We have a problem in healthcare. That problem is this: in today's healthcare environment, especially in the United States, people take a back seat to the numbers in almost every aspect of healthcare service delivery. Productivity, utilization, and other business metrics rule the roost. If it's not calculatable, spreadsheet-able, or measurable, it hardly receives any attention from healthcare managers, administrators, and decision-makers. We can't simply sit back and allow the dehumanization that currently runs rampant in our clinics and hospitals continue to wreak havoc on one of the most important factors in clinical outcomes: the relationships between healthcare professionals and the people (patients) that they serve. Healthcare is a great and noble profession, but it will only remain so if we, as healthcare professionals, return its focus to its true purpose: people, the people receiving care, and the people working to deliver that care. After all, we're all more than simply numbers on spreadsheets or items on checklists. Better Outcomes: A Guide for Humanizing Healthcare outlines the 8 changes that organizations and clinicians need to commit to in order to return to the focus of healthcare to where it should be: the patient. The book covers topics related to truly patient-centered care, a biopsychosocial approach to service delivery, patient engagement, interpersonal communication, and developing long-term relationships with patients. Through an exploration of both clinical research and real-life examples and cases, the book outlines and supports a vision of a new healthcare, where skilled, competence, and caring clinicians care for engaged patients to promote better clinical outcomes, deliver unmatched satisfaction, and lasting relationships.
