Bringing humanity to the patient experience

by Jason A. Wolf I intended my most recent Hospital Impact post to begin a dialogue on refocusing our conversations in healthcare. I worry that at times we get lost in the policies and process, programs and products and forget the most important "P" of all--people. I suggested in May that the "how" in healthcare trumps the "what" each and every day. This too is evident in the conversations I continue to have with patients and family members, including the experiences my family is having as we continue our own healthcare journey. As I speak to people in healthcare and observe it as a patient and researcher, I see a paradox at play. In our attempt to deal with the chaotic, challenging and unpredictable world of healthcare we may have very well, and unintentionally, removed the humanity from it. I do not suggest this lightly, nor am I saying caregivers have lost their sense of humanity. In fact, I see them struggling daily as doctors, nurses, support staff and administrators across healthcare settings to reconnect with the personal nature they, too, want to see in care. What I raise is something I suggested in my last Patient Experience blog post and an idea we must be willing to engage further in our quest to improve the care experience for all. I ask you to consider one idea, perhaps a nugget where we can start to shift the very environment that may challenge our ability to provide the best experience. It may be something as simple are our language--the words we choo...
Source: hospital impact - Category: Health Managers Authors: Source Type: blogs