Excellence wins in healthcare
Healthcare continues to provide hospitals with the latest and greatest methods for how to improve patient-centered care; it is of the utmost importance for healthcare providers (HCPs) across the UT to stay on top of the newest hospital improvement ideas that could solve some of their biggest pain points in how to improve patient care and progress even further.
Is Healthcare A Right In India?
Right to health is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Right to health includes affordable treatment. For achieving the healthcare-for-all dream, Healthcare policy planners need to revisit the Challenges, Priorities, And the Road Ahead.
The Successes and Drawbacks of India’s Healthcare System
Healthcare has risen to become a desperate need today. The Covid-19 Pandemic has had hospitals and healthcare providers, across the globe, stress-ridden for over 2 years. This calls for a critical look at our healthcare system to celebrate its successes and feed its deficiencies. Most government hospitals and clinics across the country may be a shabby sight. But for the poor, they are the only affordable medical treatment option available. Yet, most of the poor prefer to borrow and go to private health centers, as revealed by the findings of the National Family Health Survey.
Patient expectations from healthcare
Patients don’t want more or less care; they visit hospitals primarily to address their healthcare concerns to receive appropriate treatment at the right time, from the right people through right methods. While hospitals are not designed to provide luxury accommodations like four-star hotels, patients do have certain expectations regarding the care they receive. These expectations include:
- Proper Diagnosis: Patients expect healthcare professionals to accurately diagnose their medical condition. They want to understand the cause of their symptoms and receive a clear explanation of their diagnosis.
- Effective Treatment: Patients anticipate receiving the appropriate treatment for their condition. This includes receiving the right medications, therapies, surgeries, or other interventions necessary to address their healthcare needs.
- Timely Care: Patients expect to receive treatment in a timely manner. They hope to have their healthcare concerns addressed promptly to prevent further deterioration of their condition or alleviate their symptoms.
- Skilled and Knowledgeable Staff: Patients want to be cared for by competent healthcare professionals who possess the necessary skills and knowledge to provide effective treatment. They expect doctors, nurses, and other staff members to be experienced and well-trained in their respective fields.
- Clear Communication: Patients desire clear and open communication with their healthcare providers. They expect doctors and nurses to explain their condition, treatment options, potential risks and benefits, and any necessary lifestyle changes or precautions in a way that is easily understandable.
- Compassion and Empathy: Patients hope to be treated with compassion and empathy throughout their healthcare journey. They want healthcare professionals to listen to their concerns, address their fears or anxieties, and provide emotional support during difficult times.
- Clean and Safe Environment: While hospitals may not provide luxurious amenities like hotels, patients do expect a clean and safe environment. They want hospitals to maintain high hygiene standards to prevent the spread of infections and ensure their safety during their stay..
Why do I feel anxious and panicky when visiting a hospital?
An intriguing question which haunts me often. Every day, thousands of Valleyities receive health care that helps to maintain or restore their health. A visit to a hospital is often viewed with great anxiety. Where do things go wrong? How dissatisfied patients respond to poor service quality? Many patients are concerned that the care delivered is not, essentially, the standardized one they deserve. It is not Nosocomephobia (Fear of Hospitals) a type of anxiety disorder related to other fears associated with hospital milieu. But the fear I am talking today is different, what we (have not) learned in healthcare service failure how to address issues like; (1) Deficient infrastructure (protocols & processes of provision of care), junked and non-operational tools, diagnostic or therapeutic modalities not up to date (2) Non-availability of specialists or lack of skilled professional manpower (3) Unmanageable patient load (4) Equivocal quality of services & essential safety requirements (5) Non-availability of essential medicines & high out of pocket expenditure on cancer drugs (6) Long stay in queues, waiting times, appointments compounded with “sufarish” or VIP preferential culture.
While assessing Health Care Quality from the Patient’s Perspective–beyond Pads, pens, prescriptions. It’s not just political correctness. It’s good medicine. To achieve the improvement in the quality of medical care: building bridges among professional pride and patient satisfaction –All need vision and health care reforms and above all a human touch. To achieve success in this mission, we need honesty and facts, bold statements. Not fear and half-truths –with your own organization, abiding by the “praise in public, criticise in private” philosophy can help contribute to a smooth sailing ship, but there are times when you can invoke the family clause with integrity. A healthcare facility where patients expect to receive treatment filled with expectation, hope, and empathetic healing, patient dissatisfaction arises when patients perceive that the service is insufficient, unsatisfactory, not up to standard or worse .Poor hospital conditions and system of delivering care is an increasing problem in India. Reflecting the need for urgent action, under public and media outcry, on the high rate of Mortality and Morbidity in our public hospitals, FMEA – Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, is not used as tool to improve the system for fundamental change to close the gaps, which describes a fragmented and inefficient system of healthcare leadership, clinical governance and accountability posing many risks that are preventable.
