Patient Centered - or Not
Patient-centered care
supports active involvement of patients and
their families in decision-making about individual options for treatment.
We all believe in patient-centered care, or do we? Maybe there is another side to this we,
patient safety advocates, patient safety healthcare professionals and anyone
who says that they support patient centeredness hasn’t heard.
A dear friend and physician has been a long- time supporter
of patient’s involvement in their care.
This doctor is well known for spending more time with patients than the
average office visit. Patients have this
doctor’s cell phone number and there are handouts in this office with
information about Ask Me 3, Patient Safety Tips and other patient safety
literature. But, in a recent conversation, this physician tells the story of a
patient who decided to not receive a procedure that the physician agreed could
wait. After all, if the patient doesn’t want
to have a test or procedure, that can probably wait, isn’t that patient
centeredness?What happens when that test might have been a life-saving? Should a physician be expected to spend extra time trying to convince a patient to have a procedure or take a test that is important but can wait because that's what the patient wanted? There must be a yearning for some medical professionals to go back to the days when a doctor says what a patient should do and the patient does it.
