A Strategic Framework for Improving the Patient Experience in Hospitals.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Hospitals are taking new approaches to satisfy consumers and deliver on customer expectations by enhancing their patients' comprehensive experience. The HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey and value-based purchasing initiatives have tied reimbursement to patient satisfaction scores, bringing patient perspectives on care to the forefront of hospitals' strategic priorities. This essay reviews the patient experience literature and argues that hospitals should adopt an expanded approach beyond HCAHPS measures to enhance the patient experience. Such an approach allows providers to deliver quality outcomes that satisfy patients' wants and needs.