Patient-Centered Care: A Case Study

Once revered by the volume of care provided, insurance companies now emphasize value of the care provided. In order to remain successful in a market such as this, healthcare institutions must adopt a new culture where the patient experience is central to the care provided. This culture needs to envelope a new mindset where the patient, and patient family are considered equal, active participants in their care.

An approach to delivering care that is growing in significance for healthcare organizations is patient-centered care. Patient-centered care is the idea that patients are unique beings, and care is delivered on their own terms. In order for care to be centered on the patient, care providers must listen to the patients, keep them informed, as well as respect their involvement in their own care (Epstein & Street, 2011).

Nevertheless, many organizations continue to struggle with what “it” is. This ambiguity ultimately leaves many with vague or muddled expectations for what constitutes patient-centered care. Is it a surprise, then, that many leaders report feeling bewildered at how to go about becoming more patient-centered? Or that others, convinced that their approach is indeed a patient-centered one, are surprised to find data reflecting patient and/or staff discontent? In the broadest terms, patient-centered care is care organized around the patient. It is a model in which providers partner with patients and families to identify and satisfy the full range of patient needs and preferences. Not to be overlooked in defining patient-centered care is its concurrent focus on staff. To succeed, a patient-centered approach must also address the staff experience, as staff’s ability and inclination to effectively care for patients is unquestionably compromised if they do not feel cared for themselves. Although patients may not always be able to accurately assess the clinical quality of their care, or whether safety processes are in place, patient safety and high clinical quality are fundamental to a patient-centered approach. Patient-centered care does not replace excellent medicine―it both complements clinical excellence and contributes to it through effective partnerships and communication. A wealth of resources exists to guide organizations in addressing clinical

Person centred practice asks us to see the person first, illness second, everyone has the basic human right of choice, independence, respect and dignity.

Communication is key to effective healthcare practices. According to American Journal Of Critical Care (2014), Patient-centered care starts with “effective communication, being empathetic and available, avoiding personal prejudges, and listening therapeutically are integral parts of patient-centered care” (Riley, White, Graham, Alexandrov, 2014, p. 320). This will improve communication; promote patient involvement in care, which creates a positive relationship with the healthcare provider and medical team. This results in improved adherence to treatment plan. Clinical practice guidelines need to be implemented for the patient and family members to be able to be involved in informed decision-making regarding healthcare needs. The fundamental core of nursing is to have a partnership with the patient and their family regarding the patient’s outcome.

Patient-centered care refers to the view that patients and their family members are partners in developing a care plan. This stems from the belief that the patient is in control and that the care provided is rooted in respect that addresses the patient’s personal needs and values (Barnsteiner & Sherwood, 2012). Creating a partnership with a patient that allows them to grasp the goals and methods of their plan of care and includes them in the decision-making process can prevent errors from occurring. This gives the patient the opportunity to correct any

The Chapelhow et al. (2005) effectively portrays a framework that provides patients with an approach to person centered care. It provides health professionals with important aspects that allow them to perform in an effective way that has the best interests of the patients at heart. The characteristics it outlines are assessment, communication, risk management, record keeping and documentation, professional decision making and managing uncertainty.

• Patient-centered—providing care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions.

This essay aims to describe briefly what is meant by patient-centred care. It will also focus and expand on two key aspects of patient dignity - making choices and confidentiality. Patient-centred care (PCC) is an extensively used model in the current healthcare system (Pelzang 2010:12). PCC is interpreted as looking at the whole person and considering their individual values and needs in relation to their healthcare. By implementing a PCC approach it ensures that the person is at the very centre of any plans that are made and has a dynamic role in the decision making process (Pelzang 2010:12).

Person-centred care was first introduced by a physiologist named Carl Rogers, in the 1960s. He believed every patient should be treated with respect and dignity. According to his approach he uses his core principles to identify individual needs. These principles have benefits for the patient, health care worker and health service. Some of the key principles of Person-centred care (PCC) is showing respect and dignity, cultural competency, knowing the patient, mutually beneficial partnerships, Information sharing, self-management, communication and interaction, continuity, and choice and empowerment.

Patient centered care is defined as “the practice of caring for patients (and their families) in ways that are meaningful and valuable to the individual patient, which includes listening to, informing and involving patients in their care” (Grenier and Knebel, 2003). Five challenges presented in patient centered care are patient obstacles, physician and practice obstacles, facility obstacles, community obstacles, and health literacy.

This essay is based on the Case study of a patient named as Mrs Ford. It will be written as a logical account, adopting a problem solving approach to her care. She is elderly and has been admitted onto a medical ward in the hospital, following a stroke. This essay analyses the care that she will receive and focuses on the use of assessment tools in practice. Interventions will be put in place directly relating to the assessment feedback and in line with best practice.

In the physical realm of patient-centered care pain, comfort, sleep, and rest are important aspects of the fourth dimension of patient-centered care. Patient-centered care is the complete focus of the medical team on providing respectful care to meet patient needs, preferences and values guide decisions on each individual patient care. To understand the subjective view of the patient, these four aspects are at the forefront of their needs within the hospital setting to provide the best patient outcome. Nurses provide good patient-centered care by actively partnering with patients to determine care priorities and plans to tailor their level of involvement, according to their preferences, and being flexible by changing the care plan as the situation changes including providing smooth transitions between care goals. By doing this, nurses can assist patients with all pain by providing comfort and assuring the patient that there will be no deficiency of their quality of sleep.

Patient provider relationships play a pivotal role in the healthcare process. This relationship helps to bridge the gap between ailments of the patient and the diagnosis and care of the provider. The need for this relationship and its propensity to create the catalyst for patients need to be fulfilled is second only to the medical knowledge of the provider and the patient 's willingness to get better. As we have moved from a biomedical perspective to a biopsychosocial perspective the relationship between provider and patient has changed from physician centered modes of communication to more of a patient centered style of communication. And with the change of view we find that a strong and cohesive bond between patient and provider is the key to the advancement and overall quality of care for the patient. According to The Impact of Patient-Centered Care on Outcomes a patient centered approach to care has a correlation to a better healthcare outcome. Focusing on the patient increases compliance of the patient.

Nursing involves greater purpose beside the objective of treating patients’ ailments in an efficient and effective manner. Nurses, physicians, and health care providers across the board uphold the duty to treat patients with the utmost value of care. As a universal definition of care does not exist, Anita Finkelman and Carole Kenner explain care is drawn from four perspectives: a sense of care involving compassion, knowledge and expertise that allows nurses to advocate for the patient in addition to treating the medial complication, and “…competence in carrying out all the required procedures, personal and technical, with true concern for providing the proper care at the proper time in the proper way (Finkelman & Kenner, 2013) . Combining the foundation of every perspective leads to the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) first core competency of patient-centered care. Sans the image of patient-centered care the practice of nursing and medicine alike will lack the passion the American Nursing Association envisions for “the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and care of individuals, families, communities, and populations” (Finkelman & Kenner, 2013). Therefore, the author of this paper explores the IOM’s definition of patient-centered care, implementation of the concept, and its pivotal relationship to the nursing profession.