We are not THERE yet! 5 reasons why the journey for experience excellence must persist

by Jason A. Wolf, Ph.D., CPXP

[Excerpted from my recent editorial in The Beryl Institute Patient Experience Journal ]

I often share the story of my time rounding with David Feinberg, MD when he was the CEO of UCLA Health. As we reflected on our time visiting with patients and their families, he said to me clearly, “The minute you can tell me the person that comes next is any less important than the one we’re talking to now is when we can stop.”(1) These words have resonated with me and frame so much of what I am currently seeing in the healthcare ecosystem itself.

It is evident that healthcare globally is struggling today; finances are tight, costs are rising, the workforce is depleted, innovations are coming in from all sides with increasing pace, and the patient population is growing in both age and acuity. It is the perfect storm in many ways. One I know is not easy to lead through. Yet at the same time, in moments of such commotion and a vigorously moving playing field, we can see where people lose sight of the foundational things to progress and ultimately survive.

And in the midst of this, I am worried that people believe we have gotten THERE in addressing patient experience, that our practices are doing enough, or that the belief that there is only so much we can do in today’s environment prevails to a greater extent each day. I suggest that in fact there is so much MORE that we can do. And I offer this honoring the current challenges we face and with an intent to underline both the processes we can implement and the value we can realize if we remain relentless in our pursuit of experience excellence. Some things to consider:

1. A commitment to experience excellence is a focus on who you CHOOSE TO BE. When we are clear that a commitment to experience is not a list of things to do, but a commitment to the way we seek to be as a healthcare organization, that is the moment it also becomes a way of being. In multiple global studies we have conducted in asking what matters most to people who we have the privilege to serve in healthcare, they tell us it is NOT the items we may have originally associated with experience such as nice amenities, parking, or food (and noting these are high investment items.) Rather it is being “communicated to in ways I can understand”, “being listened to” and “being treated with dignity and respect.”(2) People expect quality, safe care, but in their experiences, they seek care for not only their health, but for their humanity. Delivering on these desires must be a business priority and requires consistency in systems, process, and support to ensure they are understood, and delivered in meaningful and purposeful ways.
2. A Commitment to Experience Excellence is NOT A LINE ITEM. In a recent editorial I suggested, experience is not a strategic pillar, separate from finances or people, quality or growth. Rather, it is the strategic foundation on which those items find sure footing. More specifically, an investment in patient experience for organizations is not simply funding a cost center. It must not be treated as such. Experience is not a line item – for an investment in experience efforts creates a culture shift that has direct bearing on the quality outcomes realized, the patient and family loyalty sought, the community reputation desired and the vibrant workforce that healthcare leaders strive to ensure every day.(3)
3. A Commitment to Experience Excellence is a LEADERSHIP IMPERATIVE. (4) Just this year we had the chance to share the worlds of healthcare executives from around the world on why experience was a critical focus in their work. The paper revealed powerful stories of commitment and intentional focus, it also underlined some critical points we must take to heart, namely, human experience is healthcare’s foundation. If healthcare is fundamentally about human beings caring for human beings, then experience must be much more than an initiative, it is the essence of quality, safe care. It is a commitment to honor the people we serve and all who show up to serve each day.
4. A Commitment to Experience Excellence is a driver of VALUE. (5) As shared in a recent Patient Experience Journal article on the value case for experience, the authors assert that an ongoing commitment to human experience drives: Workforce/Team Value, by ensuring vibrant cultures and team wellbeing, Patient, Family & Care Partner Value, by focusing on clinical outcomes, partnership and engagement, Community/Consumer Value, by expanding access, supporting equity, and supporting community wellbeing, and Organizational/Business Value, by fostering brand strength and loyalty and driving operational efficiencies.
5. A Commitment to Experience Excellence is an ONGOING and PURPOSEFUL JOURNEY. In all this, I offer these words, not as a checklist of things to consider, but rather the realization that a focus on experience, as illustrated through Dr. Feinberg’s words is in its very nature an ongoing journey. There is no next patient who deserves any less. This is the same for our teams who show up every day.

The ideas I share here are to underline a critical point. Now is NOT the time to cut short our efforts for experience excellence, or to believe there is a “there” to which we have arrived. It must be a journey of purpose, driven by an unwavering commitment to how each of our healthcare organizations chooses to show up each day, through its culture and the people that deliver on its promise. Now is not the time to believe we’ve made it.

This may seem like an interesting declaration from someone who fought for these ideas in my own days in healthcare leadership and then turned to try and expand this conversation globally for the last 15 years. I can say even with all that we have done together, through the experience community and beyond, there is still much more to do. Are we in a better place then we have ever been on the experience journey? Yes, we are. And at the same time new people and organizations are discovering this work for the first time in places all around the world or bringing innovations and ideas to the fore that will only help us care for one another a little better each day.

So, this may be the tension I hope we can all hold in suggesting “We are NOT there yet!”. For as much as we have done to succeed, there is so much more to learn and give. Do not let a number be your finish line, do not let challenging winds blow you off course or have you pull back in the face of what is possible, right, and good. We choose this work; we commit to its cause out of the very idea that Dr. Feinberg shared with me all those years ago…that the next person is no less important. And for that reason, this work will be forever essential. We must all remain committed to carry it onward.

References

1. Return on Human Experience: Eight Principles to Inspire Excellence in Healthcare. The Beryl Institute
2. Consumer Perspectives on Patient Experience 2024. The Beryl Institute. 2024
3. Human experience is not a line item. Patient Experience Journal. 2022; 9(2):1-3. doi: 10.35680/2372-0247.1746.
4. Executive Perspectives: Why a Strategic Commitment to Human Experience is a Must. The Beryl Institute. 2025
5. Investing in the Bottom Line: The Value Case for Improving Human Experience in Healthcare. Patient Experience Journal. 2024; 11(1):14-20. doi: 10.35680/2372-0247.1938
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