No Time to be Timid: Making the Financial Case for PX professionals

J.R. Labbe, CEC 

Co-Founder, CCO, Executive Coach 

CSE Leadership, LLC 

Nicole Kirchhoffer DNP, MS, RN, CEN, CPXP, FPCC, NEA-BC 

Patient Experience Officer / Assistant Vice President 

Maimonides Medical Center 

Lara Burnside, MHA, CEC 

Co-Founder, CXO, Executive Coach 

CSE Leadership 

A July 2025 article by Kristin Kuchno, published by Becker’s Hospital Review, targets Chief Experience Officers as being among C-suite leaders most likely to be less common than they were five to ten years ago.  

Layered with the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill and the uncertainty around how its implementation will affect essential hospitals, it is time to get serious about how to articulate the important role Patient Experience (PX) professionals play in achieving organizational goals. 

Having an expert individual whose primary focus is on amplifying and collecting the voices of their patients and utilizing it toward driving improvements paves the way to design a consistent frictionless patient experience. 

A top priority is to ensure your peers understand the value this role brings to the institution. PX leaders need to be prepared to show specific key metrics that are influenced by the work of their team. And the only way to effectively do that is to create a data dashboard that drives understanding of how patient experience influences the organization’s return on investment. 

Crafting a compelling narrative that illustrates the interconnectedness between care experience, clinical quality outcomes, and revenue growth is essential for engaging hospital executives and driving strategic alignment.  

Start with these key questions to help prepare you for these conversations. 

• What does ROI mean in the context of patient experience — and who defines it? 
   

• How do you align PX initiatives with your organization’s strategic goals and financial outcomes? 
   

• Which partners (e.g., executives, clinicians, patients, board of directors, public) need to see PX ROI — and what matters most to each? 
   

• Can you identify a time when PX improvements directly impacted financial performance or operational efficiency? 
   

• How do you quantify the emotional and relational aspects of patient experience in a way that resonates with leadership? 
   

• What barriers keep you from demonstrating ROI, and how do you overcome them? 
   

• How do you balance short-term metrics with long-term cultural transformation in PX? 
   

• What role does storytelling play in complementing data when demonstrating PX value? 
   

• How do you measure the ROI of PX training and staff engagement programs? 
   

• What innovative metrics or methods have you used to show PX impact beyond traditional surveys? 

Suggested Metrics for a PX ROI Dashboard 

Here are categories and specific metrics that can demonstrate ROI: 

1. Financial Impact

• Reduction in readmissions 

• Decrease in malpractice claims 

• Improved reimbursement rates (e.g., HCAHPS-linked CMS payments) 

• Cost savings from reduced patient complaints or service recovery efforts 

2. Operational Efficiency

• Shorter average length of stay 

• Improved patient throughput 

• Reduced appointment no-show rates 

• Fewer ED visits due to better care coordination 

3. Patient Loyalty & Retention

• Net Promoter Score (NPS) 

• Patient retention rates 

• Referral rates from satisfied patients 

• Online reputation scores (e.g., Google reviews, Healthgrades) 

4. Staff Engagement & Culture

• Employee engagement scores 

• Staff turnover rates 

• Training completion rates for PX initiatives 

• Peer recognition or PX-related awards 

5. Experience & Satisfaction

• HCAHPS scores 

• Survey vendor or other survey results 

• Service recovery resolution time 

• Patient compliments vs. complaints ratio 

With this approach in hand, now is not the time to be timid. Patient Experience professionals are not a “nice to have” — they are a strategic imperative. In an era where every dollar counts and every patient interaction matters, PX leaders must boldly claim their seat at the table by translating compassion into measurable outcomes. The future of healthcare demands more than anecdotes; it demands evidence.  

By harnessing data, aligning with strategic goals, and telling stories that resonate, PX professionals can illuminate the undeniable truth: exceptional patient experience is not just good care — it’s smart business. The case for PX has never been more urgent, or more compelling. Let’s make it impossible to ignore.