“It’s not that we come to work thinking we’re going to hurt somebody today,” explained Merlino. “We do it because we lose mindfulness, or we don't follow a procedure … or we get careless."

As an example, he cited the case of a surgeon who received numerous patient complaints. There were seven anecdotal statements about the same surgeon from seven patients over 90 days. These comments ranged from "surgeon never saw me," "doctor had an attitude," "doctor was rude." Merlino said he used the patient experience data as a communication opportunity to have a critical conversation with the surgeon. The surgeon said he had no idea he was being perceived that way by patients, and from then on, they never received another complaint about the surgeon.


"Getting data out there and sharing, so people know what's going on, is really important," he said.

Using data to prioritize safety, putting patients at the center of all processes, making data transparent, and a focus on culture by leadership are all hallmarks of top-performing hospitals. In other words, make patient experience a strategic priority.

“We all have our responsibility to improve … the lesson for me is we should treat our work ahead like the pandemic, which means we have to be constantly thinking about what we're doing and how we need to evolve our approach," he concluded. "Think about what patients are going through … that's a best practice. Don't be territorial about this work — everyone owns it"

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