The Stopwatch
- CMS Provider Data Catalog — Hospitals: Timely and Effective Care (public reporting of ED time measures)
- The Joint Commission — ED-1: Median Time from ED Arrival to ED Departure for Admitted ED Patients (specification manual)
- Thompson DA, Yarnold PR, Williams DR, Adams SL — “Effects of actual waiting time, perceived waiting time, information delivery, and expressive quality on patient satisfaction in the emergency department,” Annals of Emergency Medicine, Dec. 1996 (1,631 respondents; actual waiting times not predictive of overall satisfaction; perceptions, information delivery, and expressive quality were, P < .001)
- Sonis JD, Aaronson EL, Lee RY, Philpotts LL, White BA — “Emergency Department Patient Experience: A Systematic Review of the Literature,” Journal of Patient Experience, 2017 (107 studies; staff–patient communication cited 78 times, wait times 56, staff empathy and compassion 45)
- Rick Evans — “Healthcare’s communication puzzle is getting more complex,” Becker’s Hospital Review, May 21, 2026 (“At its heart, improving the patient experience is all about communication.”)
- Mattson C, Bushardt RL, Artino AR — “‘When a Measure Becomes a Target, It Ceases to be a Good Measure,’” Journal of Graduate Medical Education, Feb. 2021 (Goodhart 1975; Strathern phrasing; GME examples)
The Feature: Sven Gierlinger and Northwell Health
- Becker’s Hospital Review — “3 Questions with Northwell Health Chief Experience Officer Sven Gierlinger,” Dec. 5, 2017 (Ritz-Carlton background; “First came a tingling in my fingers and toes; and within days, I was paralyzed”; “for 90 days and nights, I was 100% dependent”; “crystal chandeliers” quote; gratitude reflection)
- Sven Gierlinger — “‘Hospital food not fit for a dog,’” Northwell Health Insights, July 7, 2023 (2000 hospitalization: three months, intubated, feeding tube; 2014 CXO start; verbatim patient comments; 9th → 84th percentile food scores; Bruno Tison; 10M+ meals/year; budget-neutral overhaul; Dowling letters; originally in MedPage Today)
- Barden A, Kalman J, Gierlinger S, Baker D, Giammarinaro N, Rousseau N — “From Monologue to Dialogue: The Pursuit of Relationship Centered Communication Across a Large, Integrated Healthcare System,” Journal of Patient Experience, Jan. 2024 (2015 baseline 29th percentile; RCC design; 46 volunteer faculty; COVID/Zoom pivot; June 2017–June 2023: 3,300+ providers trained; doctor communication 36th → 58th percentile rank vs. Press Ganey national peers; “Listen” +24 points; likelihood-to-recommend 42nd → 64th; adult hospitals at/above median 4 → 8; authors’ caveat that RCC “may not be the only factor”; faculty quote)
- Khan A, et al. — “Patient safety after implementation of a coproduced family centered communication programme: multicenter before and after intervention study,” The BMJ, Dec. 2018 (Patient and Family Centered I-PASS; seven North American hospitals; harmful medical errors down ~38%)
- Harvard Medical School Division of Sleep Medicine — “Study Finds Harmful Medical Errors Fell 38% Following Implementation of a Multicenter Program to Improve Doctors’ and Nurses’ Communication with Families”
The Counterweight: The On-Time Machine
Background Reading
Products Mentioned
View episode transcript
Subscribe
Listen to Marginally Better using one of many popular podcasting apps or directories.
