Patient Safety: A Consumer’s Perspective

Abstract

In this article we provide a reconceptualization of patient-centered health care practice through a collaborative person-centered model for enhanced patient safety. Twenty-one participants were selected and interviewed from the internationally diverse population of individuals attending the Chicago Patient Safety Workshop (CPSW) sponsored by Consumers Advancing Patient Safety (CAPS). Analysis of the participant transcripts revealed three findings related to patient experience: the impact and meaning of communication and relationship within the health care setting, trust and expectation for the patient and family with the health care provider, and the meaning and application of patient-centeredness. Researchers concluded that successful planning toward enhanced patient-centered care requires multiple perspectives, including the voices of the patient and family members who have experienced the trauma of preventable medical error. Collaborative initiatives such as the CPSW and CAPS offer a positive way forward for enhanced patient safety and quality of care.

Do older patients' perceptions of safety highlight barriers that could make their care safer during organisational care transfers?

“…The findings from this study support recent evidence that communication and patient centredness are important in making people feel safe 49. It is proposed that communication and responsiveness are important components to providing safe care to the patient when going through an OCT, while there has been a call to apply theories more widely to patient safety practices 50.…”

Seeing It from Both Sides: Do Approaches to Involving Patients in Improving Their Safety Risk Damaging the Trust between Patients and Healthcare Professionals? An Interview Study

“…Staff concerns about patients losing confidence in them, maintaining professional integrity, and their misplaced distrust in some patient actions, warrants careful consideration if efforts to promote patient involvement in improving patient safety are to succeed. This is particularly relevant given the emphasis on the importance of the relational aspects of care delivery apparent in our respondent groups and that the need for provider permission is a consistently elicited barrier to patient engagement in general [32,35,36,39,55,56]. …”

Feeling Confident in Using PICC Lines

“…Patients also highlight the importance of support from nurses at the health clinic and hospital 19,27 to facilitate and manage everyday situations. 29 A salutogenetic approach focuses on health instead of disease and uses a sense of coherence (SOC) built on comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness. This approach is a tool for patients, relatives, and nurses to handle future demands by being involved in decision-making processes in caring situations.…”