As healthcare systems race to modernize the patient experience, one truth has emerged across the industry: excellent digital care is not about the technology itself, but about what it enables. Becker’s asked dozens of healthcare leaders and executives — from major academic medical centers to community hospitals — to define what an excellent digital patient experience looks like, and their answers revealed four consistent priorities: reducing friction at every touchpoint, making technology invisible to the patient, creating seamless integration across the care continuum and preserving the human connection that sits at the heart of medicine.
The responses paint a picture of an industry that has moved well beyond the novelty of digital tools and is now focused on execution. Leaders agree that patients do not separate their “digital experience” from their “care experience” — a clunky portal, a repeated intake form or a missed notification can erode trust just as quickly as a poor bedside interaction. The bar, in short, is high: Digital done right should feel effortless, connected and deeply human — so seamless that patients barely notice it at all.
The leaders featured here are speaking at Becker’s 11th Annual Health IT + Digital Health + RCM Conference, set for Sept. 14-17 at the Hilton Chicago.
If you would like to join the event as a speaker, please contact Scott King at sking@beckershealthcare.com.
As part of an ongoing series, Becker’s is connecting with healthcare leaders who will speak at the event to get their perspectives on key issues in the industry.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What defines an excellent digital patient experience?
Mark Townsend, MD. Chief Clinical Digital Ventures Officer for Bon Secours Mercy Health (Marriottsville, Md.): An excellent digital patient experience at Bon Secours Mercy Health is defined as meeting a patient in their moment of need and empowering them in their care-journey. We engage patients through a digital assistant and a precision-navigator that we codeveloped with Brado, and tasks like appointment scheduling can be completed through Hyro, another partner. Our digital patient experience is focused on engaging our patients through tools that support their care journey, while improving care delivery.
Danny Lee, MD. Chief Medical Informatics Officer for Johns Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore): An excellent digital patient experience starts with reducing friction at every touchpoint, from scheduling to results delivery. It means meeting patients where they already are, whether that is a smartphone, a patient portal, or a messaging thread, without requiring them to navigate complex systems to get simple answers. Above all, it requires that the technology stay invisible: when digital tools work well, patients just feel heard and cared for, not processed.
Andrew Kim, MD, MBA. Director of Physician Informatics for Baylor Scott & White Health (Dallas): An excellent digital patient experience is defined by how seamlessly it supports the patient’s real-world journey, not just how polished the interface looks or feels. It anticipates the needs of users across varying levels of technological comfort and reduces friction and cognitive load for both patients and clinicians. Ultimately, the best digital experiences improve access, build trust and make it easier for patients to understand and act on their care.
Crystal Broj. Enterprise Chief Digital Transformation Officer, Medical University of South Carolina (Charlston): An excellent digital patient experience feels effortless to the patient but is highly orchestrated behind the scenes. It means meeting people where they are — offering 24/7 access, clear communication and the ability to take action (schedule, reschedule, ask questions) without friction. It’s also deeply connected with systems working together so patients don’t have to repeat themselves or navigate complexity. Most importantly, it blends automation with empathy — using technology to create more human, not less human, interactions.
Jonathan Beltran, MBA. Senior Director, Marketing Operations and Analytics for Keck Medicine of USC (Los Angeles): An excellent digital patient experience reflects intentional design, where patients feel that care and thought went into every interaction. It should instill confidence that they are choosing the right place for their care, even before they step through the door. While digital platforms do not deliver clinical care, they serve as the front door to the health system and set expectations for the service ahead. Above all, the experience should be seamless and intuitive, reducing friction, uncertainty and effort during what is often an already stressful and vulnerable time for patients.
Susan Goodson. Senior Vice President and Chief Digital and Information Officer for Ann and Robert H Lurie Children’s Hospital (Chicago): An excellent digital patient experience is one that feels easy and frictionless, but above all, it is built on trust. Patients and families need confidence that their information is secure and their care is coordinated. The right balance between self-service and high-touch support comes down to human-centered design. Anticipating when individuals want simplicity versus more personalized engagement is an aspirational goal that remains challenging to achieve. Success will be defined by our ability to work within real constraints like technology limitations and privacy requirements while still creating an experience that feels simple, connected and human.
Theresa McDonnell, DNP, RN, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive, Duke University Health System (Durham, N.C.): Ultimately the patient is the best person to define what an excellent digital experience looks like and that will change based on the patient’s needs. … What we hear is that patients want an easy, seamless experience that is convenient for them to use to meet their needs in scheduling appointments, communicating with providers and coordinating care. More patients want to have an experience that is driven by their priorities and timelines delivered in the home and less legacy models of care in a traditional brick and mortar setting.
David Flannery, MD. Director of Telegenetics and Digital Genetics, Medical Genetics and Genomics Department for Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland): An excellent digital patient clinical experience has clear audio and video connection, good interaction, appropriate physical exam able to be performed, and in a word, comparable to an in-person visit.
Ngan MacDonald. Chief of Data Operations at Institute for AI in Medicine of Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.): The ability to understand the patient’s specific context and to be able to personalize the patient’s interactions with the system based on that personal context. This would mean that if you are a diabetic who’s from Vietnam and English is your second language, the system should be able to tell you how to manage your diabetes in Vietnamese with examples grounded in the types of foods that you eat. The digital experience would be able to pull in information from both your primary care doctor, your endocrinologist and your physical therapist.
Yasir Tarabichi, MD. Chief Health AI Officer for MetroHealth System (Cleveland): An excellent digital patient experience is one where the technology disappears and what’s left is timely, coordinated and trustworthy care.
John W. Gachago. Vice President of Digital Innovation for Parrish Healthcare (Titusville, Fla.): An excellent digital patient experience anticipates needs before patients have to ask and guides them with clarity and confidence through their care journey. In the future-forward view, digital tools don’t just automate tasks, they actively reduce stress by connecting the right information, the right care team and the right next step at exactly the right moment. Patients feel known, not processed, because technology works quietly in the background to personalize communication, coordinate care and close gaps. When we get it right, digital becomes an invisible layer of support that empowers patients to focus less on navigating healthcare and more on healing and living their lives.
Anna Osborn-Brown. Senior Director of Nursing, Emergency Services and Urgent Care for Reid Health (Richmond, Ind.): An excellent digital patient experience is one that makes healthcare feel more human, not more technological. The best digital tools reduce friction, reduce fear and create more time for meaningful connection between patients and caregivers.
From a nursing leadership perspective, excellence in digital experience is not defined by how many platforms or tools an organization deploys. It is defined by whether those tools help patients feel informed, connected, safe and cared for throughout their healthcare journey.
Patients should be able to easily access information, communicate with their care team, understand what is happening to them and navigate the system without unnecessary complexity. At the same time, digital solutions should reduce cognitive burden on clinicians so they can focus more attention on clinical surveillance, compassionate communication and personalized care.
The most successful organizations are also recognizing that digital experience and patient safety are deeply connected. In highly reliable healthcare systems, technology should strengthen situational awareness, improve communication, support early identification of risk and help teams respond more consistently and proactively.
Importantly, patients do not separate “digital experience” from “care experience.” To them, it is all one experience. A delayed portal response, confusing discharge instructions, poor communication, or fragmented workflows can erode trust just as quickly as a poor bedside interaction.
The future of digital healthcare is not about replacing human connection, it is about creating the operational capacity for clinicians to show up more fully for patients when it matters most.
Sam Afirmar, MD. Chief Medical Officer and Chief Information Officer for The Brooklyn Hospital Center (Brooklyn, N.Y.): A great digital patient experience is when a patient moves through an outpatient or inpatient visit with full awareness and very little paper. Full awareness does not mean there are no delays. It means that when a delay happens, the patient is told what is going on and how long it will take. Think of the NYC subway: when a train is sitting on the track, riders are told why and when it will move. In the same way, throughout a visit or hospital stay, the goal is to keep surprises to a minimum and reduce stress while we work to make the patient well.
Going digital and cutting down on paper also improves the odds that a patient will not be asked the same questions over and over, such as their insurance, address and other basic details. The information is captured once and shared across the team, so the patient is not stuck repeating themselves at every stop.
Brittany Cyriacks. MSN. Clinical Informatics Program Director for UCHealth Virtual Health Center (Aurora, Colo.): An excellent digital patient experience in remote patient monitoring is coordinated, clear and clinically meaningful, especially during the vulnerable post‑discharge period. Even when multiple roles are involved, the experience should feel like one connected care team rather than fragmented outreach. Patients should understand why they are being monitored, who is contacting them and what actions they need to take, without being overwhelmed by redundant or conflicting messages. From a nursing informatics perspective, RPM data must be integrated into workflows with clear ownership, escalation pathways and reduced alert noise. When done well, RPM digital tools built with this in mind, builds trust, supports continuity of care and improves outcomes without making patients feel like they are navigating the system alone.
Trent Richardson. System Director of PB Revenue Cycle for Madison Parish Hospital (Tallulah, La.): An excellent patient digital experience starts with accurate, frictionless scheduling that provides the patient with available times and with their requested provider. It then delivers real-time, benefits-based cost estimates that reflect current deductibles and out-of-pocket responsibility, providing a realistic estimate of their financial responsibility and an opportunity to easily pay. After the visit, patients should receive a simple, transparent bill that clearly explains what services were provided, what insurance covered and what they owe—without medical jargon or confusion. Finally, the experience ends with a seamless, one-click payment option that makes it possible for patients to resolve their balance as easily as possible.
Michelle Myers, MHL, CPC. Senior Director, Revenue Cycle Management for Boulder Care (Portland, Ore.): An excellent digital patient experience in RCM removes financial uncertainty by providing clear, accurate cost estimates upfront and easy-to-understand billing. It offers a frictionless, mobile-first journey where patients can self-serve everything from scheduling to payments without confusion or delays. Real-time, proactive communication keeps patients informed about authorizations, claims and balances, reducing anxiety and building trust. The experience feels personalized and empathetic, with tailored payment options and simple language that respects each patient’s situation — while ensuring a knowledgeable human is always just a click away when needed. Ultimately, it connects the entire financial journey into one seamless, transparent experience that improves both patient satisfaction and revenue outcomes.
Drew von Eschenbach, MBA, FHFMA. Vice President, Enterprise Revenue Cycle for UW Medicine (Seattle): I think there are a couple of key components to creating an excellent digital patient experience. First, solutions need to be tailored to how a patient wants to engage, if they want an omni-channel approach, we need to give it to them in the most efficient and intuitive manner possible. Second, we cannot expect the experience to be perfect, but how do we mitigate the situation when it does not go as designed? A good example of this is patient estimates for care, we will not get them 100% right, 100% of the time. But how do we handle those cases when we do get them wrong and how timely are we in our outreach to our patients? If we fail again, after we fail initially, we run the risk of losing our patient’s trust and their business.
Priya Kumar, MD. Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer for Self Regional Healthcare (Greenwood, S.C.): An excellent digital patient experience is one that is seamless, intuitive and reduces friction across the care journey—from scheduling to follow-up—for example, a platform like MyChart enhanced with a conversational, voice-enabled interface that allows patients to book appointments, review results, or ask questions in plain language rather than navigating complex menus. But what feels effortless to a digitally savvy patient can be overwhelming for someone less comfortable with technology, so true excellence lies in adaptability. The experience should meet patients where they are, offering multiple pathways (digital, phone, in-person) and adjusting complexity based on user needs and preferences. Ultimately, it balances convenience and personalization with inclusivity, ensuring no patient is left behind while still delivering efficiency and modern access.
Toyosi Olutade, MD. Chief Medical Officer for UnityPoint Health-Quad Cities (Bettendorf, Iowa): An excellent digital patient experience starts with an easy scheduling process that is reliable, accessible and professional — because you only get one chance to make a first impression with both patients and providers.
In scaling our virtual ambulatory platform at IU Health, I learned that patients increasingly care about how we value their time. Is the provider prepared, working in a HIPAA-compliant space, attentive and timely? Did we solve the problem and provide the same wrap-around pre-and post-visit follow-through that mirrors an in-person visit? Providers, meanwhile, expect a consistent audio and video experience regardless of the technology the patient uses to log in. When we engineered our GI telehealth response during COVID-19 and restored 90% of clinical volumes within 60 days, it wasn’t just the technology — it was the nimble clinical workflow redesigns that protected the patient-provider relationship.
Excellence in the digital patient experience relies on three things: seamless scheduling for patients of all demographics and digital comfort levels, a clinical encounter that feels equivalent to — if not better than — traveling and spending time away from work and family and a post-visit experience where patients feel that what matters most to them was thoroughly addressed.
Virtual care can consistently deliver all of this when thoughtfully designed with provider and patient input from the start.
Artimisha Curl, MAED. Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging for El Camino Health (Mountain View, Calif.): An excellent digital patient experience is not defined by how advanced the technology is, but by how deeply it understands the human on the other side of it. In healthcare, patients are often navigating fear, uncertainty and vulnerability, and our digital ecosystems should meet them there with clarity, cultural humility and ease.
What sets great organizations apart is their ability to design for the margins, not the majority. When digital tools are built with equity at the center, considering language, access, trust and lived experience, they don’t just improve convenience, they expand access and close gaps that have existed for far too long.
Digital should never feel transactional in a moment that is deeply personal. When done right, it becomes an extension of care, creating connection, building trust and reinforcing that every patient, regardless of who they are, belongs in the experience we’ve designed.
Dennis Leber, PhD. Chief Information Security Officer for Erlanger Health System (Chattanooga, Tenn.): An excellent digital patient experience is seamless, reliable and built on trust. Patients expect technology that works when they need care—without friction, downtime, or risk to their information. Cybersecurity safety is patient safety: protecting data, ensuring system availability, and preventing disruption directly protects patients and their care. When digital systems are secure and dependable, trust follows—and trust defines a great patient experience.
Parag Jain. Director of Clinical Research for Children’s Health and University of Texas Southwestern Medical School (Dallas): An excellent digital patient experience is not defined by convenience alone, but by its ability to reduce uncertainty and guide patients through complex, often stressful care journeys. Many current solutions focus on scheduling, messaging and access, yet leave patients unclear about what is happening or what comes next. While agentic AI has shown promise in other industries, it has underperformed in healthcare because it lacks the contextual awareness and trust calibration required for high-stakes, emotionally charged decisions. The most effective digital experiences act as a cognitive support system — anticipating needs, simplifying decisions and aligning with real-world care pathways. If a patient still feels confused or anxious despite being “digitally connected,” the experience has failed.
Charlene A. LePane, DO. Chief Medical Information Officer of Central Florida Division for AdventHealth (Altamonte Springs, Fla.): An excellent digital patient experience is not defined by the volume of tools an organization deploys, but by how effectively those tools enable patients to access care, understand their health and navigate the system with confidence. At its best, it delivers a seamless, end-to-end journey that spans scheduling, clinical encounters, follow-up and payment without friction, redundancy, or confusion.
At AdventHealth, digital strategy is grounded in simplifying access. Intuitive, mobile-first platforms allow patients to complete key tasks quickly and independently, reducing administrative burden and improving engagement. Just as critical is integration across the care continuum. Digital tools must work together, ensuring information flows seamlessly between care settings and eliminating the need for patients to re-enter data or reconcile inconsistencies.
Communication remains a central pillar. Patients expect and deserve clarity around what will happen, when it happens and what actions they need to take. Timely, transparent communication builds trust and reduces uncertainty, particularly during complex care journeys.
Personalization further differentiates high-performing digital experiences. Tailored education, reminders and care plans aligned to a patient’s clinical condition, preferences and language needs drive stronger engagement and adherence. Transparency also plays a key role, with accessible clinical notes, test results and cost information reinforcing trust and empowering patients to participate more actively in their care.
Importantly, digital experience must extend beyond convenience to deliver measurable clinical value. Effective digital solutions support adherence, reduce delays in care and enable earlier intervention. At the same time, they must be designed to accommodate varying levels of digital literacy and access to technology.
Ultimately, excellence in digital patient experience is measured not just by satisfaction scores, but by outcomes: improved engagement, fewer barriers to care and better health results. Leading organizations like ours recognize digital experience as a core component of care delivery that is integral to achieving both operational efficiency and clinical excellence.
Vitaly Herasevich, MD, PhD. Professor of Anesthesiology and Medicine and Co-Director, Center for Clinical and Translational Science Office of Digital Innovation for Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.): An excellent digital patient experience is multimodal and cannot be defined by a single element. First and most importantly, an app or portal should be created to solve a real problem that exists. This applies to both its purpose and its functionality.
Behind that purpose, it should offer excellent usability: minimal steps, no long forms and no confusing navigation. No one likes guessing what happens next. Good systems remember preferences and context. Patients need confidence that their data is safe, but security shouldn’t make access difficult. Virtual assistance with access to a human when needed should be fast and easy to reach.
An excellent digital patient experience feels less like “using a healthcare system” and more like “being guided through care without obstacles.”
Ruchi Garg, MD. Chief Medical Officer and Gynecologic Oncologist for Fairview Park Hospital (Dublin, Ga): An excellent digital patient experience is one that feels simple, connected and actually reduces friction across the patient’s journey. It’s not just about a good app or portal. It’s about whether the patient can move through scheduling, registration, care delivery, and follow-up without confusion or repetition.
Three things matter most. First, ease of access, and that starts even before care. Something as basic as the login process matters more than we think. Patients are managing dozens of logins, and when systems have complex or inconsistent password requirements, it creates immediate friction. You see it all the time with infrequently used portals where patients end up resetting passwords just to get in. That’s a barrier to care, not a gateway.
Second is continuity, meaning their information follows them and they’re not being asked the same questions multiple times. And third is clarity, where communication is timely, understandable and actionable.
When we get it right, patients spend less time navigating the system and more time focused on their care. That’s really the goal, using digital tools to remove barriers, not create new ones. The best digital experience is one that patients don’t have to think about. It just works.
Maritza Suarez, MD. Chief Medical Informatics Officer for University of Miami Health System (Miami): An excellent digital patient experience removes friction from care while strengthening the human connection between patients and clinicians. When digital tools are working well, they feel almost invisible, are reliable, intuitive and supportive of compassionate care. In an academic health system, excellence means digital experiences that are integrated across the continuum of care, not fragmented at each encounter.
Bob Berbeco. Chief Information Officer for Mahaska Health (Oskaloosa, Iowa): To me, an excellent digital patient experience is one that feels connected, accessible and low friction, where technology strengthens the convergence between patients and providers by making interactions simpler, timelier and more meaningful. That means using digital tools to personalize outreach, guide patients quickly to the right site of care, extend support beyond the hospital through remote patient monitoring, hospital-at-home, virtual follow-ups, telehealth, remote care management and community-based outreach tied to transportation, social needs and local services.
Ultimately, the best digital patient experience is patient-centered and workflow-native. It improves access and convenience for the patient while also reducing burden for physicians, clinicians, and team members. When it is done well, technology does not just make care easier to navigate. It strengthens trust, extends the reach of care beyond the hospital and helps people feel more supported at every step of the journey.
Andrew Cooper, Chief Information Officer for NCH Healthcare System (Naples, Fla.): An excellent digital patient experience comes down to one thing: simplicity. It means taking off our HIT hats and seeing the journey through the patient’s eyes. If a 25-page eCheck-in feels like homework, we’re not creating value, we’re creating friction.
Nipa Shah, MD. Chair of Family Medicine Department for University of Florida Health (Gainesville, Fla.): An excellent digital experience is one in which the patient is unaware and uninterrupted by the presence of digital technology, data and ambient listening tools during their interaction with the physician, provider, or health care system. The same for the health care team. The goal is for a seamless, smooth, efficient and effective interaction. The digital experience should also extend well beyond just the interaction with the health care system and provide the patient the tools they need to maintain great health, and prevent/treat disease effectively.
Mary DeVany, MS. Associate Director of gpTRAC for Institute for Health Informatics for University of Minnesota (Minneapolis): A great deal of success hinges on the preparation, both on the patient and provider side of the connection. The goal is to make it efficient (very few clicks/steps for either party, isn’t duplicative and the information is easily accessible for any further/future action), effective (the patient’s need or question is addressed to their satisfaction and the provider has what is needed to make a determination) and it is integrated into the established care process so it becomes standard, expected and comfortable (on both the patient and the provider side of the equation). This takes significant planning and engagement prior to initiating a digital patient-facing service because the lack of excellent experience at the start can mean a lack of confidence moving forward.
Lee Schwamm, MD. Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Health Officer for Yale New Haven Health (New Haven, Connecticut): An excellent digital patient experience is one that moves complexity away from the patient and makes it easy for patients to access, navigate and coordinate care across the continuum without needing to fragment their care across multiple healthcare delivery systems. It provides seamless longitudinal continuity of identity, so patients are never asked twice for the same information and their preferences endure between sessions and across experiences. This intelligent hyper-personalization enables care journeys that are meaningful, effective and seamlessly intermingle traditional and digital care. At a macro level, these experiences are delivered equitably and adjust to the patient’s level of digital engagement, engendering trust and conveying empathy. An equitable digital front door is one that opens easily for everyone, allows access to the needed services and improves clinical care and operational efficiency rather than simply digitizing existing ineffective or byzantine processes. Lastly, excellent digital patient experiences are not just built but are maintained and curated, through continuous measurement, iteration and alignment to the needs of patients rather than the organizational structure of the health system.
Karen Walker. Enterprise Director of Cardiovascular Services for Santa Clara Valley Hospitals (San Jose, Calif.): An excellent digital patient experience is defined by seamless accessibility, allowing individuals to easily schedule appointments, view lab results and message their care team through a centralized, user-friendly portal. It prioritizes personalization by delivering tailored health reminders, educational resources and customized treatment plans that meet the unique needs of each patient. Furthermore, robust data security and privacy measures build trust, ensuring that sensitive personal health information remains strictly confidential. The experience is also characterized by responsive communication, offering virtual consultations and prompt digital responses that reduce the need for in-person visits. Ultimately, it integrates empathy with technology to remove administrative friction, empowering patients to take an active and confident role in their own healthcare journey.
Sam Shen, MD. Vice Chair of Clinical Operations and Emergency Medicine Department and Patient Safety Officer for Stanford Health Care (Palo Alto, Calif.): An excellent digital patient experience is one where the patient benefits from access to care and the experience is not overshadowed by the technology. The patient comes away feeling like they received the same quality care and connection with the clinician in a frictionless environment. Not every clinical scenario is appropriate for a virtual visit, but for those that are, the patient can benefit significantly from an access, convenience and cost perspective without compromising the experience with a clinician.
Jaideep R. Deshpande, MBA. Executive Director of Strategy and Marketing at the College of Dentistry for University of Illinois Chicago (Chicago): In my work at the intersection of digital dentistry and healthcare transformation, I’ve seen that an excellent digital patient experience begins long before the patient sits in the chair — it’s the seamless online appointment, automated reminders, digital intake forms and easy exit after the appointment set the tone. The best practices I’ve encountered integrate clinical tools like intraoral scanners, digital X-rays and CAD/CAM workflows with patient-facing portals so that care feels cohesive, transparent and fast.
Nariman Heshmati, MD. Chief Physician and Operations Executive for Lee Physician Group, Lee Health (Fort Myers, Fla.): At its core, a patient’s experience is measured by ease and outcomes. It doesn’t matter whether the interaction happens on a screen or in person in a clinic. Effective digital strategy allows the digital experience to be an invisible bridge providing a consistent high value encounter that is less about using technology and more about receiving great care.
Evan Lyons. Vice President of Digital Information Services and Chief Information Officer for Peterborough Regional Health Centre (Peterborough, Ontario): An excellent digital patient experience is one that removes friction rather than adding technology for its own sake. It is seamless, equitable and intuitive designed for supporting patients before, during and after care with the right information, at the right time, through channels that fit their needs and circumstances. Importantly, it respects trust and dignity by being secure, transparent and inclusive, particularly for patients who are traditionally underserved by digital systems. The ultimate measure of success is not the sophistication of the tools, but whether digital makes healthcare feel more human, more connected and easier to navigate.
Khang Nguyen, MD. Chief Medical Officer of Care Navigation for Permanente Federation (Oakland, Calif.): Seamless navigation, personalized care resolution and digital tools that enhance rather than replace human connection are hallmarks of an excellent digital patient experience. For example, Kaiser Permanente Intelligent Navigator, which we developed, allows patients to describe their care needs in their own words, not via preset menus. KPIN then recommends the most clinically appropriate action, monitors for high-acuity symptoms and directs patients to immediate nurse triage when necessary. Findings in a 2025 Nature article showed the KPIN platform identified urgent medical cases with 97.7% accuracy and boosted patient satisfaction by 8.6%.
Jody Hinton. Vice President of Medical Revenue Operations for PDS Health (Alpharetta, Ga.): An excellent digital patient experience removes friction patients never should have faced in the first place. Scheduling, pre-registration, benefit verification and payment should all happen before the patient sits down, seamlessly and transparently. When we get the digital front door right, patients trust us with their care and their wallets and the revenue cycle benefits downstream through cleaner claims, faster collections and fewer denials.
Grant J. Heston. Vice President of Enterprise Marketing and Communications for VCU and VCU Health (Richmon, Va.): Excellent digital experiences give patients confidence in the institution from the very first interaction At VCU Health, it’s a priority that our digital experience matches the caliber of care provided by one of the nation’s top academic health systems. Our digital priority is to create clarity and reduce friction so patients can find care, understand their options and take the next step with confidence.
Manny Rodriguez. Chief Marketing, Experience and Customer Officer for UCHealth (Cincinnati): An excellent digital patient experience is one that feels effortless to the patient but is deeply intentional behind the scenes. It meets people where they are, anticipates needs and removes friction across the entire journey, from access and scheduling to care delivery and follow-up. It’s not about adding more technology; it’s about connecting the right capabilities into a seamless, human-centered experience that builds trust and drives better outcomes.
William Gress, RN, MHA, BSN. Director of Revenue Cycle Operations for Cottage Health (Santa Barbara, Calif.): Digital experience is about accessibility and ease of use while remaining secure. Most health systems have a lot of self-service digital functionality, but the differentiators are things like “How long does it take for me to pay my self-pay balance, schedule an appointment, or reschedule my imaging exam?” It is also important to have a comprehensive strategy in this space. There are often many operational owners and clinical teams that have pieces of functionality and therefore a lot of decision makers. Communication between those teams is essential to success. At Cottage Health, we have established a Consumer Experience Steering Committee. Leaders from different areas work collectively on a Digital Health and Consumer Experience Roadmap.
Scott MacLean. Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for MedStar Health (Columbia, Md.):
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- Single, secure app with face-ID login
- Ability to self-schedule, renew meds, obtain referrals, message provider/office, view results immediately upon availability
- On-demand telehealth visit for routine primary care/urgent care issues
- App remembers my communication preferences, photo ID and insurance card, and has easy way to verify without requesting multiple copies
- Easy way to update allergy, med, problem list
- Ability to pay bills by keeping a credit card on file or via Apple/Google Pay
- Anything that can be done online is available online and the processes and people training aligns
- I’m never asked for the same information more than once and when I make an update, it is updated in every system.
Dan Shoenthal. Chief Innovation Officer for MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston): At UT MD Anderson, we believe an excellent patient experience is defined by the seamless convergence of clinical excellence and human empathy. This means that every interaction, from digital access to discharge, is patient-centered and designed around the patient’s journey rather than the institution’s convenience. Patients should feel a personal connection with their care team, knowing that their preferences are anticipated, their time is respected and their care is well-coordinated without needing to repeat themselves across providers, technology, or physical settings. The role of innovation in this is to go beyond satisfaction scores to measure excellence by whether we’ve reduced friction and restored dignity for our patients.
Dinesh Rai, MD. Clinical AI Engineer for Boston Children’s Hospital (Boston): An excellent digital patient experience meets people where they are, not where the system finds it convenient. Patients should be able to read their clinical notes and understand them, not decode walls of jargon. When they leave the hospital, discharge instructions should be clear and specific to them. When they are referred to a new provider, that provider should already have the full picture, not start from scratch while the patient tells the same story for the 10th time.
Salim Saiyed, MD. Chief Medical Informatics Officer for Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin: From a CMIO perspective, an excellent digital patient experience is one where technology fades into the background and patients feel guided, understood and supported throughout their care journey. At UT Dell Medical Center, that means anticipatory, human‑centered, personalized digital experiences that adapt to where a patient is—before, during and after care—rather than forcing them through transactional steps or brief touchpoints. Digital tools should reduce friction, create clarity and build trust with their health system and physicians, helping patients navigate care seamlessly. Ultimately, success is when patients experience care as connected and continuous and improving health, not as a series of disconnected digital tasks
K. Nadeem Ahmed, MD. System Chief Medical Officer for Valley Health System (Ridgewood, N.J.): Excellent digital patient experience results from the patient being able to interact with their health system via a quick, seamless and integrated process. Whether it is scheduling an appointment, chatting with a healthcare provider, or simply checking lab results, the ability to complete these as a “one-stop-shop” experience is a very high satisfier for patients.
Brian Lancaster. Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Children’s Mercy (Kansas City, Mo.): An excellent digital patient experience is defined by designing care around the patient’s end‑to‑end journey so that access, care delivery and follow‑up feel seamless and connected rather than fragmented across tools. It intentionally reduces administrative burden for patients and clinicians at the same time by eliminating redundancy, simplifying workflows and allowing care teams to focus on care rather than manual tasks better suited for patients. Digital becomes the default way to access care because it is convenient and intuitive, however non‑digital options must remain available to ensure equity, choice and inclusion for every patient.
Rebecca Ashe, CPA, MSA. Director, Finance Education and Quality Assurance for Moffitt Cancer Center (Tampa, Fla.): An excellent digital patient experience is not defined by the technology itself, but by how seamlessly it supports our patients’ journey. From my perspective in Finance Education and Quality Assurance, it’s about reliability, clarity and consistency — ensuring patients can access care, understand next steps and navigate financial expectations without confusion.
Digital tools work most effectively when the underlying processes, education and workflows are aligned — not only for our patients, but also for the team members supporting them. When our team members are equipped with clear workflows, consistent training and intuitive tools, they are better able to guide patients with confidence and consistency. We also see the importance of incorporating patient voice — through Moffitt’s Patient and Family Advisory Council—to ensure patient interfacing solutions are not only functional, but truly usable and trusted.
When done well, digital experience enables a coordinated, patient-first journey—one where both our patients and team members feel supported, informed and confident at every step.
Lewis W. Marshall Jr. Chief Medical Officer for NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln Hospital (New York, N.Y.): As times change and as technology becomes a larger part of healthcare services, how patient interact with healthcare services through digital channels and how those channels make them feel, function and be successful in managing their healthcare is what constitutes a patient’s digital patient experience. There are many touch points where technology is involved in the digital experience, including finding care online, booking appointments, Tele visits, messaging providers, managing prescriptions, payments and other items. The experience part comes in when those interactions with the technology or between the technology and the patient is easy or frustrating, connected or fragmented, clear and helpful. It’s also important during this process of the digital health experience that the patients feel in control and supported in their journey. If we want the digital experience to be excellent, we must develop seamless usability, streamline workflows, provide multilingual support, disability access and cross device compatibility. On the patient side, we must tailor the health insights to the patient. We need to make sure we have adaptive communication styles for the patient so they can choose their communication preference. We must also make sure that the patient that the content is patient centered and fits the literacy level of the patient. Trust is a huge part of the patient’s digital patient experience. If the patient doesn’t trust the technology or the results, then they will not use it. A well-developed digital experience should improve access, increase engagement and lead to better health outcomes. Finally, an excellent digital health experience should reduce the administrative burden not only on the patient but also on the provider.
Ann-Marie Yap. Executive Director of Technology and Digital Solutions for Stanford Health Care and School of Medicine (Palo Alto, Calif.): A digital patient experience is personalized, simple and trusted. Technology should feel invisible while proactively guiding patients through their care journey. It is human-centered and equitable, designed to meet patients where they are across digital channels while ensuring accessibility, security and reliability. Ultimately, it aligns digital innovation with care outcomes, strengthening patient confidence and engagement while measurably improving quality, access and efficiency.
Richard Zane, MD. Chief Medical and Innovation Officer for UCHealth (Aurora, Colo.): What defines an excellent digital patient experience?” is a bit like asking what defines excellent “robotic urologic surgery.” The adjective is doing too much work.
Patients don’t experience “digital.” They experience care.
Digital is just one of the tools like a Davinci robot, scalpel, exam rooms, IV pumps, or clinicians themselves that we use to deliver that care. When it works well, it disappears. When it doesn’t, it’s all everyone notices.
At UCHealth, some of the best “digital” experiences aren’t memorable because they’re digital, they’re memorable because they remove friction. An app that feels and works like any other app, online scheduling that actually reflects real availability. Test results that arrive quickly with context, not confusion. Virtual visits that feel like a continuation of care, not a downgrade from it. Ambient documentation that lets clinicians focus on patients instead of keyboards.
None of those succeed because they’re digital. They succeed because they solve real problems in the patient journey.
So, an “excellent digital patient experience” is simply an excellent patient experience where technology quietly does its job of reducing effort, increasing clarity and making care feel more connected. The moment a patient notices the “digital” part, you’ve probably already lost a step.
Deepa Velayadikot, MD. Medical Director of Care Coordination and Regional Medical Director of Hospital Medicine for Cooper University Hospital (Camden, N.J.): An excellent digital patient experience is not defined by the presence of digital tools, but by their absence from the patient’s awareness. It feels personal, efficient and seamlessly coordinated—so much so that care is experienced as if a dedicated physician, nurse and multidisciplinary team are quietly working in the background. Information is remembered rather than repeatedly requested; recommendations feel truly personalized instead of generic; and care flows smoothly across visits, tests, results and follow‑ups without requiring patients to manage the process themselves. Time and energy are respected through minimal friction, clear next steps and reliable support, with an intuitive path to human help when needed. When executed well, the digital layer disappears—strengthening trust, continuity and confidence- so patients experience only what matters most: clarity, reassurance and care. Digital done right feels like excellent patient care, not technology.
James Solava, DO. Associate Chief Medical Informatics Officer of Northern Region for WVU Health System (Morgantown, W.Va.): An excellent digital patient experience starts with removing friction at every touch point. Patients should be able to schedule appointments, complete check-in, message their team, manage medications and request help, all from a single intuitive interface without needing to call an office or navigate multiple systems. Access to records must be equally effortless, including the ability to share those records with specialists or outside providers without administrative burden. After our visit, patients should receive notes they can actually read and understand, written in plain language that reinforces the care plan rather than confuses it. If a patient must work hard to interact with their health care system digitally, we have already failed them.
Robb Wetmore. Director of Digital Healthcare for Variety Care (Oklahoma City): An excellent digital patient experience is one that feels simple, connected and human. Patients should be able to access care, information and support without having to understand the complexity of the healthcare system behind it. The best digital tools reduce friction rather than add new steps, meet patients where they are and support the relationship between the patient and care team. In healthcare, convenience matters, but trust matters more. A truly excellent digital experience should make patients feel guided, informed and cared for before, during and after the visit.
Sudipto Srivastava. Chief Data and Analytics Officer for Montefiore Health System (New York City): At Montefiore Einstein, we believe that an excellent digital experience is proactive, empathetic by design and empowers patients to feel that they are effortlessly guided to the right outcome. Life can feel complicated enough. When it comes to healthcare, we need to be intentional with supporting our patients, that begins by simplifying the point of entry. This includes ensuring appointments can be accessed in a variety of ways, including a phone call, text or an online search, with preferred time and practice locations already embedded from the start. By beginning with progressive disclosures and appropriate criteria that give people the shortest path to begin, the goal is to alleviate as much anxiety as we can by addressing primary concerns as quickly as possible. Having this outlook and tools not only makes for a better patient experience – it is also enabling us to maintain a 90% completion rate for scheduling – meaning we’re getting people in for care when and where they need it most.
Samuel McCrimmon, JD. Vice President of Development for Regional One Health (Memphis, Tenn.): I think of an excellent digital patient experience as the ability to do everything related to healthcare digitally other than the receiving of the care itself. That is, I should be able to schedule care, handle billing, order prescriptions and refills and communicate readily with my providers between appointments just with my phone or computer. I should also have quick and easy access to telemedicine for those times when an office visit is not necessary.
Lori Howley. Head of Marketing and Communications for Merrimack Health (Haverhill, Mass.): An excellent digital experience is defined by how well the digital resource genuinely improves the experience for both patients and the organization, making care feel more accessible and connected. Investing in digital for digital’s sake can leave the experience feeling impersonal and dissatisfying to patients. For digital initiatives to succeed long term, organizations must clearly define the need, opportunity and goals; be fully invested in the desired outcomes and establish thoughtful workflow integration along every point of the patient-experience journey. Patients are consumers and are digitally savvy, with expectations shaped by other digital experiences. They readily recognize when digital tools enhance their experience versus when they fall short. Without operational alignment, even highly valued patient services can fail.
Richard Beatty, MBA. Executive Vice President for Ninala Medical Center (Silver Spring, Md.): In response to your question, a remarkable digital patient experience starts by recognizing and addressing the unique needs of patients. For instance, the medical team must be mindful of how senior patients are attempting to manage their finances while also dealing with multiple chronic conditions. Therefore, a seamless clinical experience hinges on language, readability and connectivity that resonate with a patient’s specific requirements. True success is evident when missed appointments decrease and patients express a sense of being heard, rather than managers reviewing operational reports. Ultimately, the most challenging moments in patient care will always be human-centric, not platform-driven.
Krishnaj Gourab, MD. Chief Medical Officer and Vice President for University of Maryland Rehabilitation and Orthopaedic Institute; System Medical Director of Post-Acute Care for University of Maryland Medical System (Baltimore): Adaptive. An excellent digital patient experience is adaptive to the patient. For tasks like scheduling, it must function as seamlessly and without human intervention as the best-in-class non-healthcare tools (think OpenTable). For tasks like breaking a life-changing diagnosis, the digital solution must recognize this, immediately step back and hand it over to a human. This is why creating an excellent digital patient experience is challenging, exciting and a worthwhile effort.
Camila Altman. Director for Northwestern Medicine (Chicago): An excellent digital patient experience is one where patients can access and use their health information when, where and how they want—without friction. It should feel as intuitive and reliable as managing travel with an airline: scheduling appointments, checking in, receiving updates and messaging clinicians all in one seamless flow. Behind the scenes, data moves securely and automatically so patients never have to navigate the system themselves. When done well, digital tools reduce effort for patients while increasing trust, transparency and engagement in their care.
Hetal Rupani. Senior Director of Business Intelligence and Analytics for Johns Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore.): An excellent digital patient experience delivers consumer-grade convenience—one-click access and mobile-first design—integrated with personalized, proactive care across the entire patient journey from scheduling through post-admission and follow-up. It requires data to flow seamlessly between systems with bidirectional communication capabilities like real-time chat support, secure messaging and instant notifications. Every touchpoint should minimize friction and maximize personalization based on patient preferences, conditions and care needs. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of providing real-time, actionable information—directions to clinics, parking availability, current wait times or delays—directly to patients’ devices, because transparency builds trust and reduces anxiety. This digital foundation is critical for measuring AI investment value: without high patient engagement, seamless data integration and intuitive interfaces, even the most sophisticated AI tools cannot deliver ROI. Organizations must track meaningful metrics like MyChart adoption and active usage rates, digital functionality utilization across demographics, patient effort scores and health equity indicators to demonstrate whether AI is actually reducing administrative burden, improving access and driving better outcomes. Ultimately, AI investments succeed only when the digital patient experience is excellent enough to capture the patient’s engagement, data quality and trust required to make intelligent automation truly deliver on its promise.
Russell Lewandowski. Director, Clinical Applications for Cook County Health (Chicago): An excellent digital patient experience means patients can get what they need without feeling like they are fighting the system. They should be able to schedule care, register, see results, request refills, manage referrals, understand billing and follow up without everything feeling disconnected or confusing. It also must work for patients who speak different languages, have accessibility needs, or are not very comfortable with technology. And it cannot just look good from the patient side. It must fit into real clinical workflows so it helps staff and providers instead of creating more work. Done well, digital health makes care easier to access, easier to understand and easier to stay connected to.
Sandeep S. Kashyap, MD. Surgical Director of Lung Cancer Screening and Thoracic and Esophageal Surgeon, CAMC Thoracic and Esophageal Surgery, Vandalia Health (Charleston, W.Va.): A patient needs to be heard and seen—not reduced to an entry in a large language model algorithm. An excellent digital patient experience respects that human core while addressing health and digital literacy barriers that affect so many surgical patients.
One recent patient really embraced digital tools. He asked for pictures, step-by-step animations and a clear visual roadmap of his upcoming surgery. He tracked his labs and imaging reports on the portal daily and was always ready for morning rounds with thoughtful questions. He even requested clips of his intraoperative video, which we could share easily. He recovered well and felt truly empowered by how seamlessly his digital experience integrated into his treatment.
In contrast, the next patient preferred printed materials that she and her family could review together in a binder. We were able to provide them, but it took some extra steps using a separate platform.
Oncology treatment is incredibly complex, involving multiple specialties, dozens of tests and a lot of confusing medical jargon. The right digital experience can make this difficult journey much easier for both the patient and their family.
As AI becomes a bigger part of the digital patient experience, patients will welcome the convenience, but when they’re sick they still deeply crave human attention and that personal touch. Most importantly, they want any AI tools to be carefully vetted by their doctor and completely trustworthy. It is on us healthcare leaders to make sure the digital AI systems we deploy meet that standard.
That kind of flexibility—adapting to what each patient and family needs while keeping the human relationship at the center—is what defines an excellent digital patient experience. When the technology works the way, it should, it fades into the background and the patient truly feels seen.
Rachel Felix. Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing and Growth Officer for Boston Medical Center Health System (Boston): An excellent digital patient experience starts with helping patients quickly find and access the care they need, whether through search engines, AI tools, websites, or the patient portal. As patients increasingly rely on digital tools to find and engage with their care, ease of access, consistency and accuracy across these channels are critical. At BMCHS, we’re focused on creating a more unified digital experience across our growing and integrated system, making it easier for patients to discover providers and services, access scheduling and MyChart and navigate care regardless of language, literacy, accessibility, or technology needs. That work also includes investments in more connected digital tools and systems, including integrating our hospital network into a single EHR so patients can view their care journey in one portal and rolling out Ambient AI to reduce administrative burden and allow providers to spend more time focused on patient care.
Mohammed Abdelaziz, MD. Hospital Medicine Medical Director for Mercy Health, Kings Mills Hospital (Mason, Ohio): An excellent digital patient experience is one that feels seamless, connected and patient-centered across the entire care journey. It gives patients options—whether they prefer digital self-service or speaking with a person—while making it easy to get what they need with minimal effort. Most importantly, technology should enhance, not replace, the human connection by keeping empathy, communication and trust at the center of every interaction.
Eric Smith. Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer for Memorial Hermann Health System (Houston): An excellent digital experience is one that understands the context and the intent of the user which enables the patient to move easily through their care journey. Delivering a strong patient experience also requires meeting the consumer in their channel of choice, providing flexibility in how they navigate care. It is also important that when engagement escalates to human support for more complex needs, the information and context follow them to create a seamless engagement experience.
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