Healthcare used to be a paternal system where decisions were made for us as patients, not with us or by us. Now, we are transitioning to a system that centers around patients to deliver care and value to the patient in partnership. Patients are asked to be better, more active consumers in their care and […]
My surgeon and I are discussing his planned use of sutures. He is standing, leaning against a wall. I am opposite him, lying on a gurney in a hospital gown, the IV taped to my hand dripping antibiotics as the clock ticks down to when I’ll be wheeled into the operating room. This may not […]
Dr. Michael J. Barry’s recent blog post makes an outstanding case for the positive impact of shared decision making and a powerful argument against many myths about it. My thoughts here are complementary and supportive. I am not a clinician. Rather, my perspective is from the vantage point of patients and their families. My efforts […]
Worldwide, patient engagement is becoming a “must do” for academics, industries and policy makers in the healthcare arena. The academic and managerial “buzz” on patient engagement is growing at a dizzying pace. In 2015, 665,300 new web indices were found on Google.com with the key words “patient engagement,” including 1,230 news pages and 6,200 dedicated […]
Patient engagement is interpreted in many different ways, much like the old proverb, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” This subjective interpretation presents healthcare with a challenge because there are great expectations associated with the term. Patient engagement has even been called a “blockbuster drug” for healthcare’s ills—a very big expectation indeed! Evidence […]
Sandra, a retired teacher with hypertension, has been Dr. Clarke’s patient for 20 years. When she arrives for her annual visit, she is given a clipboard with a paper form that asks her to list all of her medications and fill in her medical history, the same form she filled out last year. Sandra has […]
As closing keynote speaker at the 27th Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Annual Forum this past December, Don Berwick, former head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and senior fellow with IHI, suggested that “relationships will be the foundation of health care’s new age.” “It’s not power or accountability or reward or punishment […]
Editor’s introduction: A serious gap exists between what providers intend to convey and what patients and families understand.The fact is the lack of health literacy costs the U.S. more than $100 billion annually, according to the Victor Dzau, president of the Institute of Medicine. Speaking at the IOM’s Roundtable on Health Literacy, which was convened […]
Support for mobile health (mHealth) as a larger component in the U.S. healthcare practice is alive and growing. Twenty-four percent of physicians currently report using mHealth technologies, and half of that group use them daily, according to a 2014 survey of U.S. physicians by Deloitte. MHealth offers great opportunity to improve the patient experience. Closer […]
When you look at this piece of paper, what do you see? Most people would say a black dot. But as someone who has experienced a 14-year healthcare journey,I encourage you to take a closer look. Now what do you see? As healthcare transforms toward more patient-focused, it’s my hope that you will see the […]