Uniform

I'm such a dedicated employee =D This cap matches our scrubs!

There has been a lot of talk on patient satisfaction, and how to obtain it. Any more of this, and we might be heading in the direction of the Americans, where more emphasis is placed on making the patient happy than delivering good care. I'm happy for the recent improvements where there is more importance being placed on the patient experience. Patients are coming in at a very vulnerable time, and it is crucial to treat our patients with respect and dignity. The old adage of the crusty doctor telling patients exactly what to do and how to do it has pretty much fallen by the wayside. More and more we are trying to get the patient in the driver seat to direct the goals of their care. One of the reasons I enjoyed working with anaesthesiologists as a medical student was that they were always nice to their patients, and made an effort to put them at ease. Not only does patient-centred care empower patients, and give them some control in what often is a chaotic aspect of their lives, it also improves patient adherence to therapy, and leads to better outcomes. That being said, sometimes there is too much emphasis on making the patient happy that we are forgetting the point of health care provision -- caring for the patient's health.


Sometimes, it seems that how well a patient's care has been delivered is only measured by patient satisfaction. It is no longer patient centred care. It becomes satisfaction centred care. If a provider doesn't agree with a patient's proposed plan, a satisfaction-centred physician may let it go, and give into what the patient proposes. A patient centred physician may explain to the patient why their proposed course of treatment doesn't apply in this case, and suggest something more fitting for the patient's condition. Whether or not the experience is satisfactory is subject to the patient, but I'd say that the physician did their best to deliver patient centred care.

Someone brought up an instance where a patient presented to the ER was initially assessed as being clinically OK and discharged. The next day, more clinical information became available and it was determined that the patient requires treatment, so the patient was informed ASAP and asked to return to the ER. The patient complained about the inconvenience of having to come back to the hospital. If I was the patient, I'm not sure if I would've complained. Would you?