We all want to be involved in the critical decision about our own medical care and treatments. As a healthcare provider, I’m well aware that I can not just assume, or surmise my patient’s goals or needs. It is crucial for all health care providers, both traditional and Eastern, to discern what exactly a patient wants, hopes, and needs.
Patients’ values, feelings, and opinions matter, even when they may be different than the treating physician’s. There must be respect for the patient and their opinion. Patient-centered care may seem pretty straightforward and obvious. Unfortunately, many patients have often failed to receive this important kind of considerate care.
Times have changed. Treating people according to a set of guidelines or abstract policies is no longer acceptable. Physicians are responsible for keeping up with current research, news, details of drug interactions and long-term consequences of new developments by continuing their education in their field of study. Being informed allows a practitioner to offer more comprehensive treatment, care, and perspective.
Patients also tend to be better informed and they want a say in their treatments, often preferring as little intervention in the form of medication or surgery, as possible. As practitioners, we must respect these different perspectives and values, even if we feel we know what’s best because people are looking for providers who not only offer exceptional care but also care about the individual as a person. People want care based on their own needs.
There must be both a cultural and systemic change to shift the focus so that more physicians can practice patient-centered care. Culturally, practitioners need to be accepting of other’s perspectives and options. Systemically, practitioner need to be given more time and energy to each patient. The assembly-line attitude towards a practitioner’s productivity needs to end.
The system also needs to change in terms of insurance coverage, because people’s health suffers when they can’t afford basic care. High quality, long-term, comprehensive decisions need to be encouraged, rather than the quick-fix, time-saving treatments that often prevail, like more medication or surgery. The system needs to allow shared decision-making between the patient and practitioner. More traditional medical practitioners need to understand the importance of overall health and wellness and offer referrals, contacts, and treatments options that fall outside conventional Western medicine.
For many patients, trusting their experienced doctors is a comfort in itself, as health care is increasingly specialized and it’s hard to know everything. Still, there is room for the patient in health care, to ensure that all protocols, treatments, and decisions made are to benefit the patient’s goals and health and wellness needs.
According to research by the Picker Institute and Harvard Medical School, what really matters most to patients can be summarized as the 8 Dimensions of Patient-Centered Care:
1. Respect for patients’ values, preferences, and expressed needs
2. Coordination and integration of care
3. Information and education
4. Physical comfort
5. Emotional support and alleviation of fear and anxiety
6. Involvement of family and friends
7. Continuity and transition
8. Access to care
Contributor
Acupuncturist, herbalist, Maya abdominal practitioner, and reflexologist Christina Morris is the founder of Element Natural Healing Arts. Writing about health and wellness gives her an outlet to express her care and concern for her beloved community. She believes everyone can achieve better health and happiness–emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.