Going beyond clinical care to enhance patient experience

by Judy Chatigny While wrestling with all of the clinical and financial implications inherent in healthcare reform, hospitals nonetheless know that when all is said and done it still comes down to the patient. Wisely, many of America's hospitals have responded by putting increased emphasis on patient-centered care, whose very core supports the active involvement of patients and their families in the design of new care models and in decision making about individual treatment options. The movement to achieve these principles has led to a relatively new term: the patient experience. Hospitals that have embraced this approach understand that a patient's experience extends beyond the clinical care patients receive. It involves the sum of all interactions and a shared organizational culture that has a positive impression on the patient's perception across the full continuum. Constructing a hospital or a program built around these beliefs requires a focus on both the physical and operational design of a facility. Loma Linda University Medical Center in Southern California faced just such a challenge when we designed our new Women's Cancer and Surgical Oncology Center, which opened in March. We knew that true patient-centered care can't be achieved without "coordination and communication" at every level. This is not only right for the patient's ease and frame of mind but also is central to good health outcomes. As a result, our center brings gynecology and surgical onc...
Source: hospital impact - Category: Health Managers Authors: Source Type: blogs