When I’m out of town for work, I spend a fair amount of time at Panera. They are consistent across the country, have some healthy food options, convenient locations and the ever-coveted free wifi connection. This morning, as I spent time between client staff trainings on improving the patient experience, I overheard a Panera employee “practicing

I had the pleasure of having both my driver’s license and my vehicle tags come up for renewal the same month, warranting a trip to my local DMV. I found myself dreading the experience and frankly, putting it off until the end of the month; the long wait, taking off from work in the middle

The survey has been a mainstay in medical offices for years; but with innovation and time come better tools. Hospitals and practices that used to rely on surveys for their patients’ feedback are now using medical mystery shoppers and patient panels. Medical mystery shopping is now an AMA-endorsed practice and we have been helping organizations

As healthcare consultants, we travel… a lot. This week, we’ve been speaking at conferences in three different states. Though all over the map, many of the healthcare conference attendees seemed to have one thing in common: resistance and dread for change. Our Partner, Jamie Verkamp, asked one audience how many of them wished that social

An amazing, medical feat has put patient Dallas Wiens in the spotlight: he is the first U.S. patient to receive a full facial transplant. After coming in contact with an electrical wire, his entire face was emulsified, right down to the bone. Determined to live for his toddler, Scarlette, the Texan survived, and thanks to

A recent Beryl Institute research brief asks this question- and what a great question it is! They write, “Where does the ultimate accountability for the patient experience rest? Although everyone in a healthcare facility has accountability for impacting the patient experience, there is a necessity for leadership and an assigned accountability to effectively drive this

Recently, I left my primary care physician of some 10 years to establish a relationship with a new doctor.  Not because I was unhappy or dissatisfied with his services, or because we moved, or changed insurance, nor any of many other frequently-cited reasons.  The defection started with an advertisement for a medical group that offered

I was reading some good economic news last week (healthcare employment is on the rise, accounting for 30% of all new U.S. jobs in January) when it occurred to me: this isn’t just an opportunity for those looking for industry jobs, but also for those hiring new workers.  Hiring is the perfect time to evaluate

Most healthcare workers look at the fluctuating state of healthcare and groan… I recently found myself feeling not only optimistic, but excited for the opportunities an industry in transformation brings. Fluctuation and change give us the chance to evaluate and question everything. Why do we choose this method of billing, this approach to patient engagement,