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...

…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.

Conclusion

Based on the discussion above, there is a lot that goes into the creation of a truly patient-centered clinical experience. However, it would be prudent to note that healthcare organizations that are able to post meaningful progress on this front put themselves in a position to reap key benefits. One such benefit happens to be improved clinical outcomes. When clinical decision-making takes into consideration the preferences and values of patients, the said patients are able to better participate in the treatment journey, be more satisfied, and experience faster recovery. The creation of a patient-centered clinical experience also benefits the healthcare organization from a reputational perspective. More specifically, in the words of Griffith and White (2019), patient satisfaction is a powerful marketing tool, as satisfied customers are less likely to switch provider…