HCAD Disscussion

We are shifting our perspective from one that is looking at the big picture of healthcare to one that is looking at the individual person seeking care.

The Institute of Medicine defines patient-centered care as: "Providing care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values, and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions."[1] While this definition clearly emphasizes the importance of a patient's perspective in the context of clinical care delivery, it does not allow managers to focus on the actual "person" inside the institutional role of the patient.

While patient-centered care emphasizes the value of increased sensitivity to a patient's preferences, needs, and values, what we want to focus on is how decisions made by healthcare leaders affect the actual experience of a person receiving that care.

So with the "real person" in mind, this week's question is:

"What can healthcare leaders do in improve the actual personal experience that "real people" go through as our "patients?"