Ascension’s strategy lifts net promoter score above 80

By rethinking consumer experience, Ascension said it has driven its net promoter score, a critical metric in measuring customer satisfaction, above 80 and cut complaints by 40%. 

The health system, which operates more than 100 hospitals across 16 states and the District of Columbia, has also reduced the average time to resolve an issue by 67% in the last two years, according to Carol Campbell, senior vice president and chief experience officer.

Ascencion trains staff to engage patients and families in an authentic and personal manner, Ms. Campbell said. It also designs healthcare spaces to alleviate anxiety — for example, playing music at a tempo under 60 beats per minute to mimic a resting heart rate — while also simplifying the access and billing process.

“You’re taking the pebbles out of people’s shoes,” she said. 

Ms. Campbell joined Ascension in 2022 from Delta Air Lines, where she served as managing director of consumer insight and global customer experience. She previously spent two decades with the Walt Disney Co.

Across her tenures at Disney, Delta and now Ascension, she identified four needs that consistently rank highest among consumers: transparency, productivity, control and recognition.

“Make sure that I understand exactly what’s going on, make great use of my time, give me options and show me that you value me,” Ms. Campbell said. “That learning from other industries has really served as a blueprint for how we think about the work.”

One tactic Ascension employs is real-time listening and feedback. Within two hours of a clinical visit or 24 hours post-discharge, the system sends patients a survey asking how likely they are to recommend the organization and a yes-or-no question on whether they understand their care plan. 

If a patient responds with a low recommendation or confusion about their care plan, the clinician is immediately notified and required to follow up within 24 hours.

That process is “radically different,” Ms. Campbell said: “Most organizations hold the data top side and maybe share the numbers with their associates. We push it all the way out … and we have this virtuous flywheel of improvement that happens.”

“I am ridiculously proud of this organization,” she said.

Ms. Campbell wants to expand the responsibilities of patient and family experience to everyone, not just the nursing team. 

“We’ve lifted the consumer experience,” she said. “Thinking about patient friends and family and the communities in which we serve — everybody owns it. I can look every single department team member in the eye, and they understand more clearly what they do to help contribute to that experience.”

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