Patient-Centered Care Concepts Patient-centered care is the focus of bringing the patient to be more hands on with their care and have a voice about their medical needs. For this to be applicable, the entire medical staff needs to be effective and have a good source of communication between one another (Epstein, R. M., & Street, R. L. (2011). The goal of this paper is to provide effective exemplars and tools in providing positive patient-centered care to achieve positive patient outcomes by focusing on comfort, pain, and safety.
Patient-Centered Care Patient-centered care is used universally throughout the medical field, therefore having various approaches to the definition. Although with each definition being different, the goal of patient-centered …show more content…
Pain is defined as, “An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage” (International Association for the Study of Pain, 2012). Pain is whatever the patient says it is. People express pain in many ways, whether they openly show it or not. This concept is the same way people perceive how they are comforted. Comfort is defined as, “A state of having basic human needs met, allowing for ease, relief, and transcendence” (Kolcaba, 1991). Pain and comfort go hand in hand with patient-centered care. The patient is given a voice in their plan of treatment, and that includes the terms of how their pain is controlled and how their comfort is received. For example, if a patient refuses pain medication because their culture does not believe in it, it is the doctors job to respect their wishes. Moreover, comfort varies greatly between people. Not everyone likes to be cared for in the same way, because not everyone comes from the same background. A comforting touch may be okay with one patient, but another could prefer to be left alone. Knowing the patients background is important for keeping them at the center of their care, and showing them they their wishes are respected. Although pain and comfort are important for patient satisfaction; safety is crucial in reducing errors and looking out for the patient’s …show more content…
Safety is defined as, “"Minimizes risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance" (QSEN, 2012). Patient handoff between nurses is a prime example of safety and effective communication. In an article written by Tamara Kear, she explains the importance of effective communication with patient handoffs between staff and patients. Communication should include four important factors: the sender, the message, the receiver, and feedback (Kear, 2016). It is important to have good communication between patient handoffs not only between the staff, but between staff and the patient as well. This is contributing to patient centered care by involving the patient with any changes that may have occurred in their plan of care. For example, if a patient were to be discharged from the hospital it is important to discuss the plan of care and expectations the doctor may have for the patient to uphold their health. This is for the safety of the patient and to go over any concerns or questions they have about their condition. Keeping the patient aware of safety risks and educating them are all important elements of patient-centered
Patient-Centered Care Patient-centered care is used universally throughout the medical field, therefore having various approaches to the definition. Although with each definition being different, the goal of patient-centered …show more content…
Pain is defined as, “An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage” (International Association for the Study of Pain, 2012). Pain is whatever the patient says it is. People express pain in many ways, whether they openly show it or not. This concept is the same way people perceive how they are comforted. Comfort is defined as, “A state of having basic human needs met, allowing for ease, relief, and transcendence” (Kolcaba, 1991). Pain and comfort go hand in hand with patient-centered care. The patient is given a voice in their plan of treatment, and that includes the terms of how their pain is controlled and how their comfort is received. For example, if a patient refuses pain medication because their culture does not believe in it, it is the doctors job to respect their wishes. Moreover, comfort varies greatly between people. Not everyone likes to be cared for in the same way, because not everyone comes from the same background. A comforting touch may be okay with one patient, but another could prefer to be left alone. Knowing the patients background is important for keeping them at the center of their care, and showing them they their wishes are respected. Although pain and comfort are important for patient satisfaction; safety is crucial in reducing errors and looking out for the patient’s …show more content…
Safety is defined as, “"Minimizes risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance" (QSEN, 2012). Patient handoff between nurses is a prime example of safety and effective communication. In an article written by Tamara Kear, she explains the importance of effective communication with patient handoffs between staff and patients. Communication should include four important factors: the sender, the message, the receiver, and feedback (Kear, 2016). It is important to have good communication between patient handoffs not only between the staff, but between staff and the patient as well. This is contributing to patient centered care by involving the patient with any changes that may have occurred in their plan of care. For example, if a patient were to be discharged from the hospital it is important to discuss the plan of care and expectations the doctor may have for the patient to uphold their health. This is for the safety of the patient and to go over any concerns or questions they have about their condition. Keeping the patient aware of safety risks and educating them are all important elements of patient-centered