By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    bowl of vegetable salad
    Raw Foods: benefits and harms
    November 9, 2021
    pros and cons of the keto diet
    Read This Before You Follow the Keto Diet
    May 18, 2022
    spinal cord injuries
    4 Potential Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries (and How to Seek Compensation)
    May 25, 2022
    Latest News
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    July 31, 2025
    Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
    July 20, 2025
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Effective Healthcare Requires a Social Approach
    June 15, 2015
    CCBHCs
    2016 Excellence in Behavioral Health Program Design
    February 23, 2016
    conducting Clinical Trial
    5 Tips for Conducting a Clinical Trial
    April 21, 2024
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Perspective: The State of Patient Experience [Podcast]
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Public Health > Perspective: The State of Patient Experience [Podcast]
Public Health

Perspective: The State of Patient Experience [Podcast]

Stewart Gandolf
Stewart Gandolf
Share
6 Min Read
James Merlino, MD
SHARE

James Merlino, MDJames Merlino, MD

[Leadership Podcast Series] In this conversation with Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success, Dr. James Merlino, president and chief medical officer of the strategic consulting division at Press Ganey provides an insightful perspective on healthcare’s evolving landscape, significant leadership issues and the state of patient experience.

James Merlino, MDJames Merlino, MD

[Leadership Podcast Series] In this conversation with Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success, Dr. James Merlino, president and chief medical officer of the strategic consulting division at Press Ganey provides an insightful perspective on healthcare’s evolving landscape, significant leadership issues and the state of patient experience.

More Read

antibiotics overuse
Attack of the Superbugs: Time to Stand Up Against the Antibiotics Feeding Frenzy
Patient Recovery: A Solution to Improve Healthcare
King v. Burwell: A Frivolous Lawsuit
A U.S. Marine’s Gift to a Doctor
Consumers Putting Off Medical Care & Risking Health

Prior to joining Press Ganey, Dr. James Merlino—also a practicing surgeon—was the Chief Experience Officer of the Cleveland Clinic Health System. In this leadership podcast, Dr. Merlino draws on his practical and diverse knowledge and experience and speaks with us about contemporary issues for hospitals and the nation’s health care delivery system.

listen now podcast interview

Among today’s topics, Stewart Gandolf and Dr. Merlino discuss patient safety as a strategic priority, transparency in healthcare, healthcare reform and patient experience. Some highlights include:

ON PATIENT SAFETY AS A STRATEGIC PRIORITY:

In the United States, patient safety and quality of care are among the most significant issues. And while hospitals have made tremendous improvements in patient safety, much more remains to be accomplished. If you treat patient safety as if it were a disease, it would be the third leading cause of death in the United States.

“When you look at organizations that have achieved high performance and high reliability like the airline industry, the reality is that [the hospital industry] can be more like them. We can do a better job of delivering safer healthcare. We have to standardize more of what we’re doing, we have to elevate reduction of harm to a top strategic priority, we have to make safety an uncompromisable core value of our organization. We have to do more to protect people.”

ON TRANSPARENCY IN HEALTHCARE:

Healthcare has made a lot of progress on the topic of transparency—more and more organizations are transparent in their information—but we still have a lot of work to do. There’s more and more information available, and when we are transparent about it, it drives change.

Dr. Merlino observed that transparency applies to accolades as well as opportunities. At the University of Utah, for example, when doctors’ scores and comments were published on their website, several things happened.

First, the scores improved. Second, the doctors had many, many more positive comments than negative comments; and they liked seeing their positive comments out there. And third, it had a significant impact on their brand because it changed the search dynamics on a site like Google.

ON HEALTHCARE REFORM:

“The bottom line is that healthcare reform has fundamentally brought some good things to healthcare. The thing that I get excited about is the focus, finally, on metrics that matter.

“For example, this has taken things that are really important to patients—things like safety, equality, the service experience—and it has linked provider performance to reimbursement. And that is driving significant attention and change in healthcare.”

ON HOW ORGANIZATIONS PRIORITIZE CRITICAL ISSUES:

A significant insight is that, “you can list the top issues that hospitals across the county are paying attention to today. But it was somewhat surprising for me to find that the priority of those issues is very different. Some organizations are focused on market share, some are focused on safety, and some have elevated patient experience to the top [of the list].

“But what is most surprising to me is just how differently organizations approach problems. The variability of how organizations execute a solution is fascinating. There are a lot of “right ways” to do things, but the variability of approach is striking.”

For more in this series…

Additional podcasts and previous Healthcare Success leadership conversations are available on this page. For other podcast conversations with Dr. Merlino, listen to:

  • Service Fanatics: Required Reading for Superior Patient Experience
  • Leadership First, and other Critical Lessons to Improve Patient Experience

# # #

Dr. James Merlino is president and chief medical officer of the strategic consulting division at Press Ganey. As an accomplished surgeon and industry leader in improving the patient experience, Jim draws from more than two decades of health care experience to oversee Press Ganey’s consultancy division. Prior to joining Press Ganey, Jim served as chief experience officer and associate chief of staff at the Cleveland Clinic health system, and as a colorectal surgeon at the Clinic’s Digestive Disease Institute, where he continues to practice. 

Author information

Stewart Gandolf
Stewart Gandolf
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Healthcare Success Strategies
Stewart Gandolf, MBA, is CEO of Healthcare Success, a medical marketing and health care advertising agency. He is also a frequent writer and speaker. Most importantly, he is happily married and a “rock-n-roll daddy” to two wonderful girls.
TwitterGoogle+LinkedIn

The post Perspective: The State of Patient Experience [Podcast] appeared first on Healthcare Success.

TAGGED:Patient Experiencepodcast
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
Health
July 31, 2025
holistic dental
Holistic Dentist Services Are Natural and Safe
Dental health Specialties
July 28, 2025
botox certification
Help Improve People’s Skin Health Via Botox Certification
Skin Specialties
July 22, 2025
Telemedicine Apps
Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
Health
July 20, 2025

You Might also Like

Health carePolicy & LawPublic Health

NHS Draws Ire of Public Over Cancer Drug Rationing

August 25, 2017

In Battle Against HAIs, Innovative Biotechs Play Key Role

July 13, 2011

Your Lifestyle Can Prevent Sudden Cardiac Death

July 23, 2011

Institute of Medicine and Avon Foundation for Women Issue Challenge for Apps to Prevent Domestic Violence

March 15, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?