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 […]
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 […]
In April of this year, MedStar Health released the video entitled, Please See Me, in hopes of starting a buzz about making open, honest communications in health care a reality. The video project supports MedStar’s initiative to instill a culture that is focused on safety among its 30,000 associates and 6, 000 physicians, and across […]
She was admitted last night from the Emergency Department and is scheduled for cardiac catheterization today. Her chart says she is 84 years old, resides in long-term care and her name is Annie Smith. It’s a hectic morning on your medical unit with patients in all of the 24 beds. It promises to be “one […]
The process of engaging patients in making care safer should be seen through a Santa Claus lens. It can be naughty or nice, depending not on good intentions but on the specifics of the intervention. Seeking True Empowerment The key question is whether patients are being truly empowered or whether providers are passing the buck, […]
On August 31, 2010 after two years of medical confusion around our son, Declan’s health, we thought for once there might be an answer to his mysterious blood work, swinging fevers, pneumonia and arthritis. The doctor who thought she was prescribing the correct medicine to help with all of these symptoms actually made a grave […]
Earlier this year, the National Patient Safety Foundation’s Lucian Leape Institute issued a report about how critical patient and family engagement is for ensuring patient safety. Health literacy problems continue to be one of the barriers to effective patient partnerships. With Health Literacy Month in progress, there is no better time to learn more about […]
When we talk about patient and family engagement, it’s tough not to consider the barriers. Problems with health literacy, for example, may hinder patients’ understanding of diagnoses, medication regimens, and care plans. Fear of being considered “difficult” may prevent patients from speaking up. Providers may not have to tools, training, or time to actively engage […]
As a patient advocate for more than a decade, I felt exhilarated when I first read, Safety is Personal, the Report on Consumer Engagement in Patient Safety published by the National Patient Safety Foundation’s Lucian Leape Institute. It gets to the point quickly with its call to action: Engage patients and families as partners. While […]
The bedside shift-to-shift nursing report isn’t new. It has been discussed as an effective patient engagement tool for at least 35 years. The Joint Commission identified communication failures during shift reports as a leading cause of sentinel events in the United States, and, in 2011, the National Patient Safety Foundation focused on the bedside report […]