Medical Education Commons^™

A Qualitative Study: Patients' Expectation Of Private Hospitals, Sarah Jada, Jessy Jacob, Ahmad Nasrallah

Patient Experience Journal

Objectives: This study was conducted to explore patients' expectations and perceptions of private healthcare facilities, understand the key factors influencing their choice of such facilities, also identify elements that enhance patient satisfaction and loyalty, enabling the development of actionable recommendations to improve patient-centered care in private healthcare settings. Method: A qualitative study using thematic analysis was conducted with 29 patients from various nationalities and backgrounds who received services in private hospitals in Kuwait, including Dar Al Shifa Hospital. Insights were gathered through semi-structured interviews. Results: The study delved into the significant correlation between patients' experience of their healthcare encounters and …

Patient Perspectives On Health Care Utilization At Two Free Clinics – A Qualitative Study, Patrick Fagan, Danny Guillen Perez, Roberta D. Baer, John Petrilli

Patient Experience Journal

Millions of uninsured Americans access health care through free clinics, but their experience with the medical system is understudied. This study sought to understand patterns in free clinic patients' experience with healthcare utilization through qualitative and descriptive analyses. Data were collected through face-to-face, open-ended interviews at two free clinics in an urban Florida community. The clinics included one student-run free clinic and one community-based free clinic. Survey questions were developed based on prior literature and validated through expert consensus and pilot interviews. The interviewers conducted 74 interviews between May 7 and June 10, 2022. Responses were coded by the authors, …

The Patient Ombudsperson's Experience Of Patient Partnership And Mutual Understanding Of Rights, Sanna Ryynänen

Patient Experience Journal

Mutual understanding between the patient and the healthcare professional can be considered a key factor of a positive patient experience in the care relationship. Mutual understanding can be promoted through patient partnership, which, in this personal and professional narrative, the author (a patient ombudsperson, known as patient ombudsman, and researcher of patient experience) describes as participation through patient rights during care. In the relationship between the patient and the healthcare professional (i.e., who acts as a care provider in the patient's care), medical treatment decisions and related patient rights go hand in hand. Even in difficult care situations of mutual …

Beyond The White Coat: Mental Health In The Life Of A Junior Doctor, Araya Gautam

Patient Experience Journal

This article underscores the profound need for a culture that prioritises mental health, especially among doctors navigating their early careers. This personal narrative also highlights the importance of overcoming this and the challenges one can face while trying to do so. A journey of a 30-year-old doctor, as she hurdled along life with the passing of her grandparents and studying for the exam, it looked like a task that was achievable at first, but as time went by anxiety and self-doubts were not easy to navigate. This piece outlines why it is of utmost importance that we as doctor realise …

Escuchame: A Story Of Patient Resilience, Daniel Murillo Armenta, John Paul Braun

Patient Experience Journal

This article is a narrative following a patient's experience through the American Healthcare system. This article is written by a second-year medical student. During this time the individual repeatedly engaged in different specialties of medicine such as neurology, neurosurgery, oncology, emergency medicine, gynecology, and primary care. This narrative demonstrates how certain issues such as healthcare access, patient demographics, defective communication, and general mistrust of the healthcare system negatively impact patient outcomes. As an uninsured immigrant, the patient was in a disadvantaged position when her health problems first began. Due to her lack of insurance, she did not have an established …

Re-Recruitment: An Essential Aspect Of Human Experience, Thom Mayer, David Fessell, Amy Young

Patient Experience Journal

Healthcare staffing is a major issue facing leaders at all levels and is affected by turnover rates in ``The Great Resignation,'' as well as the issue of burnout, moral injury, and turnover. In seeking to deal with defining and making human experience as reality, these factors affect every level, from patient experience to workforce experience to community experience, all of which are related to not just adequate staffing and preventing turnover but doing so with our highest performing ``A Team'' members. Using the tool of re-recruitment of these high-level professionals and team members can be critical to retaining talent, while …

Leading In Turbulent Times: Why Experience Is Essential To Healthcare's Future, Jason A. Wolf

Patient Experience Journal

Healthcare systems around the world and throughout our community are being buffeted from all sides, with higher acuity patients, a vulnerable and stressed workforce, unsure finances and support structures, and even challenges to long-held medical truths. For as much as we traversed a once in a lifetime moment through the pandemic years, the residual effects and social and political sways that followed have woven their ways into healthcare overall. There is great uncertainty. There are rapidly emerging innovations. There are greater tensions in our society which show up in behaviors that impact how we provide care. These issues and more …

Patient Engagement And Co-Creation In Healthcare Services: A Scoping Review, Thiruppavai Sundaramurthi, Smita Mathews, Ella Bermudez, Satish M. Mahajan

Patient Experience Journal

Objective: The objective of this review was to find literature related to the concepts of patient engagement and co-creation in healthcare services and identify models and/or frameworks that combined these concepts. Methods: We developed the eligibility criteria using the Population-Concept-Context framework applicable to studies with population of patients exploring the concepts of engagement and co-creation in the context of healthcare services. The search was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane, APA PsycINFO, and Ovid MEDLINE. We searched for articles in English with no search limitations on publication dates. Reviewers screened abstracts and full texts to identify articles for data …

Experiences Of Using Electronic Medical Records Among Patients From Ethnic Minority Backgrounds: A Rapid Review, Corey Adams, Reema Harrison, Alison Merchant, Narelle Arblaster, Tracey Bucknall, Kathleen Gray, Guncag Ozavci, Nilmini Wickramasinghe, Vicky Yuan, Elizabeth Manias

Patient Experience Journal

This study explores the experiences of individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds using electronic medical records (EMRs) and identifies strategies to improve the inclusivity and usability of EMRs, aiming to reduce the digital divide in their access and use. A rapid review of the literature was conducted using Medline, Embase, and CINAHL databases to identify relevant studies published between 2010 and November 2023, with the assistance of a medical librarian.

A total of 44 studies were included in the review, revealing significant disparities in EMR adoption and utilization among ethnic minority groups. Three key themes of inequality were identified: presentation of …

Post-Pandemic Needs Of Unpaid Family And Friend Caregivers To Effectively Continue Caregiving Duties In One Northern Ontario Health Authority, Jodi Webber, Erin Mulroney, Mark Tatasciore, Brianna Smith, Patti-Jo Duggan, Louis Ferron, Hannah Albani, Bianca Feitelberg, Laura Tenhagen, Sophia Myles

Patient Experience Journal

The Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the support networks for older adults and caregivers as health and social care systems were forced to dramatically change the ways patients and clients interacted with providers, services, and programs. In Northern Ontario, caregivers are older, caring in more intense situations, more likely to be caring for multiple care recipients simultaneously and less likely to be in contact with health professionals. This research sought to explore the post-pandemic needs of caregivers in a Northern Ontario health catchment to better understand the needed supports. Using a collaborative and co-design approach with caregiver advisors …

Patients' Perceptions: A Group Differences Study Twelve Months Before And Twelve Months During A Worldwide Pandemic, Nancy B. Valla

Patient Experience Journal

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic subjected healthcare systems' to decreasing operational margins, enhanced regulatory scrutiny, and challenges related to patients' expectations. Until now, there was a lack of empirical evidence studying patients' perceptions prior to versus deep immersion into the pandemic. Methods: This quantitative non-experimental ex post facto causal-comparative study examined if and to what extent there were significant differences in patients' perceptions of the nurses' communications, doctors' communications, overall hospital rating, and willingness to recommend before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic for HCAHPS participating hospitals in California. The final sample size was 292 facilities grouped by two identically …

Trust Remains The Foundation Of My Practice, Saria Gouher

Patient Experience Journal

Navigating healthcare while managing the complexities of disease, especially in elderly individuals, is challenging for both patients and their families. Physicians play a crucial role as pathfinders in this journey. However, physicians often experience burnout when dealing with patients and families facing complex illnesses. This narrative highlights the characteristics that enable physicians to effectively negotiate with such patients. It describes the experience of an elderly patient during the pandemic, suffering from severe disease complications, and illustrates the uncertainties and fears that families face, feeling as though they are lost in a maze. The physician's role in guiding the patient and …

Why Human Experience Matters, Jason A. Wolf

Patient Experience Journal

As we close the 11^th volume of Patient Experience Journal and a pivotal year for experience efforts globally, it provides a moment of pause, of reflection, and an opportunity to return to purpose. As a publication accessed in over 220 countries and territories around the world, I am heartened by the fact that what is shared on these pages moves you. That what our amazing authors contribute here truly matters. This issue, with its 24 insightful articles, brings our total publication count to 570 articles. These pieces have informed us, pushed our thinking, and challenged our beliefs. This is …

Patient Experience And Virtual Reality: The Use Of An Mri Exam Simulator, Jaqueline Maria Da Silva Jms, Marcus Antonio Medeiros De Souza Mams, Mônica Augusta Reis Dos Santos Mars, Milena Loureiro De Melo Mlm, Lorena De Fátima Lucena Almeida Lfla, Alayde Ricardo Da Silva Ars, Êmilly Vitória Dos Santos Vieira Evsv, Alessandra Nascimento Pontes Anp, Jandson De Oliveira Soares Jos

Patient Experience Journal

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is a safe diagnostic method of high accuracy detection and characterization of various pathological conditions. However, due to the very closed aspect of the apparatus, the high sound amplitude emitted and the need to remain motionless for a significant time, some patients experience discomfort and high levels of anxiety, compromising time and image quality management that can impair the clinical outcome of the patient or even give up the performance of this procedure. Therefore, this study aimed to validate, with patients, the use of Virtual Reality (VR) as a humanized practice of exposure to magnetic resonance …

Accompanying People Affected By Cancer In Their Return To Life After Treatment: A Report On An Experiment Conducted In Canada, Christine Arsenault, Saskia Hazout, John Calogerinis, Françoise Poirier, Louise Normandin, Cécile Vialaron, Monica Iliescu Nelea, Marie-Pascale Pomey

Patient Experience Journal

This study aims to assess family doctors' perceived needs for improved patient follow-up post-acute treatment in oncology departments, specifically focusing on the Patient Oriented Discharge Summary (PODS) for individuals living with cancer. A cross-sectional quantitative survey targeted family doctors, and a before/after exploratory study was conducted with patients to measure their needs pre- and post-PODS implementation. Twenty-one out of 42 family doctors participated in the survey (50%). Patient data was collected at three points in time: prior to PODS implementation (T1, n = 20/30; 77%), one month later (T2, n = 20/26; 77%), and six months later (T3, n = …

Primary Care Productivity And Patient Satisfaction Community Practice: What Is The Relationship?, Thomas G. Howell Jr.

Patient Experience Journal

Research has shown a consistent positive association between patient and provider experience and improved patient outcomes and safety. There is a belief that patient satisfaction and physician productivity are competing interests. The relationship for primary care physicians, in a Midwest Health system was evaluated as part of this project. Data from Press Ganey patient satisfaction surveys on likelihood of recommending the practice and the physician were compared between primary care physicians in the top quartile of average monthly patient visits and those that were in the three lower quartiles. A secondary analysis of patient satisfaction scores related to continuous years …

The Perceived Usefulness Of Patient Narrative Feedback In Primary Care Settings, Sasmira Matta, Yuna S.H. Lee, Rachel Grob, Mark Schlesinger, Ingrid Nembhard

Patient Experience Journal

Research suggests that insights from patient narratives – stories about care experiences in patients' own words – contain information that can be used to improve care. However, assessments of narratives reported by clinical personnel have been mixed. This is the first study, to our knowledge, to systematically measure how useful personnel in primary care perceive patient narratives to be. We surveyed 276 clinical and administrative personnel in nine primary care clinics in a large health system in the United States. We found that perceived usefulness of patient narratives is generally high, but varies by individual characteristics such as level of …

A Commitment To Experience Must Reach Across The Continuum Of Care, Jason A. Wolf Phd

Patient Experience Journal

A conversation on patient experience is not restricted to one care setting, nor should it be. People's healthcare journeys are not singular instances, but most often a series of encounters that while perhaps separate operationally from the delivery side of care, all weave together to frame one experience for a patient, their family members and care partners. This special issue purposefully takes us outside the traditional conversation space for experience, looking at segments of the care continuum including primary care, ambulatory care, free clinics and even dental care and the use of non-traditional care methods such as telehealth and app-based …

Patients’ Perceptions Of Interprofessional Collaboration: A Scoping Review, Robynne Gilchrist Miss, Aayesha Kholvadia Dr, William (Bill) Burdick Prof

Patient Experience Journal

Collaboration has emerged as a pivotal element within an intentional person-centred healthcare framework. However, there is a need for evaluative feedback from patients to enhance interprofessional collaboration and its outcomes. The objective of this review was to describe the state of knowledge on the perspectives of patients living with a chronic condition regarding their experiences of interprofessional collaboration. A scoping review across five online databases (EBSCOhost, Google Scholar, PubMed Central, ScienceDirect, and Taylor & Francis Online; February 2023) identified all peer-reviewed literature published in English between the years 2018 and 2023 that reported on patients’ perspectives of, and experiences with, …

Covid-19 Vaccine Perception And Hesitancy Among Uninsured Free Clinic Patients, Samin Panahi, Brenda Spearman, Justine Sundrud, Mason Lunceford, Akiko Kamimura

Patient Experience Journal

There are many complexities regarding the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines, mainly because the COVID-19 vaccine had a fast track of development compared to vaccines developed in the past years. The purpose of this study is to understand COVID-19 vaccine perception and hesitancy among uninsured free clinic patients using the theory of planned behavior. This study had seven focus groups with 37 total participants, including 19 Spanish speakers. Free clinic adult patients (over the age of 18) participated in four focus groups during Summer of 2021. The average age of the participants was 44.7, and the majority of the participants self-identified …

“Not Your Father’S Heart”: How Healthcare Discrimination For Neurodivergent Patients Taught Me About The Human Experience, Cate Murphy

Patient Experience Journal

It is easy to assume all patients who come into a hospital for acute crisis care have a clear understanding of how their experience will be facilitated. When a patient is neurodivergent, they cannot always agree to needed intervention. This is exacerbated by the “poor timing” of questions portrayed to impact the critical care received, sometimes irreparably. This is my story of watching my young, active partner suffer two massive heart attacks and refuse intervention because he was ashamed to admit he had not seen a doctor in over thirty years. Due to his neurodivergence, he could not process questions …

Investing In The Bottom Line: The Value Case For Improving Human Experience In Healthcare, Jason A. Wolf, Vishal Bhalla, Brian Carlson, Jennifer Carron, Lanie Dixon, Julie K. Oehlert, Brant J. Oliver

Patient Experience Journal

Investment in human experience is imperative for healthcare organizations. It is a strategic focus that can lead to great benefits. Those that overlook experience, seeing it as “simply” about satisfaction or survey data, do so at great cost to their organization, team members, and most importantly those we serve – patients. A commitment to human experience – integrating the patient, workforce, and community experience – is essential for all healthcare organizations in realizing the goals they strive for and the impact they aspire to achieve. It leads to high-quality outcomes for those they care for. It creates a positive environment …

The Evolution Of Patient Experience: From Holistic Care To Human Experience, Corey Adams, Reema Harrison, Jason A. Wolf

Patient Experience Journal

Patient experience has evolved as a critical concept and outcome in health systems internationally. Evolving from consumer-led movements, coupled with shifts in the positioning of patients among clinical professions, the global focus on patient experience is now evident in nationally mandated measurement tools, the creation of dedicated institutional leadership roles, and outlets such as the Patient Experience Journal. By critically analysing the pivotal factors and milestones that have shaped its evolution throughout healthcare history, this review provides an in-depth exploration of the evolution of patient experience. In doing so, the review provides a critical analysis of the application of patient …

Looking Back To Move Forward: The Next Decade And Beyond For Human Experience, Jason A. Wolf

Patient Experience Journal

This issue comes out at an important moment for the experience conversation. It was ten years ago from the publication date of this issue on April 30, 2014, that the first issue of Patient Experience Journal (PXJ) was released. PXJ was intended to be a gathering place. A virtual town square for the experience movement where people could and would come together to share ideas and proven practice. This value of collaboration is at the foundation of our very efforts as a global community through The Beryl Institute. Experience is not some secret competitive ingredient in the world of healthcare. …

Informative Material For Patient Empowerment In Sensitive Situations, Iris Reychav, Lin Zhu, Avi Parush, Roger Mchaney, Daphne R. Raban, Amy Lauren Shapira, Rami Moshonov

Patient Experience Journal

Women diagnosed with HPV face a hard-to-understand disease that may impact their psychological and physical health and may pose challenges communicating with healthcare providers in sensitive settings. We posit patient empowerment through targeted educational materials can improve sensitive communication and lead to better health outcomes. This study measured the impact of a patient-empowerment process used in a gynecology clinic for HPV patients to improve sensitive communication during medical-related meetings and on subsequent patient empowerment outcomes. The empowerment process was based on expert-vetted informative material made accessible in the physician’s waiting room on tablet devices. Communication between physicians and patients was …

Medicine And Kindness, A Glorious Concurrence?, Araya Gautam

Patient Experience Journal

This article unfolds the journey of a 28-year-old junior doctor entangled in the throes of a pernicious anemia diagnosis during her travels abroad, a scenario exacerbated by the grip of a COVID-19 lockdown. Adrift without medical insurance and distant from her family, she found herself under the care of a compassionate on-call resident, emphasizing the crucial role of kindness and compassion in her predicament. Her treatment regimen encompassed a series of CBC tests meticulously tracking cobalamin and ferritin levels, complemented by extensive examinations for iron deficiency and a regimen of vital vitamin B12 injections, all carried out under vigilant scrutiny …

Listening As Medicine: A Thematic Analysis, Rachel Kishton M.D., Heta Patel, Divya Saini, Jeffrey Millstein M.D., Aaron Levy Ph.D.

Patient Experience Journal

Realizations of the importance of “the art of medicine” in trust-building and patient satisfaction have resulted in the incorporation of narrative medicine programs into training curricula. By learning how to respond to patient stories as well as communicate their own, healthcare providers can ensure that their patients feel heard and respected. This study seeks to define what constitutes empathetic listening through a qualitative analysis of personal narratives collected from patients, caregivers, and providers across an urban academic healthcare system. Stories (n=41) underwent thematic analysis to note common experiences related to listening during a health system encounter. Eighteen grounded codes were …

Everything I Needed To Know To Be A Pediatric Emergency Room Doctor, I Learned As A Waitress, Sarah Gard Lazarus

Patient Experience Journal

When I began my career as a pediatric emergency medicine physician, I believed I was prepared to take on any medical emergency. However, I was not prepared to provide a good patient family experience. Throughout my years of training, I was not taught productive ways of interacting with patients and was unaware of how impactful the patient family experience would be. Negative patient family experience scores affected my interactions with patients, my shared decision making and my ability to provide quality care. After working to improve my scores, I focused on skills I obtained in a non-medical setting, as a …

Living With Multiple Sclerosis As A Former Marathon Runner: Impact Of Attitude And Past Behaviour On Self-Care Maintenance And Perseverance, Michael Stephanou

Patient Experience Journal

As healthcare professionals, we have a duty to promote the wellbeing of individuals living with chronic diseases and this could be accomplished through the establishment of self-care strategies that are both collaborative and self-directed. Insight into the complex behaviours and backgrounds of individuals who show initiative in dealing with chronic disease could help achieve this by revealing drivers of health-seeking and engaging behaviours. Therefore, by deducing the complex interactions between attitude, past experiences and disease outlook, broader patient welfare could be championed through the implementation of targeted interventions which promote self-care in chronic disease. This article aims to explore these …

An Exploration Of Psychological Trauma And Positive Adaptation In Adults With Congenital Heart Disease During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Liza Morton Dr, Calum Calderwood, Nicola Cogan, Claire Murphy, Evan Nix, Jacek Kolacz Dr

Patient Experience Journal

The growing population of adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) often have lifelong experience of dealing with potentially traumatic health crises and medical uncertainty whilst facing increased vulnerability to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The COVID-19 pandemic presents additional challenges for this population including increased risk of health complications, shielding and strict social distancing, changes to medical care provision and social stigma. Despite such challenges, adults with CHD have the potential to also experience positive changes, yet little is known as to what helps cultivate positive adaptation and post-traumatic growth (PTG) within this context. The current study comprised a cross-sectional, anonymous, …