6 Visionary Leaders Share the New Continuum of Patient Experience

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Today there are over 6,000 hospitals in America. On the surface patient experience is often thought of as the care given at these hospitals. But today a new continuum is taking hold – one that starts with wellness—anticipating health issues before they become challenges, delivering personalized and connected care, and using technology as an enabler that keeps patients on the healing path. It sounds simple—and it is anything but. Below are insights from six visionary leaders who are shaping a new, elevated patient experience continuum that will ultimately transform healthcare as we know it

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Wellness and Nutrition

Colleen Lindholz, President of Kroger Health— the 4th largest retail pharmacy chain in the country, with 2,200 pharmacies and approximately 23,000 employees—believes prevention is the foundation of better care. She shares, “The future of patient experience is driven by filling fewer prescriptions per patient. Prevention, powered by food and data, will transform care from reactive to proactive, creating healthier lives and communities.” Lindholz points to a first-of-its-kind model that helps consumers understand nutrition at scale: “OptUP is our tool that makes informed grocery decisions fast, easy, and reliable. The FoodHealth Score ranks food on a scale from 1 to 100 where the higher the score, the more nutritious the food. It’s also color coded to quickly identify better-for-you options. Shoppers can track their nutrition trends in real time and over time for free, online and in the Kroger app.”

Access in wellness is equally critical. iHerb, one of the world’s largest global online retailers of health and wellness products, offers more than 50,000 SKUs across 180 countries, delivering intentionally affordable pricing and rapid fulfillment through its website and mobile app. CEO Emun Zabihi emphasizes the importance of scale and accessibility, sharing, “The future of wellness begins with access. When trusted nutrition and wellness products are available globally and seamlessly, people are empowered to take ownership of their everyday health”.

Supporting the Patient Across the Entire Healthspan

Healthcare cannot be limited to diagnosing and treating disease; it must anticipate illness, reduced fitness, and risk—helping prevent or delay onset whenever possible. Imaging is often the first step in diagnosis, and Dr. John Simon, CEO of SimonMed Imaging and a pioneer in AI-enabled health technology, sees this as a turning point.

Dr. Simon believes the future of care will be defined by how well organizations support patients end-to-end, rather than managing care as a series of disconnected episodes. He explains, “AI is allowing us to identify conditions earlier and understand risk more holistically. Using AI, the same mammogram that helps detect breast cancer can also provide insight into a woman’s cardiovascular risk. That’s a powerful shift from isolated diagnosis to a more complete understanding of the patient.” Dr. Simon adds, “The next era of healthcare leadership will be defined by our ability to treat the whole human, across their entire health span—not just respond to illness, but actively help them live longer, healthier lives.”

This holistic vision is echoed by Ramin Davidoff, MD, Co-CEO, The Permanente Federation (Kaiser Permanente), who shares, “The future of patient experience lies in embracing human-centered technology that improves patient outcomes while remaining focused on the essentials: medical excellence, an integrated, preventive approach, and a positive interaction at every touchpoint.”

Simplifying Adherence

Medication access and adherence represent another critical dimension of the patient experience. OptimizeRx has created a new model that connects life sciences, providers, and patients directly at the point of care—significantly improving adherence.

Steve Silvestro, CEO of OptimizeRx, explains, “When patients receive timely, relevant information at the point of care, they engage earlier and more confidently with their providers. For example, we’ve seen as much as a 54% lift in prescriptions when their treating providers receive co-pay and voucher info embedded in their EHR workflow alleviating financial barriers so patients can start therapy earlier in their care journey.”

Patients Leading their own Care

The formal concept of “patient experience” in healthcare was pioneered in 1978 by Planetree. Patrick Charmel, who has served as Chairman of Planetree for more than 25 years, summarizes, “Patient experience excellence starts with treating every person with dignity, compassion and the power to participate in their own care. When we inform, empower, and connect patients and families across body, mind and spirit, we not only improve outcomes but restore humanity to healthcare.”

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