LINCOLN, Neb., February 15, 2023 — NRC Health, the leading partner in building Human Understanding through personalized healthcare solutions and data-driven insights, released its 2023 Experience Perspective and trends report today. The report captures key data and insights from:

• Over 300 healthcare experience leaders
• 300,000 consumer voices – the largest online healthcare-consumer perception study in the U.S.
• 25 million patient experience touchpoints

The 2023 Experience Perspective takes a broad view of experience. The report highlights the power of Human Understanding, reframes the fundamentals of experience, explores patient perspectives on quality, gives tangible examples of how to assess and address equity, and puts benchmarks in context. It also identifies the top trends shaping the healthcare experience.

“Behind each of us is a story—and these are stories that, when understood, can be a game-changer for patients and providers alike,” said Helen Hrdy, Chief Growth Officer at NRC Health. “Our Experience Perspective unveils how indispensable consumer-driven improvements are for a better patient experience.”

“Healthcare has become a series of transactions – a problem that predates COVID and negatively affects all involved, whether they are seeking or delivering care,” said Gregory Makoul, Ph.D., MS, Chief Transformation Officer at NRC Health. “To humanize care and strengthen loyalty, the focus on Human Understanding must be intentional and consistent. This Experience Perspective provides guidance for turning aspiration to action.”

Experience Perspective Highlights

Human Understanding
The best care focuses on what matters most to each patient as a unique person. Data from NRC’s national Market Insights study confirm that there’s room for improvement: Only 38% of patients report that everyone treated them as unique in their most recent healthcare experience, yet it’s the number-one driver of Likelihood-to-Recommend and, thus, Net Promoter Score (NPS).

Fundamentals First
Based on discussions with experience leaders from major medical centers, the report offers a short list of universal strategies to productively reframe experience, including a top-to-bottom reconnection to “the why” of experience. It’s a simple yet foundational pathway to better outcomes, experiences, and loyalty that elevates organizational performance and returns joy to clinical care.

Quality: Patient Perspectives
Quality drives better outcomes and a positive reputation. But how do patients define quality? The report includes new insights that quality-driven organizations need to understand to create an experience that aligns with patient expectations.

Equity
When patients are treated as unique, they are more likely to obtain care that fits the context of their lives and achieves their health goals. NRC Health’s data reveals that preferred language significantly impacts the extent to which patients trust providers, whether they feel listened to, and gaps in appropriate follow-up.

Perspective on Benchmarks
While benchmarks help organizations compare their performance against industry standards or their competitors, they only go so far. The report highlights the fact that it’s just as important to focus on actual improvement within an organization—to benchmark against yourself.

Trends
The report also includes a selection of the most insightful trends healthcare leaders need to bear in mind as they work to strengthen their organizations and build healthier communities.

For additional insights and a look at trends to guide work in 2023, access the full NRC Health 2023 Experience Perspective here.

About NRC Health

For more than 40 years, NRC Health (NASDAQ: NRC) has led the charge to personalize healthcare and support organizations in their understanding of each unique individual. NRC Health’s commitment to Human Understanding^® helps leading healthcare systems get to know each person they serve not as point-in-time insights, but as an ongoing relationship. Guided by its uniquely empathic heritage, NRC Health’s patient-focused approach, unmatched market research, and emphasis on consumer preferences are transforming the healthcare experience, creating strong outcomes for patients and entire healthcare systems. For more information, email info@nrchealth.com, or visit www.nrchealth.com.