Healthcare faces challenges like never before, causing us to think about the delivery of healthcare like never before. Colleen does just that. While a majority of healthcare organizations are trying to mimic the competition, we are in a climate that calls for thinking like no one else when it comes to the patient experience. As a result of Colleen's three-and-a-half-year, groundbreaking research titled, The Patient Empathy Project℠, she has become a thought leader in truly patient centered care. Finding that 96% of people have some fear regarding healthcare, she coined the phrase 'clinicaphobia' to describe patient fears. Sharing her simple, yet profound study, can transform an organizational culture. Colleen engages audiences as she shares her unique patient fears postcard art study that was a result of asking people to share their greatest fear and concerns about hospitals, healthcare and doctors. The artwork provides a fascinating and shocking backdrop, prompting leaders and caregivers to take a new look at the patient, the care they deliver, and the financial impact it will have for them in the future.
Hospitals are currently aiming to deliver the 'exceptional patient experience' but miss the mark by overlooking what is most important to the patient, often making their efforts seem shallow and impersonal. Sweeney has developed a Patient Experience Pyramid for the patient based on the work of Abraham Maslow. Her Patient Experience Pyramid theorizes that recognition of patient's fears is the most basic need that must be addressed and satisfied before delivering the exceptional experience at the top of the pyramid. Colleen will share how asking a simple question can transform the patient experience and move H-CAHPS scores. In a world where speakers are hired to motivate and entertain, Sweeney aims to do much more. Her mission is to change minds, change behaviors and change outcomes!
