Patient Driven Care

A greta post on Paul Levys blog, in which he proclaims following a meeting in IHI that he is no longer an advocate for patient centered care, but henceforth will be proclaiming the benefits of patient driven care. In his own words,

"What I am suggesting is that clinicians should do their best to collaborate with patients to understand their needs and desires and to jointly design plans of care that are as consistent as possible with those needs and desires."

Such a move would require a sea change in the way we practice and deliver care. It reminds me of a good friend who when i told him the difficulty I was having in getting a computer in my clinic room asked me why I needed a computer. To access UpToDate and other resources, I replied. "You mean you would look up information in front of patients?", was the stunned response.

Pauls point aligns nicely with what Maureen Bisognano said at the International Forum, that patients are our greatest unused resource. 

Depression, the inside story

Anyone interested in how our system within our own lifetimes treated people should read this article. It is harrowing. Unfortunately I think mental illness is still seen as a weakness, "just snap out of it, for gods sake" is often the response. I am aware of employers who have failed in their statutory responsibility to ensure those with mental illness receive the same entitlements and protections afforded to every employee. We are not as civilized as we think.
A quote from the psychiatrist who treated the patient:

"Our patients are our best teachers. Jackie has taught me a huge amount about depression: what it feels like, the impact on sufferers’ and their family, and what does and doesn’t help.I have seen the toll taken by this ubiquitous disease, no less devastating in its impact than other chronic conditions. Jackie, an able and enthusiastic student, could barely finish her course at University, her employment prospects have been blighted, her social life restricted, and her capacity for pleasure and fulfilment curtailed. At their worst psychiatric services reinforce sufferers’ feelings of isolation and powerlessness." 

Increase comfort in the face of uncertainty

IDEO are a very interesting design and innovation firm based in California, and have done a lot of work in this area with Kaiser Permanante. They have provided assistance to the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, Texas Children's Paediatric Associates, (the largest primary paediatric care network in the US) and many others. Their website is well worth checking out for anyone with an interest in healthcare innovation in its softer (i.e. not hardware, expensive drugs and hi tech equipment) guise. What caught my eye recently was a blog by an IDEO employee with the title that I have posted above. I liked their use of data from Twitter, and Google Analytics to measure the "buzz" in real time generated by their ideas.
This comes back to the point made by Maureen Bisognano recently, about using the power of patients to seek ideas. If we could measure what people believe is important judged by what they search or discuss on line, perhaps it might help us focus on what matters to patients as opposed to what matters to the "providers". Just a thought.
This I think is an area where some Irish design consultancies might find a niche.