Design and Implementation of Patient Centered Care

PATIENT-CENTERED CLINICAL EXPERIENCE

Creating a Patient-Centered Clinical Experience

Introduction

There is no doubt at all that as Suk (2022) indicates, most healthcare organizations struggle with the provision of truly patient-centered care. From the onset, it would be prudent to note that patient-centered clinical experience could be perceived as the provision of care that is not only responsive to, but also respective of the values, needs, as well as preferences of an individual patient – while at the same time seeing to it that the various clinical decisions are guided by patient values (Engle, Mohr, Holmes, Seibert, Afable, Leyson, and Meterko, 2021). This is the definition to patient-centered clinical experience that has been embraced in this text. In essence, five approaches that I would embrace in seeking to further promote the modern patient experience at my organization have been highlighted.

i. Collaboration and Teamwork

To begin with, it should be noted that it would be difficult for a healthcare organization to create and maintain a patient-centered clinical experience without intra and interprofessional collaboration. When healthcare professionals work together, they can be able to develop a more holistic or comprehensive patient view – and, thus, better address the specific health needs of the patient. For instance, according to Griffith and White (2019), the diagnostic process ought to be a team effort. In a study seeking to assess the influence that interprofessional collaboration had on patient-centered care, Durand and Fleury (2021) made a finding to the effect that the said collaboration happens to play a mediatory role and represents “a process by which team adaptive and proactive behaviors are transformed into positive patient-centered perceptions” (Durand and Fleury, 2021, p. 114).

Suk (2022) also restates the relevance of enhanced cross-departmental collaboration in the creation of patient-centered clinical experience. For instance, as the author indicates, in seeking to promote patient-centered clinical experience, the Geisinger Musculoskeletal Institute sees to it that all its hospitals have specialists drawn from diverse spheres related to musculoskeletal care. These specialists work as a team in the diagnosis of patients – in what, as Suk (2022) observes, comes in handy in efforts to eliminate confusion among patients regarding the specific kind of care to seek when suffering from mobility issues. In this case, patients are provided with a single point of reference.

ii. Cultural Competence

The embrace of culturally-competent care also happens to be instrumental in efforts to create and sustain a patient-centered clinical experience. It is important to note that unlike was the case a century ago, our societies are increasingly becoming diverse and cosmopolitan. It therefore follows that healthcare professionals are more likely to interact with persons from diverse religions, cultures, sexual orientation, etc. To ensure that those who do not neatly fit in one demographic/social category or another have their needs attended to and have access to equitable and competent care, there is need for healthcare workers to be able to not only appreciate, but also interact with (and understand) individuals who subscribe to different perspectives on the cultural, religious, etc. fronts. This goes a long way in efforts to ensure that the patients have access to individualized care. As a matter of fact, in the words of Stubbe (2020), “to deliver individualized, patient-centered care, a provider must consider patients’ diversity of lifestyles, experience, and perspectives....” (50). This, as the author further observes, is crucial as it makes it possible for healthcare professionals and patients to engage in joint decision making. In turn, the said joint decision-making efforts are of great relevance when it comes to ensuring that interventions are tuned to the specific circumstances or needs of patients. Also, as Stubbe (2020) indicates, one of the keys to offering equitable and unbiased care is cultural competence. A patient-centered clinical experience cannot be created in a healthcare setting that does not embrace the tenets of equitable and unbiased care. Cultural competence could further be supplemented with the move to equip staff with effective communication skills. This is more so the case given that the development of proper understanding about patient needs begins with actively listening to them and being able to communicate with them in meaningful formats. In the words of Durand and Fleury (2021), “patient-centered care is based on the unique needs of the patient and on the interpersonal relationship with care providers that enables these needs to be understood” (109).

iii. Patient Education

Next, when it comes to patient education, Vijn, Wollersheim, Faber, Fluit, and Kremer (2018) are of the opinion that “training of patients has been shown to significantly improve patient-centeredness of care” (79). It therefore follows that the creation and sustenance of patient-centered clinical experience could also be dependent upon how well patients are informed about the nature of their illness, the interventions to be deployed, and what is expected of them to ensure treatment outcomes are met. Vijn, Wollersheim, Faber, Fluit, and Kremer (2018) indicate that in so doing, a shared decision making approach is embraced – as opposed to the traditional provider-driven approach. This is, in essence, a hallmark of patient-centered clinical experience. There is no doubt at all that ensuring that all clinical decision making efforts are geared towards the integration of patient preferences and values results in positive outcomes on the clinical front. For instance, as Griffith and White (2019) indicate, “when education and communication are appropriately carried out with patients, inpatient readmissions are minimized” (220).

iv. Incorporation of Technology

Modern advances in technology could be tapped to create a patient-centered clinical experience. For instance, Suk (2022) observes that at Geisinger Musculoskeletal Institute, a digital care management system has been embraced to ensure patients and care teams are (and stay) connected. This is especially the case when it comes to ensuring constructive and meaningful engagements with patients in between visits. It is important to note that in this case, it becomes easier to track the progress patients are making. Further, digital care management systems are instrumental in efforts to ensure positive clinical outcomes – i.e. by way of deploying the relevant interventions when the need to do so arises, thereby reducing chances of serious complications (and, thus, readmissions). There are multiple other opportunities that exist for healthcare organizations to utilize technology to create or advance patient-centered clinical experience. One such opportunity happens to be augmented reality which has been used in multiple other settings, such as the education and travel sectors, to enhance user/client experiences. It is important to note that in some cases, patients could find it difficult to understand certain aspects of their illness. Healthcare providers could make use of augmented reality in such a case to enhance patient participation in treatment processes.

v. Continuous Improvement

The creation of a patient-centered clinical experience would also call for the embrace of an organization-wide culture of continuous improvement. One way to ensure continuous improvement is through patient feedback. This has been implemented in the hospitality industry in which case customers are requested to give feedback about their experiences. The said feedback can then be utilized to make changes if, and when necessary. More specifically, deviations from desired outcomes in as far as patient-centered care is concerned can be addressed based on patient-feedback. This way, the healthcare organization can keep adapting approaches and methodologies to ensure that the clinical experiences of patients are optimized. The healthcare organization should also be aware of the fact that apart from patients, there are other stakeholders whose input ought to be taken into consideration in efforts to advance a culture of continuous improvement. Indeed, as Griffith and White (2019) indicate, “leaders must identify changes in stakeholder needs and adapt the HCO to them... excellence requires early detection of need and time for consensus building” (66). Healthcare workers who, for instance, interact closely with patients are likely to be aware of certain patient needs that are not being met in an effective manner. Their insights could, thus, be instrumental in efforts to ensure better focus on the individual health needs of patients.