The 5 Top Reasons to Attend NGPX 2025

The Next Generation Patient Experience (NGPX) conference returns to Palm Springs in November 2025 with its most compelling lineup yet. Healthcare leaders from across the nation will gather at the Westin Rancho Mirage for three transformative days focused on elevating patient care through innovation, collaboration, and strategic excellence.

Here are the five top reasons why NGPX 2025 should be your healthcare event of the year.

1. Unmatched Access to Healthcare's Most Influential Leaders

NGPX 2025 brings together the who's who of patient experience leadership. This year's speaker roster includes 70+ confirmed executives from America's top health systems, with 15 C-level executives sharing their expertise.

The conference attracts leaders from prestigious organizations, including New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Mayo Clinic, Cedars-Sinai, Cleveland Clinic, and Houston Methodist. These leaders are the visionaries driving transformation in patient care across the country.

As noted in the 2024 conference, the intimate setting with 300+ attendees creates meaningful connections.

One industry leader perfectly captured NGPX's unique value: "There are two types of patient experience meetings in the space—industry events and vendor events. From a content standpoint, what you've done is good, but it's personally about the people: It’s about who is going to be there and being able to catch up with friends.”

Innovative and Inspirational Speakers

This year's confirmed speakers include speakers, like the following:

• Julie Kennedy Oehlert, Chief Experience and Brand Officer, ECU Health
• Alison Soileau, PhD, FACHE, Certified Pt Exp Leader (CPXP-L), System Vice President, Patient Experience & Service Excellence, Ochsner Health
• Amy Searls, Chief Experience Officer, Prime Healthcare
• Alan Dubovsky, Vice President and Chief Patient Experience Officer, Cedars-Sinai
• Max Nicholson, Associate Director of Patient Experience, Cedars-Sinai
• Dr. Judith Wolfe, Chief Medical Officer, University Hospitals St. John Medical Center
• And many others…

These leaders bring decades of frontline experience and proven strategies for transforming patient care.

2. Insights into Digital Transformation and AI

NGPX 2025 addresses the most pressing technological challenges facing healthcare today. The conference explores how artificial intelligence can revolutionize patient experience while maintaining the human touch that defines compassionate care.

During an NGPX 2024 fireside chat called "Using Data to Better Understand What Your Patients Actually Think,” Mark Lomax, CEO of PEP Health, touched on the current state of digital transformation and AI integration in the healthcare industry:

"It’s such an exciting time in which technology is moving so, so quickly. We feel like we’re at the pointy end of AI technology, but we’re still having to run at one hundred miles an hour to keep up.”

However, Lomax made an important point about how health systems should use AI and technology moving forward.

"One of the things we’ve found that’s been a real anchor for us is bringing it back to why we actually do this,” he said. "It’s not about fancy technology; It’s about the end user. It’s about the patient who’s at the end of that journey, who actually now has a voice and is being represented in a way they were never represented before.”

Enhancing Human Experiences with Technology

The 2025 conference will build on these insights with sessions exploring digital transformation, omnichannel patient engagement, and technology solutions that enhance rather than replace human connection. Attendees will learn how to balance high-tech innovations with high-touch patient care.

Sessions will cover practical AI applications, from predicting workplace violence to analyzing patient feedback in real-time. Leaders will discover how technology can democratize data access and empower frontline staff to make immediate improvements.

3. Practical Tools You Can Implement Immediately

NGPX focuses on actionable strategies rather than theoretical concepts. Every session provides concrete tools, frameworks, and processes that attendees can implement in their organizations immediately upon returning home.

The conference's emphasis on practical application was evident in 2024's sessions. David S Haynes, MD, MMHC, Chief Experience Officer at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, demonstrated this approach in his presentation "Using Teamwork and Optimizing Patient Care to Improve the Patient Experience.”

Dr. David S. Hayes presented on how his team revolutionized cochlear implant care delivery by using patient experience data to optimize clinical processes and improve teamwork. Hayes transformed their cochlear implant program by condensing what traditionally required multiple visits over 136 days into a single-day experience.

This addressed the significant travel burden faced by patients who often traveled hundreds of miles for care.

"I hear that doctors don’t like change, but that’s probably not true,” said Dr. Hayes. "I go to meetings all day long and I’m learning how to be better at surgery and taking care of patients… strategic thinking is thinking of everything, even the weather.”

Hands-on Sessions That Drive Change

This year's agenda includes hands-on workshops, design thinking roundtables, and interactive sessions that translate theory into practice. You'll leave with specific frameworks for cultural transformation, staff engagement strategies, and operational improvements.

The conference's "Experience Theater” showcases innovative practices currently being implemented across health systems. These real-world case studies provide blueprints for replication and adaptation in your own organization.

4. Comprehensive Focus on Workforce Well-being

NGPX 2025 recognizes that exceptional patient experience begins with caring for those who provide care. The conference addresses the critical connection between employee well-being and patient satisfaction through dedicated wellness programming and strategic sessions.

The 2025 conference will open with morning wellness retreats, including a self-care oasis featuring guided yoga and meditation. The hope is that attendees will bring these experiences back to the office with them, as wellness is an essential component of sustainable service to patients.

As Event Director Charleen Ring wrote in her letter to attendees: "As individuals dedicated to the well-being and satisfaction of others, it's ingrained in your nature to extend care, support, and empathy to those around you. However, in your noble pursuit of serving others, it's all too easy to overlook a crucial aspect of your own well-being: self-care. You cannot pour from an empty cup, and it's hard to effectively care for others if you are not caring for yourselves first.”

Addressing the Biggest Employee Challenges

Sessions at NGPX 2025 will address workforce burnout, employee engagement strategies, and creating psychologically safe environments. The conference tackles difficult topics like workplace violence prevention and staff retention in practical, actionable ways.

5. Attending Makes a Measurable Impact On Your Organization

NGPX attendees consistently report significant returns on their conference investment. Attendees have even reported increases in their Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) domains and patient satisfaction ratings after implementing conference learnings.

The intimate setting facilitates meaningful connections that lead to collaborative partnerships, shared resources, and breakthrough innovations long after the conference ends.

Importantly, the event will address critical industry drivers, such as the following:

• Improving patient satisfaction scores
• Addressing rising patient expectations
• Implementing patient-centered care models
• Promoting workforce well-being
• Integrating AI and continuing digital transformation

Healthcare professionals will gain access to proven best practices and innovative solutions from 300+ senior-level patient experience leaders. They’ll be able to benchmark their strategies against top-performing organizations and return with ideas that can be immediately implemented to transform patient care delivery.

A Transformative Experience Awaits

NGPX 2025 blends strategic insights, practical tools, wellness focus, and peer connections. This creates an environment where breakthrough innovations emerge. Held in the inspiring desert landscape of Palm Springs, NGPX creates space for both professional growth and personal renewal.

Registration for NGPX 2025 is now open. Join the most influential patient experience leaders November 17-19, 2025, at the Westin Rancho Mirage in Palm Springs, California.