PATIENT: A Tool to Assist in Creating a Patient-Centered Team Approach to Health-Care Delivery: Lessons From a Physician Patient

Abstract

Working as a physician, I believed that health care was patient focused and that patients were active participants in their own care. A few years ago, I started a lengthy and complex journey of my own as a patient, whereby I was awakened to the fact that the health-care system does not value the patient voice nor are they included in their care. I found myself having a unique perspective, whereby I understood health-care delivery from my work as a physician; but I also understood now the patient’s perspective in great detail. I know that the patient’s voice is an invaluable asset in health care. Knowing what I now know, I have begun giving presentations about the patient experience to health-care professionals. I developed the acronym ‘PATIENT,’ to educate health-care professionals with the necessary tools to help evolve health-care delivery to the patient-centered team approach.