Considering the direction in which the healthcare industry is heading, it makes good business sense for healthcare organizations to prioritize the improvement of patient and family experience. That said, the decision to focus on this aspect of care is also personal for many healthcare experts.
Three professionals — Scott Ellner, DO, CEO of Englewood, Colo.-based Centura Health Physician Group; Sue MacInnes, chief market solutions officer of Medline Industries; and Alison Tothy, MD, chief experience and engagement officer at the University of Chicago Medicine — shared personal stories Thursday at the Becker's Hospital Review 7th Annual Meeting about why they have become champions of the patient and family experience improvement process at their respective organizations.
Here are the responses of the three presenters when asked the question "Why are you passionate about the patient and family experience?" The responses are detailed below.
Note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Dr. Tothy
"I've been a patient, I'm a mom whose children have been patients and have family members and loved ones who have been patients as well. It's really hard personally to ignore how I want the healthcare experience to be for my children, as well as my children's children in the future. That's a lot of what drives me. The other piece is that I work clinically and every time I do so I see a huge number of patients that really need the healthcare system. Seeing that every day makes me think about the system and how we can make it better."
Dr. Ellner
"I have harmed a patient, and that, to me, was the most humbling experience I've ever had. There is nothing worse than the shame, fear, guilt and feeling of being judged that I felt when my patient, Bonnie, was dying in the intensive care unit with septic shock after an elective colon resection. There is nothing worse than the feeling of going home and feeling like you did something wrong, even if it was unintentional.
"The important thing to remember is that part of that experience, in addition to learning from it, is to build trust with the patient as well as the family. During the 72 days Bonnie was — thankfully — recovering in the ICU, her family trusted me to get her through that experience. That meant sitting down with the family before going through any procedure, informing them of what the patient was going through and sharing in the decision-making process. We all make mistakes, but I learned a lot about engaging patients and the family throughout this process and communicating effectively rather than backing off if something goes wrong."
Ms. MacInnes
"There have been a couple of experiences that have been crucial to my career in healthcare and created my sense of passion. The first occurred when I got pneumonia and was in the hospital for a week, during which time I watched the clinicians. I remember being discharged and being taught how to use a breather and, when I followed their instructions, ended up spraying myself in the face. I realized how short we fall in healthcare of really talking to and explaining important care matters to patients properly. The second experience came when I developed sepsis and was admitted to the hospital for another week, during which time I observed clinicians again and learned more.
"The third experience came when my husband died of [Lou Gehrig's disease] four years ago. I can tell you patient experience has everything to do with the choices I make regarding healthcare after that happened. We went to one of the best hospitals in the country and left it after a physician treated my husband like a research rat. We also left the emergency room of another prestigious hospital after being made to wait more than three hours in a room with a sign that read 'We'll take you in order of importance.' So to me, patient experience is everything in healthcare."
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