Patients’ Understanding
Patients today are well conversant with the complexities of healthcare delivery. Hence, they are able to comment on ‘quality’ in a meaningful way. Modern people are increasingly health-conscious and they take constant efforts to improve their understanding/knowledge in healthcare delivery. In addition, the growing popularity of the internet and smartphone technologies makes healthcare information readily accessible to patients, who spend a fair amount of time browsing health-knowledge providing websites. In addition, today many of the healthcare journals are openly available to people, and it assists patients to be informed of the complexities developing in the landscape of healthcare delivery.
Kendal Regional Medical Center’s Quality Improvement Program
It is good to see that Kendall Regional Medical Center involves patients in its Quality Improvement program so as to generate high quality healthcare outcomes. Primarily, the organization provides patients with a wide range of information regarding their health status and care. This health institution allows patients to request or refuse treatment given that patients cannot request a treatment that appears medically unnecessary or inappropriate. In every stage of the treatment, patients are encouraged to actively participate in the decision making process in order to enhance patient engagement in the quality improvement program (Kendall Regional Medical Center).
Patient Engagement
I am of the opinion that this engagement with patients is simply a way to comply with legal policies and regulations without seriously integrating patient feedback. Most of the health institutions, including Kendall Regional Medical Center, promote patient engagement simply to adhere to legal formalities and to avoid lawsuits or other legal proceedings from the part of patients in future.
Tools/methods
Commonly, a patient feedback register is used to gather and assess patient experiences and feedbacks regarding healthcare delivery. Sometimes questionnaire method or online market surveys may be employed to evaluate patients experience and opinions but it is a costly approach. With the emergence of social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter, today it is possible for healthcare institutions to gather and assess patient experiences/ feedbacks at cheaper costs (MedNet staff, 2014).
Advantages and/or Disadvantages
The policy of patient involvement in Quality Improvement has both advantages and disadvantages. The most advantageous feature of this concept is that it can assist health providers to achieve a greater level patient cooperation in the treatment process and thereby to enhance the quality of patient outcomes (Jordan, Briggs, Brand & Osborne, 2008). In addition, this approach is essential to respect patients’ individuality and freedom. At the same time, this practice is disadvantageous too because sometimes patients may misuse the engagement provision by requesting an unwanted treatment or refusing an inevitable medical intervention; and, both the situations would lead to unfavorable healthcare outcomes.
Challenges
Undoubtedly, taking patients’ experience of care in Quality Improvement involves some challenges. If patients do not take serious efforts to assess their care experience or if they misinterpret the experience, then patient engagement would negatively add to the Quality Improvement program. In every occasion, it cannot be assumed that patients are able to completely understand their experience of care. If health providers completely trust patients with regard to their experiences of care, then the Quality Improvement program may generate unintended outcomes.
Suggestions
In order to eliminate such threats and to enhance proper development of Quality Improvement program, the health institution is advised to evaluate patients’ experiences of care effectively before taking them into account. Furthermore, health providers, at any circumstance, should not foster patient engagement in a way that would hurt patient safety.
References
Jordan, J. E, Briggs, A. M, Brand, C. A & Osborne, R.H. (2008). Enhancing patient engagement in chronic disease self-management support initiatives in Australia: the need for an integrated approach. The Medical Journal of Australia, 17, 189(10 Suppl), S9-S13.
Kendall Regional Medical Center. Patient Rights and Responsibilities and Patient Visitation Rights. Retrieved from http://kendallmed.com/patients/patient-information/patient-rights-and-responsibilities-and-patient-visitation-rights.dot
MedNet staff. (April 24, 2014). Using social media to gather patient feedback. Med News Blog. Retrieved from http://www.mednet-tech.com/newsletter/internet-marketing/using-social-media-to-gather-patient-feedback
