1. Can you share a brief overview of your role and how it connects to patient and staff experience in healthcare?

I am the founder of Fidelum Health. We are a healthcare experience insights, analytics and operational improvement partner for provider and payor organizations. I lead our firm’s experience research and thought-leadership efforts, which addresses the needed and well-being of both patients and staff members.

2. In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges and opportunities in enhancing human experiences in healthcare today?

I believe the biggest challenge for healthcare providers and payor is to break free from the transactional, fee-for-service financial model that is driving up the cost of care, while simultaneously destroying clinician well-being and patient outcomes. The opportunity is to make a transformational shift to a relationship-focused care and value-based cost management, which would greatly enhance clinician well-being and patient outcomes.

3. How do you see technology, such as AI and digital health solutions, shaping the future of patient and staff experiences?

Technology is currently a major source of problems AND opportunities in healthcare. Much of the current transaction-focused approach to care delivery has been driven by and worsened by poorly designed and implemented technologies that prevent meaningful relationships between patients and care providers. By the same token, there are certainly opportunities for AI technology to take over many of the repetitive administrative tasks that are overwhelming clinicians every day. However, it all depends on how they are designed and implemented. Will they be used to further transactionalize care? Or will they free up clinician and patient time to foster trusting relationships? Only time will tell.

4. With the shift toward healthcare consumerism, how can healthcare organizations balance operational efficiency with delivering personalized, compassionate care?

While I certainly understand and recognize that the term “consumerism” has been at times been used to describe the growing range of care choices available to patients, I honestly believe its use is misplaced and that it does not accurately describe what is happening or intended in healthcare. Rather, I would suggest that healthcare is becoming more focused on high-volume, transactional care with greater cost efficiency and minimal patient or clinician loyalty. As has been the case for other industry sectors, this approach is a recipe for clinical and financial ruin.

In contrast, a focus consistently delivering personalized and compassionate care sustains clinicians, fosters strong relationships with patients, delivers better clinical outcomes and reduces costs. So there is really no choice to be made between the two differing approaches. Any claims that consumerism or a focus on operational efficiency will lead to better care or cost containment are just false promises.

5. What innovative strategies or best practices have you implemented (or observed) that significantly improved patient or staff engagement and well-being?

One of the ironies of the Digital Age in healthcare is that we have more data and more ways to communicate than ever before, but patient relationships and care engagement are actually lower than ever before. Unfortunately, the voluminous feedback that is captured from patients about their care experiences is not focused on what really matters to them or used to personalized the care they receive. Relative to the hospitality and ecommerce industries, healthcare organizations are comparatively operating in the dark ages as relates to personalization of care and fostering trusting relationships.

Healthcare organizations in our Patient-Provider Relationships & Outcomes Collaborative with Mayo Clinic are working together to apply universal insights from social psychology and communication to personalize care experiences for patients and clinicians in ways that are scalable, and deliver better outcomes for everyone. We believe this is truly innovative.

6. What key takeaways or actionable insights do you hope attendees will gain from your session at the International PX Congress?

In our session, I’ll explain the subconscious perception process that all patients and staff members rely on to evaluate their healthcare experiences, as well as how care experiences can be personalized at scale to build stronger relationships and better clinical outcomes for all.