Understanding the Voice of the Patient

According to McKinsey & Company, many health systems make large investments in initiatives to improve the patient experience but fail to achieve their desired objectives. Health system executives find that roughly 70 percent of their patient experience initiatives fail. Many of these executives attribute such a high failure rate to their inability to make their patients happy. This author wholeheartedly agrees! It is precisely the attempt to make patients happy that is responsible for what many in industry would call a phenomenal patient experience failure rate. And that is what this and the following series of articles is dedicated to - how to measurably improve the patient experience.

Many of these executives attribute such a high failure rate to their inability to make their patients happy. This author wholeheartedly agrees!

I think you would agree that the objective to "make patients happy" is somewhat incompatible with what patients, their families, or designated caregivers seek from their healthcare experience. Disneyland, Royal Caribbean, Hilton Hotels are places best qualified to achieve that objective. Patients engage with healthcare systems because they are "suffering" and need relief. The object of best performing patient experience initiatives are not about making patients happy – par se’, but about the entire care experience and how it provides relief. It is concerned about the clinical, operational, behavioral and administrative aspects of the relief experience across the entire continuum of care. And......it all begins with hearing, understanding and properly interpreting the Voice of the Patient.

What is the Voice of the Patient?

Simply put, the Voice of the Patient (VOP) is a healthcare system’s life blood. It is a measure of patient engagement evaluating their willingness to utilize an organization's health care services along with a patient's willingness to actively advocate for and recommend a healthcare organization. This voice not only includes that of patients but also their families, insurers, employers, other health care providers, designated caregivers and patient advocacy groups.

The VOP is also defined as the community’s/market place’s positive or negative pre-disposition towards a healthcare system; and conveys a fact that patients do not begin their engagement process with a clean slate.  Their pre-dispositions are formed by their needs, perceptions and attitudes.

• Need: the force that directs patients to seek healthcare services.
• Perception: the way patients organize and interpret information about an organization’s services, quality and capabilities.
• Attitude: the patient’s tendency to evaluate experiences in a favorable or unfavorable way.

A healthcare system that hears the VOP endeavors to influence patient engagement by standardizing care delivery that is “fit” for use.  They develop:

1. Tangible quality of care standards that meet patient needs.
2. Levels of service that favorably impact patient attitudes.
3. Ways of communicating that influence stakeholder perceptions.

Healthcare systems that seek and understand the VOP obtain a favorable reputation, greater profitability and, most importantly, patient loyalty.   Moreover, they find no contradictions among financial, quality of care and patient satisfaction objectives. According to a recent survey by Deloitte Center for Heath Solutions, hospitals with “excellent” HCAHPS patient ratings have an average net margin of 4.7%, as compared to just 1.8% for those with “low” ratings. 

Creating a Patient Focused Culture

The path of listening and responding to the voice of the patient spurs a patient focused culture that stresses engagement as an important outcome of the overall patient experience. There are 4 essential, tangible practices that demonstrate a patient focused culture:

1. Listening and learning with the aim of building significant relationships with patients and their stakeholders.
2. Engaging patients to serve their needs and build relationships.
3. Identifying and innovating care delivery practices.
4. Improving systems and processes which support administrative services.

A patient focused culture is data driven, stresses decision-making and action. It listens to patients and analyzes patient data to determine their satisfaction.  It obtains actionable information that can be tied to key drivers of care delivery practices.

For those interested in our Online Leadership Academy Master Class: "Improving HCAHPS Scores and The Patient Experience" visit us at: HCAHPS Master Class

I invite you to view the 3 minute clip below and observe a glimpse of whats involved in leading a patient focused culture.

David Feinberg Excerpts on the Patient Experience

About the Author

Gerald Taylor, MBA is Managing Director at TPMG Consulting

He can be reached at info@helpingmakeithappen.com