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Experience is more than an after thought.
Hi there!
I’m Erna, the author of Care Fully.
My caregiver journey started over 20 years ago, when I was 21 years old. As a newly minted college graduate, my life was just beginning. I had no idea how to deal with the ups, downs, and in-betweens of caregiving for my Mother.
Care Fully is a play on words. The questions I am asked and the questions I still have drive each issue of this newsletter.
We “care fully” by balancing our needs as a caregivers with those we provide care for. My goal is to offer up experiences and information to support your caregiving needs.
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This week’s newsletter gets into:
The lost art of experience.
Links of note.
Amazon and One Medical show healthcare how connections are built.
EXPERIENCE
The word “experience” holds promise, disappointment, satisfaction, and maybe if you’re lucky, joy.
I think of experience in a multitude of ways:
As a caregiver, my personal experience fuels my advocacy for greater caregiver support in the workplace and healthcare.
When I am a patient, several experience shape my preparation for procedures, clinician interactions, and recovery.
If I’m taking a break and want a solid experience, I look forward to a thoughtful, ambiance filled dinner, a lovely hotel stay, or even a pleasant (and safe) plane or train journey to my destination.
At work, the term “customer experience” carries responsibility. It has been the North Star throughout my career.
Why all the experience talk?? Yesterday, October 7th, was CX Day (Customer Experience Day). I’m part of the Certified Customer Experience Professional Association which celebrates the discipline of customer experience each year on this day.
This year’s celebration was a global, online reflection on organizations recognized for their ability to tackle challenges and produce better outcomes for their customers and organizations. I’m grateful to learn and be inspired by these success stories.
Yet, I couldn’t help but think of the reality of experience. Most of the time, the patient, caregiver, or customer experience is a lost art. It is 2025 and organizations should and can do better.
Some companies and hospitals have entire departments and divisions dedicated to customer or patient experience. These companies aren’t just looking at experience from an organizational lens. They lead with the customer or patient’s needs.
What if every healthcare organization led with the caregiver or patient experience?
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality,
“The patient experience encompasses the range of interactions that patients have with the healthcare system, including their care from health plans, and from doctors, nurses, and staff in hospitals, physician practices, and other healthcare facilities. As an integral component of healthcare quality, patient experience includes aspects of healthcare delivery that patients value highly when they seek and receive care, such as getting timely appointments, easy access to information, and good communication with clinicians and staff.”
Turns out healthcare should be centering on the patient experience. Every single touchpoint within your caregiver or healthcare journey is part of the patient experience.
Everything from scheduling your appointment, to your actual physician visit is part of the patient experience. Your questions, the forms you sign, and questions you answer are all part of the experience. Remember that when you’re “on the clock” during your appointment. Take the time to ask your questions, and even ask for second opinions.
The diagram below is a reminder of the details within the patient experience. Be sure to think of it as you advocate for your loved one and yourself. You both deserve the best care possible.
From the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality: https://www.ahrq.gov/cahps/about-cahps/patient-experience/index.html
LINKS OF NOTE
News for you.
No one likes paperwork. Help loved ones plan before illness. And, remember to take care of your legal matters too.
Here are a few more breast cancer awareness tips to follow and share with those in your circle.
Senior digital literacy is possible, thanks to folks like Ernesto and the Better World Project.
MAKING CONNECTIONS FOR PATIENTS
Love them or loathe them, Amazon knows a thing or two about building experience.
Amazon purchased several organizations in the healthcare space over the past few years. One of those acquisitions, One Medical, changed the way we connect with primary care physicians by removing the friction. They make it easier to schedule doctor appointments, and their doctor offices look and feel comfortable.
It looks like they continue to differentiate themselves by giving perimenopause and menopause patients what they want.
One Medical has made it easier for patients to connect with providers that have expertise “in identifying, addressing, and treating the wide range of symptoms associated with perimenopause and menopause.”
No more searching high and low for professionals that know what you are experiencing!
“These visits provide comprehensive, personalized, and coordinated support so patients feel heard and ultimately healthier while navigating this natural but often challenging phase of life." Learn how One Medical is creating better experiences here.
TILL NEXT TIME
Thanks for reading my newsletter. If you like it, please:
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Next month is National Caregivers Month. Does your company have an Employee Resource Group? Are you thinking of ways to spotlight caregiving? Reach out to me if you’re looking for a speaker or support to help plan your event. Email [email protected] for more information.
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Take care,
Erna
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