There are myriad variables that go into one patient encounter at a hospital or health system. Does the patient receive the proper treatment? Does he or she know their medication regimen? Will they remain healthy even after going home?

But there’s one final element that tends to get neglected: the patient’s experience. What did the patient think of his or her time at the hospital? Were staff members as informative and friendly as possible? Is the patient actually engaged in his or her overall care?

These questions are familiar ones for Alan Dubovsky, Dr. Sara Laskey and Dr. Thomas Savides. At their respective organizations, they seek answers to those queries.

Dubovsky (chief patient experience officer at Cedars-Sinai Health System), Laskey (chief patient experience officer at MetroHealth System) and Savides (chief experience officer at UC San Diego Health) will speak on a panel at MedCity’s upcoming ENGAGE conference in San Diego.

In addition to seeking to improve the patient experience, all three individuals share another similarity: Each one is the first person to hold the CXO role at their organization.

Being the inaugural CXO certainly comes with its own set of challenges, but they weren’t alone in crafting the expectations of the position.

Via email, Dubovsky said he’s relied on his peers and other partnerships to help outline what CXOs do. Savides mentioned his role at UC San Diego Health is based on the Cleveland Clinic model of a physician CXO.

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Though their backgrounds vary, all three individuals strive to improve the healthcare experience not only for patients, but also for providers and other team members as well.

“We have two sets of consumers, one set being the patients and their families and the other is the people who are insider our walls all the time: the employees,” Laskey said in a phone interview.

Savides echoed those thoughts. “If you don’t have physicians and team members who are aligned and engaged, it’s unlikely that they’re going to provide a good place for patients,” he said via phone.

Despite its importance, the CXO role is fairly new to the healthcare landscape. While not every institution has adopted it, Dubovsky, Laskey and Savides agree that its significance will only grow in the years to come.

“Patients’ expectations will only increase as the emphasis is placed on value-added care,” Dubovsky said. “The CXO can help ensure we are focused on the right things for what the patients want and need, and keep that top of mind in health systems.”

Even if an organization doesn’t have a specific CXO, the gravity of overseeing patient experience-related issues can’t be stressed enough. Someone has to be checking in on patient loyalty and advocating for the needs of patients and providers.

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