I’m really excited about the work I’m seeing in the sphere of public policy as it relates to patient experience. People like Dale Shaller, Jason Wolf, and others have formed groups like the Patient Experience Policy Forum (PXPF) which just convened for the first time in Washington, D.C. a couple months ago. The PXPF is seeking to give a voice to all those who are working to improve the patient and family experience and to shape national and state policy to that end. The group intends to push for policies that affect six key focus areas (these are straight from the group’s charter which you can find here):
- Advance Patient-Provider Partnerships: Patients and families and their clinical care providers must be at the table at all levels of health care policy-making.
- Strengthen Support for Patient and Family Involvement: Patients and families must be provided with education, tools and support to effectively participate in policy-making and in their own care.
- Strengthen Support for Professional Involvement: Health care professionals must be provided with education, tools and support to build effective relationships with patients and families.
- Reduce Disparities: Disparities in the care experienced by patients and families from vulnerable and marginalized populations must be reduced or eliminated entirely.
- Improve Patient-Centered Measurement and Reporting: Methods of assessing and reporting patient experience must be made more efficient and effective for both patients and providers.
- Elevate the Value Case: The direct connection of patient experience to health care outcomes must be clearly defined and integrated into all relevant policy and reimbursement structures.
I’m so encouraged by the efforts of this group and the work they are undertaking. Progress on even one of these aspects would be wonderful. For instance, with patient-centered measurement and reporting, my hope would be that reform in that area would help leaders realize there’s more to improving patient experience than just the scores. And given how patient experience is still seen by some as a “nice-to-have” that can be addressed when all the important clinical and financial problems are solved, further embedding patient experience into the value equation would accelerate progress nationally.
We expect great things to come from this effort! Even if you missed their first meeting in September, never fear, there’s still time to get involved. You can click here to be included on their mailing list to stay apprised of their upcoming connections. My understanding is that the next one will likely be in conjunction with The Patient Experience Conference 2018 in April in Chicago. You can register here. Our team will be there and will be presenting in a session — we hope to see you there as well!
