What is a Chief Experience Officer?
The government regulations on Medicare reimbursements may spur hospitals to add a new position to their payroll: CXO. The Chief Experience Officer (CXO), a title not widely accepted yet, is a C-suite individual responsible for just that, the patient experience.
But just what is a Chief Experience Officer?
Recently I was able to talk with Jason Wolf, President of The Beryl Institute, a global leader in the patient experience movement. According to Wolf, the CXO job description entails three main responsibilities: “The Chief Experience Officer should be focused on the three main elements of experience framed in the definition of patient experience; those being interactions, the culture of an organization, and the perceptions of patients and families.” He added that, “Interactions are all ‘touch points’ in a care encounter, culture is about the people, processes and expected behaviors that shape the organization, and perceptions are what patients ultimately feel and more importantly remember about their experience.”
Why is this role so important? One answer is that a good patient experience can lead to good HCAHPS scores, which helps a hospital preserve their full Medicare reimbursement. Another reason is that providing a great patient experience is what healthcare organizations should be doing.
Do you think the experience of your patients is important? As Wolf said, “If the experience of your patients is not a priority, then you should not invest in a Chief Experience Officer. This is a role that exemplifies a focused commitment to actions and outcomes.” So, if you do think the experience is important, considering implementing a CXO role.
The CXO is responsible for the quality of the patient experience itself and the measurement of that experience. Managing how much and what kind of survey data is obtained is a critical part of improving the patient experience. “Reality is in the eyes of the beholder,” Wolf says, meaning that the only way to really gauge the experience a hospital is providing is to get a sufficient amount of feedback from its patients.
As for the culture of the organization, the Chief Experience Officer should be actively involved in the HR process. Whether that means working with HR to make better hiring decisions, or developing a Patient Experience 101 program for new hires, the CXO can play a key role. Hiring the right staff and giving them guidance on desired behaviors will lead to consistently positive “touch points” with patients. Over time, this will nurture a “patient-centric” culture.
This Chief Experience Officer title is not as widespread as a CFO or CNO. “It is hard to say how many Chief Experience Officers currently exist around the country with the rapid growth in the patient experience movement and as many in this role still have varying titles,” Wolf said. The role is still emerging because, as Wolf told me, “people are working to determine where the patient experience focus and ownership resides in the organization. The CXO position integrates elements from existing roles and therefore touches in areas traditionally managed by other senior leaders.”
Does it make sense that your patient experience officer be in the C-suite? While the CXO understands customer service and quality management, forward thinking healthcare organizations intentionally place this person in the C-suite. Differentiating this person from Customer Service Directors or Quality Management Leaders signifies that the healthcare organization takes the patient experience very seriously. “Visionary organizations are taking the step to place a CXO in, or directly connected to, the C-suite. As we have committed leaders around other specific functions such as CFOs for finance and CNOs for nursing, if experience is a priority focus, it calls for a role equivalent in responsibility and position to those others. This is especially true if they are ultimately going to effect change, drive outcomes, and have a lasting impact,” said Wolf.
The idea of the patient experience is still being developed within hospitals and other healthcare organizations. It requires a leader, and not just someone who is already overburdened with other duties. As Wolf put it, “The Chief Experience Officer has the opportunity to build a lasting legacy for an organization. Of course they don’t do it alone as no C-suite person ultimately does. Yet, they do have to be the chief advocate for the importance of every interaction, the influence of strong culture and the power of perception at the highest level.” In short, I believe the CXO has to be the voice of the patient among senior leadership.
Could you benefit from having a Chief Experience Officer? Are you moving in that direction? Click here to see how CXOs played a role in the findings of our 2013 State of Patient Experience study.
