Patients Help to Define and Recognize Clinical Excellence at Johns Hopkins

October 31, 2018

// By Jane Weber Brubaker //

Jane Weber BrubakerMarketers’ ability to grow market share and promote patient loyalty is intricately and inextricably linked with what actually happens when patients receive treatment. Patients expect clinical expertise as a baseline. It’s the way they are treated that defines the relationship and either forges a bond or drives patients online to report their bad experiences on social media.

Patient experience has become a high priority, with many organizations creating a C-level position — Chief Patient Experience Officer — tasked with building and maintaining a culture of caring. Yet there is often very little collaboration among marketers who are tuned to the “voice of the customer” and the clinicians typically charged with improving patient experience.

It was a patient who inspired an initiative to raise the profile of patient care in an academic medical center. She understood firsthand the value of exceptional patient care and let her voice be heard.

Twelve years ago, through the generosity of Mrs. Anne Miller, Johns Hopkins established the Miller Coulson Academy of Clinical Excellence to define, recognize, and proliferate exceptional patient care. Mrs. Miller had received care from a Hopkins physician, Dr. Philip Tumulty, until his death in 1989. “Why aren’t we creating more Dr. Tumultys?” she wanted to know.

Listening to the voice of the patient is inspiring culture change at Johns Hopkins, and the message is being spread to other organizations. In this article, we’ll hear from recent inductees to the Academy about what they learned from their patients, and from patients, what made the relationship so special. We’ll also look at some practical ways marketers and patient experience teams can leverage one another’s strengths to help their organizations deliver on their brand promise.

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