Dive Brief:
- Geisinger Health System, which is located in Pennsylvania and is currently expanding into New Jersey, has selected Dr. David Feinberg, president of the UCLA Health System, to serve as its next chief executive.
- It is hoped that Feinberg, who sharply increased UCLA's patient satisfaction scores, will bring his strength in improving the patient experience to Geisinger, particularly given the trend toward consumer-driven healthcare.
- Feinberg will take over leadership at Geisinger on May 1, replacing Dr. Glenn Steele Jr., who plans to remain as chairman of a separate spin-off venture from 2013.
Dive Insight:
Feinberg stands out in his take on the patient experience. He plans to spend as much time as possible speaking with patients during his first months at Geisinger.
"There are so many distractions," Feinberg told the New York Times. "The true north has to be, in the middle of a crazy payment system and all of these changes, how to care for the person. My leadership style is at the bedside," he said.
Feinberg adds that one of his hopes is to bring the same focus on patient experience to Geisinger's health insurance unit.