Patient Experience in Healthcare

Over the past few decades, the healthcare organization’s perceptions of quality and performance have begun to move beyond assessing the provision of clinical care that is excellent, alone, to embracing and considering patient experience as an important indicator. Patient experience is a broad term that comprises of the range of interactions that the patients are subjected to by the healthcare system. This includes physician practices, nurses and staff in hospitals, the doctors, health plans, as well as the healthcare facilities (Luxford, Safran, & Delbanco, 2011). The experience of the Patient is a fundamental constituent of the quality of health care, and as such, it consists of numerous aspects of healthcare delivery like good communication with the physicians and care providers, easy access of information, and getting timely appointments. It is critical to understand the patient experience as it is a key step towards achieving patient-centered care. By checking various aspects of patent experience, the extent to which patients are receiving care that is responsive and respectful to individual patient’s values, needs along with preferences can be assessed (Pulvirenti, McMillan & Lawn, 2014). The case study of age 40 male experience highlights the need for evaluation of patient experience together with other constituents like safety and effectiveness of care for enhancing the health care quality.

One of the major aspects of patient experience highlighted in the case study is the patient expectation. According to Browne et al. (2013), in its own right, the positive patient experience is an important goal. It promotes improved patient practices, better clinical outcomes, and patient adherence to medical advice. When he was receiving back stitches, he had been a victim of helping a person involved in a car crash, Jackson post-visit expectations raise some concern. He points out that the experience in the hospital was unpleasant and he had to be accustomed to it. He complained of the awful smell that he had to put up with. In a hospital setting. Campbell (2011), states that a patient’s expectations of experience take into account punctual and convenient appointments, cleanliness, choice of doctor/ hospital and helpful reception staff. The case study highlights a disconnect between the doctor and the nurses with the patient, Jackson. He was subjected to an inexperienced doctor whom he describes as not the best for his condition.

Person-centered care is the most relevant goal to improve Jackson’s care experience. Brummel‐Smith et al. (2016), defines person-centered care as the healthcare that is responsive to as well as respectful of the patient’s values, needs in addition to preferences. Jackson needed the most widely accepted dimension of the patient-centered care which include access to best care, continuity and transition, care coordination, communication and information, emotional support, physical comfort, and respect. Jackson’s experience of the healthcare is typically based on these domains. Morgan & Yoder (2012), established that the safety of the patient is highly affected by the communication breakdowns. This because it contributes significantly to near misses and unsafe conditions as well as medical errors within primary care. This is a major factor that subjected jack to poor care and became a source of his dissatisfaction. Another contributor was the lack of relationship continuity. Jackson’s safety concerns became imminent when his relationship with the physician and the practice staff deteriorated due to lack of concern and patient engagement.

One of the guiding principles of patient-centered care that Jackson needed while receiving care is the physical comfort (Bodenheimer & Sinsky, 2014). Accidents lead to excruciating circumstances which are also scary and challenging. A soft pillow and a sharp pain relief due to comfort are vital for them especially in encouraging them to face their situation with courage. Thus, healthcare providers should emphasize that the details of the patient's environment are conducive, rather than being a part of their stress (Frank et al., 2015). Handling of such a patient should be carried out in a safe and a comfortable place, and rendered by personnel with high levels of competency in providing such care. There are various methods the family members and physicians can use to provide physical comfort for such a patient. For instance, it is recommendable for the patient to receive close family presence during the harrowing ordeal, staff behaviors and actions should be friendly to the victim and, the environmental factors such as lighting system and silence should be adequate.

Another principle is emotional support. Majority of accidents are severe and can lead to psychological stress and trauma (Frank et al., 2015). The pain associating with such an accident is usually unbearable, implying that there is a possibility of developing psychological disorders from such an event. Healing and treating challenges can also impact their toll on the patient’s heart and mind. Thus, the practice of patient-centered care implies recognizing the victim as a whole person and, having a multiple of human experiences. Besides, a patient with severe back pain after an accident usually becomes eager for human connection and knowledge and thus, specialized care assists in maintaining high levels of optimism. Since the nurses are the closest source of emotional support for the patients, it is vital for them to pursue training on how to best emphasize and relate with patients with extreme back pain as a result of an accident.

Information and education is another principle of patient-centered care that would have helped in orienting Jackson, as an accident victim, to their situation (Bodenheimer & Sinsky, 2014). For instance, it is vital for the patients to access information about their level of recovery, the severity of their suffering and, the progress of the care. Withholding such a knowledge can raise their level of anxiety and worries and thus, advance the severity of the pain. Well informed patients receive respect and trust that originates from getting all the relevant data concerning their condition. Consequently, such patients feel more empowered in assuming tasks for their care which are within their control.

The principle of coordination and integration of care works for harmonization of healthcare activities for the patient (Frank et al., 2015). Patients with extreme pain require a systematic system of care where every healthcare provider plays a part of the whole healing process (Bodenheimer & Sinsky, 2014).  Various activities involved thus needs to work out for a common goal and as efficiently as possible. Hence, patient experience and treatment should thus be considered as an integrated whole, moving in concert though involving different moving parts. It is, therefore, recommendable for the physicians to cooperate in the best interest of the patient's overall well-being.

In conclusion, many people just like Jackson can recount their own personal experiences with regards to healthcare. The case study raises the significance of patient-centered care. There is the need for evaluation of patient experience together with other constituents like safety and effectiveness of care for enhancing the health care quality. The patient expectation is also a vital aspect of the healthcare that the hospital where Jackson was receiving treatment should have embraced. Some of the principles of healthcare that Jackson deserved while receiving treatment include physical comfort, emotional support, information, and education together with healthy coordination and integration of care from the health care personnel involved in his treatment. These principles would have ensured that Jackson received quality and safe care that befitted his sensitive conditions especially the excruciating pain.  

References

Bodenheimer, T., & Sinsky, C. (2014). From triple to quadruple aim: care of the patient requires care of the provider. The Annals of Family Medicine, 12(6), 573-576.

Browne, K., Roseman, D., Shaller, D., & Edgman-Levitan, S. (2014). Analysis & commentary measuring patient experience as a strategy for improving primary care. Health Affairs, 29(5), 921-925.

Brummel‐Smith, K., Butler, D., Frieder, M., Gibbs, N., Henry, M., ... & Saliba, D., American Geriatrics Society Expert Panel on Person‐Centered Care (2016). Person‐centered care: A definition and essential elements. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 64(1), 15-18.

Campbell, C. (2011). Interpersonal perception in the context of doctor–patient relationships: A dyadic analysis of doctor–patient communication. Challenging the patient centred paradigm: designing feasible guidelines for doctor patient communication, 169.

Frank, L., Forsythe, L., Ellis, L., Schrandt, S., Sheridan, S., Gerson, J., ... & Daugherty, S. (2015). Conceptual and practical foundations of patient engagement in research at the patient-centered outcomes research institute. Quality of Life Research, 24(5), 1033-1041.

Luxford, K., Safran, D. G., & Delbanco, T. (2011). Promoting patient-centered care: a qualitative study of facilitators and barriers in healthcare organizations with a reputation for improving the patient experience. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 23(5), 510-515.

Morgan, S., & Yoder, L. H. (2012). A concept analysis of person-centered care. Journal of holistic nursing, 30(1), 6-15.

Pulvirenti, M., McMillan, J., & Lawn, S. (2014). Empowerment, patient centred care and self‐management. Health Expectations, 17(3), 303-310.