Health equity refers to the concept of ensuring that everyone has a fair opportunity to attain their highest level of health. It involves addressing disparities in health outcomes and access to healthcare services. The COVID-19 pandemic has glaringly exposed deep-seated health disparities within the United States and globally, which existed long before the pandemic. Prior to [...]
As a seasoned registered nurse with decades of experience in the healthcare industry, you'd think I'd have all the answers when it comes to navigating the intricacies of the medical system. However, even with my background, a recent health scare opened my eyes to the challenges and frustrations that patients often face when seeking care. It [...]
Why is it so difficult to make patients feel cared for, treated with kindness and respect, and include the patient and family in the patient’s healthcare plan? Even the simple things like delivering a meal on time and at the right temperature or answering a call - bell in a timely manner seem like an impossible [...]
“In a world where you can be anything, be kind.” -Author unknown Kindness is a word that is generally accepted to mean the quality of being friendly, generous, empathic, sympathetic and considerate. I recently attended a Gathering of Kindness conference and came to understand that kindness can be by omission where you leave thoughts unsaid or [...]
Patient experience is an emerging field, driven in part by the increasing emphasis from regulation, reimbursement incentives, and consumer demands. It goes far beyond providing excellent clinical care. Care today requires that every aspect of the patients’ journey is considered and addressed. Some critical touchpoints in this journey include physical comfort, convenience, patient awareness and understanding [...]
In a facebook group called “Show me your stethoscope/ A nation of Nurses” a question was posed. “Are patients’ customers?” There were 2,734 responses as of the date of this writing. Although I did not read all of them, I did read many and the majority are from nurses who said an emphatic “NO!” Utilizing, I [...]
I recently investigated refinancing my home. My first thought was, “Why can’t they make this easier?” The first lender I dealt with made it so difficult to comply with the overburdensome requirements for various financial documents that I almost didn’t go through with the refinance. Instead, I looked at another vendor who made it easier, however, [...]
Patients seeking care are fragile. They are occupied with concerns and may be worried, especially if they are admitted to hospitals. In the context of this environment, a partnership between patients and their care providers is vital. Patients must be at the center of all we do because it is their health, wellbeing, and healthcare decisions, [...]
The landscape of healthcare is rapidly shifting to incorporate the best practices in the customer experience discipline that have been tried, tested, and fine-tuned by many businesses across the globe. Customers in business purchase products and services because they want to do so. Customers in the healthcare world DO NOT want to be customers. But they [...]
Dear Friends and Colleagues in Patient Experience, When I last wrote, I focused on the importance of enhancing the Patient Experience now more than ever with the impact of COVID on our healthcare delivery systems. What I did not mention at the time was that I have been working on the front line in a Long-Term [...]