The critical link between Compassionate Connected Care and operations improvement

In today’s healthcare arena, there’s a growing understanding that patient outcomes aren’t solely influenced by medical expertise, technological advancements, and operational efficiency. The quality of care—particularly the emotional and psychological connection between healthcare providers, teams, and patients—plays a critical role in achieving optimal results. The rise of Compassionate Connected Care® (CCC) has gained a lot of momentum since Press Ganey’s leadership team first introduced it to our clients more than a decade ago.

Compassionate Connected Care is a model that emphasizes empathy, effective communication, and a holistic understanding of caregiver and patient needs. Interestingly, this framework isn’t just about improving patient experience. It directly correlates with enhancements in healthcare operations too. When compassion, empathy, and caring are woven into the fabric of healthcare delivery, operational efficiencies, patient outcomes, and even financial performance can improve significantly.

Understanding Compassionate Connected Care

Compassionate Connected Care integrates empathy, respect, and emotional intelligence into healthcare practices. It goes beyond clinical diagnosis and treatment by focusing on the human side of patient care. This approach recognizes patients not as cases or numbers, but as individuals with unique emotional and psychological needs. Elements of Compassionate Connected Care include:

• Suffering must be acknowledged: We should acknowledge when our patients are suffering and show them we understand what they’re going through.
• Body language matters: Nonverbal communication skills are just as, or more, important as the words we use.
• Anxiety is suffering: Anxiety and fear are negative outcomes that must be addressed by caregivers. Establishing trust quickly and consistently is the bridge to ensuring patients feel safe under our care.
• Coordination of care: By narrating care, we show patients that our team is coordinating their care.
• Autonomy reduces suffering: Supporting patient autonomy helps preserve a patient’s dignity. We must partner with patients on their plan of care.
• Caring transcends diagnosis: Real caring goes beyond the delivery of medical interventions by developing a real connection with patients. Research shows it takes less than a minute to establish a human connection.

How Compassionate Connected Care improves healthcare operations

While Compassionate Connected Care is fundamentally about enhancing the patient and caregiver experience, its influence extends deeply into the operational aspects of healthcare institutions in a few key ways.

1. Enhanced patient outcomes lead to operational efficiencies

When patients feel heard, respected, and emotionally supported, they’re more likely to adhere to treatment plans, attend follow-up appointments, and actively participate in their recovery process. This leads to more positive health outcomes—which, in turn, reduces the need for repeat visits, readmissions, or extended hospital stays.

For instance, hospitals with high patient experience scores often see fewer complications and lower readmission rates. These improvements streamline operations by freeing up resources, reducing the burden on staff, and optimizing the use of facilities.

2. Reduced staff burnout and improved workforce efficiency

Healthcare professionals and teams operate in high-stress environments where employee burnout is a persistent challenge. But when institutions prioritize compassionate care, it doesn’t just benefit patients. It positively impacts staff and physicians as well. Organizations that promote a healthy, caring workplace foster a culture of mutual respect, support, and communication among healthcare teams.

When staff feel valued and connected to their work and colleagues, their job satisfaction increases, leading to reduced turnover rates and absenteeism. Lower turnover means fewer disruptions in care delivery and less time spent recruiting and training new employees, which can significantly improve operational continuity.

3. Improved patient experience scores influence financial performance

Patient experience scores are increasingly tied to financial incentives in healthcare. Many healthcare systems, including those influenced by value-based care models, link reimbursement rates to patient experience metrics like the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores.

Implementing Compassionate Connected Care has demonstrated improvement in patient experience scores across all areas of the healthcare system when leadership is aligned in supporting the framework. When caregivers feel they are valued and heard, they are less likely to leave. When patients feel respected, informed, and cared for on a personal level, they are more likely to provide positive feedback. Higher patient experience scores can lead to increased funding, better public ratings, and more patient referrals, all of which enhance financial stability and operational growth.

4. Streamlined communication reduces errors and delays

Effective and authentic communication is a cornerstone of Compassionate Connected Care. It also serves as a critical component of operational efficiency. Miscommunications between providers, teams, and patients can lead to medical errors, delays in treatment, and patient dissatisfaction.

By fostering an environment where open, honest, and respectful communication is the norm, Compassionate Connected Care reduces the likelihood of misunderstandings. This leads to more accurate diagnoses, timely treatments, and better-coordinated care, ultimately reducing operational bottlenecks.

Implementing a Compassionate Connected Care initiative at your organization

We already know our healthcare providers and teams are compassionate and empathetic—that they care deeply about the patients they serve. But today’s fast-paced, turbulent healthcare environment sometimes makes it difficult for teams and leaders to focus on how they support patients and each other.

When caregivers see low patient experience scores, they can be disheartened and discouraged. They believe they are already providing compassionate care. While that is true, it’s also about how the recipients of care perceive it. Interacting with the healthcare system, at any level, often triggers feelings of fear and anxiety. What patients want to feel is safe. To provide that sense of safety and alleviate fear and anxiety, we, as caregivers, need to establish a sense of trust with those under our care quickly and consistently. The goal of implementing or refreshing any caring model is to build on and expand our current behavioral skills to provide Compassionate Connected Care. The idea is simple, but it isn’t easy. Success in this work is predicated on operationalizing your caring model throughout the organizations—which takes time and commitment.

Success includes 5 key elements:

1. Alignment and unwavering support of leadership at all levels
2. Implementing structure around the operationalization of your caring model
3. Ensuring all team members can participate in training or refresher programs
4. Holding all leaders and team members accountable to agreed-upon behaviors
5. Monitoring key metrics of success to avoid drift and identify opportunities for ongoing improvement

Future directions

As the healthcare industry continues to advance, integrating Compassionate Connected Care into operational models will become increasingly important. The rise and evolution of patient-centered care models, value-based reimbursement structures, and a focus on holistic health all point toward a future where compassion isn’t just a nice-to-have, but a must-have for operational success.

In the end, the synergy between compassionate care and operational efficiency reflects a simple truth: When healthcare systems prioritize human connection, everyone benefits—patients, caregivers, and the organizations themselves.

To learn more about how Press Ganey can support your organization with operations improvement and Compassionate Connected Care, reach out to our strategic consultants, or email me directly at maryjo.assi@pressganey.com.