Patient-centered care. Family-centered care. Relationship-based care. I see these terms used freely around the Internet and blogosphere. I suspect they mean different things to different people, but as a patient advocate, I think they merit serious discussion. In shifting from a task-based approach to more a patient- and family-centered model of care that seeks to […]
Every 67 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer’s in the U.S. It’s an irreversible, progressive brain disease that affects more than 5.0 million people today, and by 2050, that number is expected to triple. With enactment of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act in 2011, finally, Alzheimer’s Disease became a national health priority, bringing funding and stakeholders together […]
As the Memorial Day weekend approaches, the staff and contributors of EngagingPatients.org are pausing to honor our Nation’s military, past and present. Best wishes to you and your families for a safe and happy holiday. You can watch for further insights on engaging patients next Thursday, May 29.
As a patient advocate for more than a decade, I felt exhilarated when I first read, Safety is Personal, the Report on Consumer Engagement in Patient Safety published by the National Patient Safety Foundation’s Lucian Leape Institute. It gets to the point quickly with its call to action: Engage patients and families as partners. While […]
This week, I was once again reminded of the prevalence and impact of low health literacy. An article on WashingtonPost.com penned by CVS Caremark pointed to these statistics from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that looked at the elder segment of the population, age 65 and older: 2/3 of older people are unable to […]
There are so many good things happening in healthcare to advance patient and family engagement. Yet, when I boot up my computer and check my Twitter feed, I just shake my head wondering if people have missed the point. Perhaps, it’s inevitable with Twitter’s 140-character limitation. However, it sounds as though people think they’ve found […]
Chronic diseases exact a huge toll in terms of human and financial impact. According to the CDC, chronic diseases account for $3 of every $4 spent on healthcare — nearly $7,900 for every American with a chronic disease. What’s more, they cause 7 out of every 10 deaths. As a woman who has been relatively […]
As a patient advocate for 10-plus years for my father, mother, and now for my spouse who has chronic heart disease, the topic of patient engagement really hits home. It’s becoming increasingly clear to me that if the healthcare industry is to succeed in reducing readmissions and improving outcomes, engagement must include the family. It […]