Patient Centred Care Is Healthcare

Many healthcare leaders are advocates for, and believe that patient engagement and experience has gained true importance and value in improving healthcare quality, it has easily become the ‘heart’ of the core definition of ‘quality care’. It is clear that patients are able to provide expertise beyond generic feedback on ways of improving the patient experience.

Traditionally, health care was grounded on a paternalistic model where healthcare professionals were viewed as the experts in the field and directed decisions for patient, and patients were passive recipients of care (Gluyas, 2015; Mazurenko et al., 2015). In recent decades, the worldwide recognition of individual patients’ needs and preferences as an important aspect of high-quality healthcare that is responsive to the patient, has stemmed the concept of patient-centred care (Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care [ACSQHC], 2011).

Health facilities aim to achieve client satisfaction of care through every health profession worker despite directly providing care or not. As the patient, subjective experience will define the patient perception across the continuum care. Consequently, person centered care technique through communication enables the nurse to give more effective nursing care to patients. As everyone in the healthcare service works in partnership, to deliver care responsive to the patient’s individual abilities, needs, preferences and goals.

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).

Patients seek medical attention for preventative measures, as well as, diagnostic measures. Patients must have a trusting rapport with their collaborative medical team, as the nurses and the doctors are the people who they trust their lives with. Patients do not always present to hospitals, urgent cares, walk-in clinics, or even doctor’s offices only when they are sick; patients visit to ensure their good health will continue, treatment regimens are of benefit, changes that may be needed in regimen. When someone thinks of a patient they may think of some of these characteristics: illness, disease, hospital, medications, health, and prevention.

Often times patients are waiting until conditions have escalated rather than contact their provider for proper management of their condition. Educating patients is vital to initiating a change in this area. With increased education and awareness on the patients and providers part, this will begin to significantly reduce cost. When patients are informed and are able to be active participants in their healthcare patients have a better overall health experience and are more satisfied with their health care. The overall goal is to increase patient satisfaction and reduce escalating healthcare cost. The triple aim aligns with this proposed population. By educating and having patient take an active role in their health care it will hopefully improve the patient’s experience. Ultimately patients need to be satisfied and feel they are receiving quality care which is the goal of the triple aim (“The IHI Triple Aim”,

In any practice of care, nurses must be able to provide care that is holistic and centred to the individual client. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), to care for a patient ‘holistically’ is to look beyond their illness or disability and care for them as individuals considering not just physical but also their mental, emotional and spiritual well-being (ref). Whilst, person-centred care is to deliver care moulded to the patients’ personal preferences, treating them with value and respect, ensuring that the care provided is appropriate for their needs (Goodrich and Cornwall, 2008).

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.

Moreover, increasing costs of healthcare delivery and emerging trends toward patient empowerment and patient-centered care in order to achieve higher quality healthcare, needs patients to play a more active role in their

Ways to improve quality in patient care include, but are not limited to, active patient involvement in treatment, patient accountability, utilizing the medical technologies, conducting surveys, utilize prevention measures, and investment in patient education. Without proper patient education about their health conditions and various methods of treatment, the patients may decide not to follow doctor recommendations. Sometimes patients are diagnosed and simply prescribed medicines without being told what the home care regimen should be. Further, provider-patient relationship suffers if there is a gap in communication. Patients might receive detailed information about their treatment, but may fail to report symptoms that could impact the overall treatment approach. For example, physician

Patient care is a way to make us look at what the patients’ needs are. I see that the biggest problem in patient care is how well we controlled the patient’s pain. We get a lot of bad scores because the patient says we did not control their pain. They came in with a 10 for pain and left with a 9 or an 8. We are trying to move in a direction that we don’t medicate the patient right away, we are wanting to find ways to control pain without using medication. I think that is our biggest problem is that patients expect medication when they come in but when we don’t give it to them our scores will go down. We have to find alternatives to giving medication to the patient. If we need to give the patient medication, then we need to explain “we are giving you this mediation because” and explain in details how it is going to play an effect in their body or what other alternatives they have for that medication. We have to find ways to make our patients happy and have the idea that we can’t

In the health care system, communication is the outline of patient- centeredness involving patient’s expectations and preferences towards medical treatment, opportunities to participate in health care system to improve understanding. A Physician listen to his patient and respond in the same manner what his patient states. The patient centeredness approach follows egalitarian approach where physician works on patients agenda. Essential elements of physician patient relationship comprises of dissemination of information, decision-making approach and verbal and non-verbal communication between the two. Patients involvement in decision making increases and quality of health services also improves with the increasing patient satisfaction.

Patient-centered care puts patients at the forefront of their health and care, ensures they retain control over their own choices, helps them make informed decisions and supports a partnership between individuals, families, and health care services providers.

Out of the 101 articles that were identified by the researchers were 25 distinct frameworks and models that dealt with patient-centered care. The authors wanted to demonstrate the effectiveness of application of each of the 25 models or a combination of them.