpret the signals they are able to see. This webinar explores how intentional communication behaviors can make invisible work visible without adding time or scripting interactions. Stewart Williams will share research on visit-opening communication and a coaching intervention designed to demonstrate preparation, orient patients to the encounter, and invite patients to share priorities. Participants will examine how visible signals influence trust and experience outcomes, review study findings, and explore ways to translate unseen work into observable behaviors. Applicable across healthcare settings, including ambulatory, hospital, emergency, hospice, and home-based care, attendees will leave with practical tools for coaching teams, strengthening communication, and helping patients better recognize the work being done on their behalf.

Speaker: Stewart Williams, MHA, CPXP, FHX | Regional Director, Patient Experience | Providence Medical Group – Northern California

Learning Objectives
-Describe how patients use visible signals to form perceptions about preparation, listening, and the care they receive.
-Interpret findings from a real-world provider coaching intervention designed to make preparation visible during ambulatory encounters.
-Apply a practical method for identifying invisible work and designing authentic signals that help patients recognize it.

*Congratulations to Stewart Williams for completing the final step in achieving the FHX designation. Click here to learn more about the Fellow in Human Experience.

Non-members can purchase webinars at a cost of $49 each.