Jason Wolf, President of The Beryl Institute, knows how to put on a conference AND throw a great party! The picture below was taken not long after I forced him to dance with me at the House of Blues!
As an attendee of the April 2015 Beryl Institute Conference in Dallas,
it was hard to believe this was only the 4th year since its
inception. Thousands of healthcare professionals from around the world were enthusiastically
attending a large variety of break out sessions and hearing powerful keynote
speakers. The Beryl Institute, lead by Jason Wolfe, came on the scene in 2006
and has made a huge impact in a short amount of time.
The Beryl Institute is focused on improving the patient
experience and, as a basis for doing so, provides a wealth of data and industry
analysis through white papers, benchmarking studies and sharing of best practices.
Now, The Beryl Institute is ready to use their wealth of knowledge to weigh in
on what makes an organization able to provide the best patient experience.
The Beryl Institute has sunk 8 “stakes” in the ground,
clearly stating what it takes to know if an organization is truly committed to
providing the best patient experience.
Below are 4 of the 8 “organizational commitment” markers:
- o Have an identified leader with committed time and focused intent to shape the experience strategy within and organization or system
- o Have a formal definition/defined purpose for what “patient experience” means in an organization or system
- o Have a formalized structure/process for patient/family engagement
- o Focus on all segments of the continuum and the “spaces in between”
In Jason Wolfe’s keynote address, he explored some of the
findings in the latest Beryl Institute study on “The State of Patient Experience
in American Hospitals.” It is encouraging to learn that over eight in ten
hospitals now have a formal structure to address patient experience, up from
seven in ten in 2011. Certainly, the needle is moving but there is still more
work to be done.
The study also shows that leadership engagement in improving
the patient experience is a primary key to success (hence, the first bulleted
“stake in the ground” above). In
addition, the study shares that some amount of enthusiasm for patient
experience work has declined—a natural reaction to learning just how deeply
layered this work can actually become when we dive in.
All of this reminds us how true that overused saying really
is; this is a journey and the road continues to wind around before our eyes. So, how many of the Beryl stakes does your organization have in the ground?
For more information about the Beryl Institute, please visit The Beryl Institute website.
