It’s time for democracy in healthcare

Posted on October 27, 2011 by JoelHigh — 2 Comments ↓

The Occupy Wall Street movement has brought renewed attention to the voices of ordinary people. Healthcare in the U.S. historically has not been open to the voices of consumers. However, the transformation of the U.S. healthcare system requires the inclusion of the voices of healthcare consumers in decision making at a variety of levels. Healthcare organizations from the federal government to small rural hospitals and continuing care centers must find ways to include the voices of consumers in decision making.

One of the key elements in Patient-centered care is the inclusion of the voices of patients, residents, and family and community members in organizational decision making. One way this has been done successfully in many organizations is through advisory councils that include consumers and other organizational stakeholders. Many hospitals across the country now have Patient and Family Advisory Councils that meet regularly to include those the organization serves in making decisions from design of space to the delivery of healthcare services. Alegent Health, a large, regional healthcare system based in Omaha, NE, included oncology patients and their families in the design of a new Oncology unit at Lakeside Hospital. Patients and family members had input from everything interior design to the clinical processes on the unit.

Social media has proven to be another important vehicle for the inclusion of patient’s voices in healthcare. E-Patients and patient advocates have used social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook to make the needs and wants of individual patients and healthcare consumers as a group widely known.

Occupy Wall Street and other current popular movements raise awareness for the need to again listen to the voices of everyday people. This case is as true in healthcare as it is in any arena. For too long government, insurance companies and healthcare providers themselves have set the playing field in healthcare without much regard for the needs and wants of patients. But the things are changing. Patients not only want to have a voice in healthcare decision making they are beginning to demand it. For healthcare to truly change it needs to respond like other industries to the needs and wants of those who use it products and services.

Democracy is being reinvigorated around the globe from Wall Street to Cairo. Healthcare must embrace the voice of patients and consumers for true transformation to take place. It’s time for democracy to find its way into healthcare. The U.S. healthcare system cannot be transformed with involving those who use it services.

About JoelHigh

Joel High is a healthcare consultant who works with healthcare organizations around the country to assist them in implementing Patient-centered care. He has an MDiv and an MBA. Joel is passionate about creating change in healthcare that impacts the patient experience and brings meaning back to the work of healthcare professionals. He lives in Omaha, NE.

Tagged with: democracy, patient-centered, patients
Posted in Community, Contagion, healthcare, Innovation

http://www.pursuitofpublichealth.com/ pursuitofPH

I agree completely that healthcare must embrace the voice of patients and consumers for true transformation to take place! The points you make remind of two patient-centered-care related conversations I have had.

First, I was assigned this article for a class a year or two ago – http://pulsemagazine.org/Archive_Index.cfm?content_id=119 – and felt compelled to send it on to several of my med school friends. One of my friends responded, distraught at the treatment this patient received, and said the struggle between procedures/time and “patient-centered care” feels like a constant war that continues to get worse – she also added that the fact that the term “patient-centered care” even exists infuriates her because, what in the world else would care be centered around?

A good question…So, it seems that in addition to the more formal approaches to bringing patient voices to the forefront (advisory councils, etc.), we need to think about the systems (including financial incentives) and the cultures we need to change to make patient-centered a care a reality. When medical school is so focused on teaching the technical, scientific aspects of the field (important, no doubt!) that they forget to teach the equally important aspects of interacting with patients, listening and responding well, etc., can we really expect physician culture to unequivocally embrace patient-centered care?

Second, in terms of the formal approaches and culture change approaches to making patient-centered care happen, I think we have a pretty fantastic model in community health centers, which are legally required to maintain governing boards (not just advisory councils, but actual governing boards!) that are at least 51% consumers, and which by their nature, are often very attune to the needs of their community.

I wrote about the community health center movement on my blog this past January – http://pursuitofpublichealth.wordpress.com/2011/01/22/health-and-integrated-services/ – and I think more traditional hospital systems could learn a lot from revisiting this movement and the current efforts of community health centers across the country.
- Joel High
  
  pursuitofPH, Thank you for you comments on this post. You have so many good ideas around the importance not only of Patient-centered care but more importantly of bringing the voice of the patient into healthcare. Community Health Centers are place where much good Patient-centered care is happening. Much larger organizations could learn from those smaller ones. Many physicians are beginning to get it. Does medical education need to change? Perhaps. But Patient-centered care is practices and processes that are generally organic. Therefore they begin with the most committed and others engage once they see the efficacy. Thanks again for you comments.
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