A new year means new opportunities for connections at conferences we look forward to each and every year. One that’s coming up soon, and we’re very excited about is The Beryl Institute Patient Experience Conference 2017 in Denver this March 20-22. TruthPoint will be a Diamond Level Sponsor and also will have a presence in the Conference Commons.
This is one of, if not the premiere patient experience conferences in the industry. The Beryl Institute is committed to the collective development of knowledge, reinforcing the value and expanding the impact of patient experience efforts globally. Their events don’t disappoint.
Their data indicates that attendees are predominantly from hospitals (45%) and predominantly focused on the patient experience as part of their job function (39%; plus 15% working in the area of patient and family advocacy).
We’re looking forward to sitting in on as many other sessions that we can make it to—there’s always a lot to learn and many new practice insights to gain from these events.
Exhibitors have a great deal to offer as well. When we’re not staffing our own booth, we hope to make it around the exhibit hall to see what other vendors have to offer, to connect with many of the exhibitors we already know and to make new acquaintances.
The patient experience industry is a collegial one. After all, we all have a singular focus: to do whatever we can to continually improve the patient experience for patients and their families. It’s important work.
One of the ongoing discussions (and sometimes debate) within the healthcare industry is defining exactly what we mean by “patient experience.” Is it the same as patient satisfaction? No. Is it defined by healthcare providers? No. Is it limited to the hospital experience? No, again. A recent article in Becker’s Hospital Review did a good job of debunking some common myths we thought. Hank Adams, global director of health at HDR, tackled three myths:
- Patient experience is the same as patient satisfaction
- Designing the patient experience requires large-scale capital investment
- We know what our patients want and need
Patient experience means a lot of things—and a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Importantly, though, it’s true definition is owned by individual patients. As we attend conferences like The Beryl Institute’s upcoming Patient Experience conference and learn about new ways that we can better engage and delight our patients, it’s important to remember that and to remain committed, above all, to continually gathering feedback from those we serve about how they define an exceptional patient experience.
We hope to see many of you at the conference. If you’re planning to attend, we hope you’ll stop by to see us. Give us a heads up in advance so we can look for you, or make an appointment to connect.