benefits to the patients and caregivers. Over the last year, Cleveland Clinic has
taken all 42,000 employees through the ‘Cleveland Clinic Experience,’ a three-hour initiative to “enhance and transform the culture by integrating exceptional employee and patient experiences and promoting a service-oriented mindset,” says Merlino. It started with all 2,200 managers who participated in a half-day retreat learning about culture change, servant leadership, engagement, and accountability. Then, the managers and all other employees were randomly assigned to a table of eight other caregivers to discuss key topics important to the organization including desired service behaviors, mission, vision and values, service recovery, and servant leadership. The diversity of employees is important.
“At one table, there may have been a neurosurgeon, a respiratory therapist, a nurse, an environmental service worker, a billing specialist and others from different
«Patient experience is a key component of Cleveland Clinic’s strategic plan to achieve a coordinated delivery model»
disciplines all talking about expected service behaviors and why providing a great patient experience is critical to the organization,” says Merlino. The discussion was led by a facilitator who used a learning map, designed by Clinic employees, to drive content. More than 174,000 employee hours - including 28,000 manager hours - were dedicated to this initiative. The Cleveland Clinic is the largest health system, and one of the largest corporations in America, to undergo such an intensive culture building exercise for all of its employees. Why are exercises like this important? As
healthcare continues to become increasingly competitive, it is also experiencing greater consumerism. Globally, patients have increased their attention to how they’re treated. In the Middle East, this is particularly heightened as a growing population has given rise to a rapidly expanding - and demanding - market for healthcare. By incorporating patient experience as a key strategic element, healthcare organizations will be better positioned to meet these quickly growing patient expectations. And the best way to do so is to engage your frontline employees. In addition to training employees on the
importance of a service-oriented culture, a Patient Experience Office often serves as a doorway or facilitator for direct input from patients. The specific ways this can occur are multiple and varied, and for example, may include a real time patient satisfaction data collection method, patient and caregiver multidisciplinary committees, and a process for collection and analysis of complaints and compliments. At Cleveland Clinic, health literacy is another key component of patient safety and patient satisfaction. Nearly nine out of 10 adults have difficulty using everyday health information, including both written and verbal health instructions. Adults with limited health literacy have a higher risk for hospitalization and readmission, have an average two-day longer length of stay, have a higher risk of medication/medical errors, and are less likely to be compliant with their care plan. To prevent this, Cleveland Clinic has a variety of educational resources available for patients to help them understand their care. “There’s more to healthcare than
great outcomes,” says Merlino. “The entire experience is important and that’s what we’re focused on improving.” Patient Experience Offices can encompass a variety of programs and initiatives, but the goal is always the same – to put patients first and make their entire experience the best it can be. ■
AH MORE INFO:
Dr Merlino is speaking at the Leaders in Healthcare conference on 26th January 2012, which will be held during the Arab Health Exhibition and Congress in Dubai. For more information about the conference and to sign up as a delegate, visit
www.arabhealthonline.com and follow the link to the Congress.
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