Patient Experience Symposium

Financial success doesn’t happen by chance—it requires a plan. Join us for this Pre-Conference Workshop, Prescribing Financial Success: Smart Money Moves for Medical Professionals, an informative workshop designed for those working in healthcare leadership. This engaging discussion will highlight the power of holistic financial planning and provide valuable insights into building wealth, protecting assets, and taking proactive steps to secure a financially stable and prosperous future.

• Understand the Principles of Holistic Financial Planning – Learn how a comprehensive approach to financial management can help you build and sustain long-term wealth.
• Identify Strategies for Wealth Accumulation & Protection – Explore key financial strategies to safeguard your assets, optimize investments, and create a secure financial future.
• Develop Proactive Financial Habits – Gain actionable insights to make informed financial decisions, plan for future financial stability, and achieve financial success as a medical professional.

S P O N S O R E D  B Y

If there was ever a moment in time that the medical industrial complex (aka US Healthcare) needed a loving leadership approach, that moment is now.  In this highly engaging pre-conference workshop, we’ll focus on the following:

• Providing an update on where the Loving Organization movement is and where it’s heading – including a discussion of the basic principles and methodologies
• Why it’s important from the perspective of three diverse healthcare leaders who are making it happen and how it’s connected to the outcomes that healthcare systems and provider groups are striving for
• A case study of a leading healthcare system that is deploying ‘loving systems’-oriented thinking and what interim outcomes they’re already manifesting
• A mini skills-based training session on loving leadership

In this dynamic session, Elizabeth Mort shares personal stories and leadership insights that challenge conventional views of accreditation and patient experience. Drawing on the metaphor of a symphony orchestra, she explores how healthcare leaders can act as conductors—aligning teams, values, and systems to deliver care that is both coordinated and compassionate. Conference delegates will be invited to reimagine patient experience as a core driver of quality and outcomes, not just a survey score, and to reflect on their own role in creating harmony across the care continuum.

• Describe how the metaphor of orchestration can be used to reframe healthcare leadership and team collaboration
• Differentiate between traditional patient experience metrics and more holistic approaches that center on what truly matters to patients
• Identify leadership strategies that align safety, quality, and patient experience through listening, co-design, and purposeful engagement

In an era marked by persistent health inequities and growing polarization, reconnecting to our shared humanity offers a powerful catalyst for transformation. This session explores how the emerging science of humankindness—rooted in neuroscience, behavioral science, and social psychology—can inform strategies to advance health justice. Participants will learn how fostering kindness, compassion, empathy, and trust within healthcare systems not only improves individual health outcomes but also creates more flourishing environments for all. The session will highlight real-world examples of how healthcare leaders and practitioners are operationalizing humankindness to address systemic bias, rebuild trust in vulnerable communities, and drive meaningful change.

• Define the science of humankindness and explain its relevance to advancing health justice in diverse healthcare settings
• Analyze the impact of kindness, compassion, empathy, and trust (KCET) on reducing health disparities and improving patient and provider experiences
• Apply evidence-based strategies grounded in humankindness to foster more equitable, inclusive, and human-centered healthcare systems

Humanism in healthcare, defined as clinically excellent care that is kind, safe, and trustworthy, impacts the success of a health system in many powerful ways. Humanism affects patient satisfaction and outcomes, workforce wellness, kept appointment rates, malpractice suits, and even the bottom line. How can patient experience officers and other leaders help their colleagues center their institution on a culture of humanism and spark a ripple of positive effects? The President and CEO of RWJBarnabas Health and the system’s SVP & Chief Experience Officer will join the President and CEO of The Arnold P. Gold Foundation to discuss real-world ways to prioritize humanism and make a powerful, measurable difference.

• Understand the science of humanism in healthcare: Gain a deeper understanding of the evidence and research supporting humanism as a key driver of healthcare quality and patient outcomes
• Explore the far-reaching impact of humanism: Learn how humanism influences patient experience, workforce morale, retention, and even financial health, shaping the long-term success of your institution.
• Identify actionable strategies that can help foster humanism at your hospital, health system, or patient setting
• Learn how to effectively make the case for prioritizing humanism to your leadership team, demonstrating its tangible benefits for both patient care and organizational performance

This session explores humility as a critical, yet underutilized, driver of patient-centered care. Drawing from historical insights, emerging research, and clinical experience, presenters will demonstrate how humility enhances trust, communication, and collaboration in healthcare settings. Attendees will gain practical strategies to cultivate humility in clinical interactions and leadership, ultimately improving patient satisfaction and outcomes.

• Define clinician humility and explain its role in strengthening patient trust and engagement
• Examine research linking humility to patient satisfaction, adherence, and health outcomes
• Identify practical approaches to fostering humility in communication, teamwork, and organizational culture

Explore how inclusive design transforms the digital patient experience by addressing the unique needs of pediatric patients and digital natives. This presentation delves into redesigning healthcare systems alongside evolving platforms, balancing the needs of care teams and consumers, and reimagining digital as a true site of care—ensuring access, empathy, and innovation are embedded for all users.

• Understand how inclusive design principles enhance the digital patient experience across diverse populations, with insights into addressing the expectations of digital natives and younger patients
• Explore approaches to co-designing digital healthcare platforms that meet the evolving needs of both patients and care teams while aligning with organizational goals for access and empathy
• Recognize the potential of digital platforms as extensions of care delivery, and identify strategies to embed empathy, equity, and innovation into the patient’s virtual journey

Drawing from the speaker’s journey as a caregiver to a four-time brain cancer and stroke survivor, this session explores how lived experience can drive systemic change in pediatric oncology. Attendees will gain insight into the real-world barriers families face in accessing timely, specialized care and the powerful role of patient-family advocacy in breaking those barriers. The session also highlights how creative arts can support emotional healing and promote healthcare equity, offering practical strategies to support patients and families better.

• Learn the challenges families face in accessing equitable care for pediatric cancers
• Understand the role of patient-family advocacy in shaping healthcare policies
• Explore the intersection of healthcare equity and creative arts in trauma recovery

In today’s healthcare environment, delivering exceptional patient experiences requires more than good intentions—it demands a skilled, activated workforce grounded in quality and safety. This session will explore how advancing quality and safety foundations can directly enhance patient experience while also driving measurable returns on investment through quality (ROI-Q). Attendees will gain practical strategies to build workforce competencies, discover proven approaches to engaging teams in patient experience improvement, and be inspired by real-world examples of organizations achieving stronger outcomes by leading with quality.

• Learn how advancing quality and safety foundations can leverage patient experience
• Identify strategies to skill and activate your workforce to improve patient experience
• Be inspired with real-life examples of how organizations who lead with this approach are proving return on investment through quality (ROI-Q)

Engage in this powerful and inspirational session with Professor of Music, Mimi Rabson, one of Boston’s most creative and versatile musicians. She is known for teaching improvisation to classical musicians. This session invites healthcare professionals to reimagine their roles through the lens of creative flexibility. Weaving live musical performance with storytelling, she draws on her personal experiences as a violinist-band member-teacher (patient-family member-caregiver) to illuminate the parallels between her musical journey and the human experience of health and care. Just as musicians must listen, adapt and respond in real time, so too must care teams navigate uncertainty with the empathy, presence and creativity needed for each unique individual. This session will inspire attendees to embrace improvisational thinking as a powerful approach to orchestrating more compassionate, responsive and human-centered experiences in healthcare.

What Matters to You  is an international person-centered care movement inspired by a 2012 New England Journal of Medicine article, Shared Decision-Making: The Pinnacle of Patient-Centered Care, written by Michael Barry and Susan Edgman-Levitan. The underlying principle, “Ask, listen, do” what matters is intended to shift the power to the person who knows best about the help or support they need, whether it be a person with a medical issue or the clinicians or staff providing care. WMTY conversations help healthcare teams understand what is “most important” to patients, leading to better care partnerships and improved patient experience. This panel will discuss the evolution of the practice and offer practical strategies for integrating into existing interactions between people who are patients and their people serving as care team members.

• Describe the history of “What Matters to You,” a global movement inspired by a NEJM article published by Susan and colleague Michael Barry in 2012
• Understand the evidence supporting the adoption of this practice and the impact it has with people when they are patients, as well as clinical and clinical support team members
• Be equipped to incorporate these person-centered practices into their daily work immediately following the session

In this high-energy Rapid-Fire Session, six forward-thinking presenters will each deliver a powerful 6-minute presentation, offering fresh insights into the key themes shaping the future of the healthcare experience.

Inspired by our event theme, “Orchestrating Excellent Health and Care Experiences: Composing Meaningful Connections,” this session draws on the metaphor of a musical ensemble. As conductors guide orchestras, healthcare leaders are orchestrating systems, teams, and innovations to create more human-centered, harmonious care experiences.

Each presentation will serve as a distinct note in a larger symphony of transformation, building momentum toward more collaborative, connected, and holistic solutions.

The session will conclude with a brief interactive discussion to reflect on key takeaways, followed by a networking break for deeper, one-on-one conversations with the presenters.

View Rapid-Fire Session and Speaker Details

In a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, the intersection of empathy and innovation has never been more vital. This session explores how human-centered design and intelligent technologies—like AI, automation, and predictive analytics—are transforming the patient experience from reactive to proactive, fragmented to seamless. Learn how leading systems are leveraging digital tools to uncover insights, reduce friction, and elevate care experiences for patients and care teams alike. We’ll share compelling use cases, explore emerging trends, and invite discussion on how to responsibly harness innovation without losing the human touch at the heart of healing. Join us at the edge of what’s possible.

• Understand how AI and emerging technologies can be applied to improve patient experience across the continuum of care
• Explore real-world examples where intelligent technologies have enhanced empathy, personalization, and efficiency in healthcare delivery
• Examine strategies to align digital innovation with human-centered design principles to preserve trust and connection
• Identify opportunities to responsibly integrate AI-driven insights into operations, communication, and decision-making to reduce the burden and improve experience

As a unique element of the symposium, delegates will engage in interactive roundtable discussions in response to the opening session. A “PX Host” will guide each roundtable group to enable meaningful exchanges. Attendees will form connections, exchange ideas, and share goals for attending the symposium

Join us for an unforgettable fireside chat featuring two esteemed voices from the front lines of health and healing: active patient-family advisory leaders who bring lived experience, unwavering advocacy, and powerful insights to the table. With personal stories as both patients and family members, these trusted advisors will illuminate what truly matters in moments that define care—offering practical, heartfelt suggestions to help health systems move from good intentions to deeply human experiences.

This dynamic conversation is guided by Rachel Biblow, a nationally recognized leader in transforming health and care experiences. Drawing from her own patient-family journey, Rachel fosters a powerful dialogue that bridges expert strategy with real-world wisdom.

Expect a session that is honest, bold, and transformative—one that challenges us not just to hear, but to listen to lead.

• Discover what excellence in experience feels like from those who live it
• Gain actionable ideas that elevate patient and family partnership from token to transformative
• Be re-inspired by the humanity at the heart of care

In this dynamic session, Elizabeth Mort shares personal stories and leadership insights that challenge conventional views of accreditation and patient experience. Drawing on the metaphor of a symphony orchestra, she explores how healthcare leaders can act as conductors—aligning teams, values, and systems to deliver care that is both coordinated and compassionate. Conference delegates will be invited to reimagine patient experience as a core driver of quality and outcomes, not just a survey score, and to reflect on their own role in creating harmony across the care continuum.

• Describe how the metaphor of orchestration can be used to reframe healthcare leadership and team collaboration
• Differentiate between traditional patient experience metrics and more holistic approaches that center on what truly matters to patients
• Identify leadership strategies that align safety, quality, and patient experience through listening, co-design, and purposeful engagement