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56 PATIENT EXPERIENCE 7 Findings on Leadership in Patient Experience — Top Priorities, Challenges and More By Heather Punke N ow more than ever, hospital leaders are focusing on pa- tient experience as a main priority, according to a recently released report titled, "Experience Beyond Boundaries: e Next-Generation CXO." e report, released in May by Vocera Communications, involved a survey completed by 207 director-level and above experience leaders in the U.S. and Canada, as well as interviews with more than 40 vice president-level and above experience executives. Here are seven findings from this year's report. 1. Exactly half of the experience leaders report directly to their orga- nization's president or CEO, "illustrating the continued importance of experience to overall health system strategy," according to the report. 2. Experience and nursing are also closely linked, as 17 percent of ex- perience leaders report to the chief nurse executive, while just 5 percent report to the CMO. Additionally, 67 percent of experience leaders have a nursing degree, while just 7 percent boast a medical degree. 3. e majority of hospital experience leaders also oversee perfor- mance improvement (54 percent), quality improvement (53 percent) and compliments and complaints management (52 percent). "is signifies an understanding of the importance of driving alignment across improvement disciplines at the senior-most levels," according to the report. 4. e three top priorities for experience improvement in 2017 are: • Create/improve the experience culture (55 percent) • Improve patient experience scores (53 percent) • Improve physician and staff well-being and experience (43 per- cent) "While experience leaders are oen pushed by the C-suite to improve scores quickly, it is encouraging that leaders recognize the critical step of focusing on physician and staff well-being as foundational to im- prove the human experience in healthcare," the report reads. 5. e three biggest challenges with leading experience improvement are: • Driving accountability at all levels (25 percent) • Sustaining changes (18 percent) • Lack of staff or resources (15 percent) 6. Nearly half (48 percent) of clinical executives in the C-suite have some of their compensation tied to patient experience scores, and 41 percent of nonclinical C-suiters, like CEOs and CFOs, also have com- pensation hinging on patient experience. 7. e teams behind experience leaders are steadily growing — on av- erage, experience leaders now have 31 people reporting to them, up from an average of 19 in 2015. n How Geisinger Uses 'Nursing Bundles' to Improve Patient Satisfaction: 4 Takeaways By Morgan Haefner D anville, Pa.-based Geisinger Health System implemented a "nursing bundle" in an effort to streamline the patient experience and improve satisfaction, according to a case study published on NEJM Catalyst. A "nursing bundle" — as defined by the Institute for Healthcare Improve- ment — consists of three to five evi- dence-based practices for nurses to consistently execute. Here are four takeaways from the case study. 1. CNOs and nursing leaders across the 12-hospital system identified five practices concerning communication, as roughly 25 percent to 30 percent of Geisinger's complaints stem from communication failures. The practices included hourly rounding, consistent communication, whiteboards in every room, beside shift reports and nurse leader rounding. The practices were vetted and deployed in a nursing bun- dle plan by each CNO. 2. To measure the bundle's influence on the patient experience, Geisinger crafted a satisfaction survey including questions directed at the five prac- tices. After six months of implement- ing the bundle, Geisinger recorded improved satisfaction, with patients stating each practice was "always" performed throughout the system, ac- cording to the report. 3. The authors said lessons learned from the case study include consis- tently measuring data, giving frequent employee feedback through personal notes and recognition, creating tool- kits for employees and maintaining persistence. 4. "Over the last four years, GHS has added seven new hospitals, all with their own cultures, traditions, demo- graphics and employees," the authors wrote. "To create a consistent experi- ence for patients, we needed to de- cide on, and implement, best practic- es for our nursing staff." The authors added the nursing bundle reflects Geisinger's ProvenExperience pro- gram, under which the health system offers partial or full refunds for ser- vices. n