In many ways, the current state of healthcare has been physician-centric. But especially at the onset of the pandemic, that norm became dangerous. The virus spreads more easily in places where sick people congregate — like in a doctor’s office or hospital.
Panelists explain that the pandemic has helped expose the flawed nature of the provider-centered care model at a conference on patient-centred care MedCity INVEST in Chicago on Monday.
One of the panelists, Todd Czartoski said he’s spent more than a decade trying to get doctors to embrace the concept of virtual care and how easy it could become for our patients. Czartoski is chief medical technology officer and head of telehealth for Providence, a multistate health system with 52 hospitals in Renton, Washington.
Czartoski said he made the case that patients using telehealth would not have to commute, drive across town, pay for parking, and sit in a room with other patients for 15 to 20 minutes to see a doctor. He said he still can’t get providers to join virtual care. That is, until the pandemic hits.
“It’s been hard to convince people for years until things change in early 2020.”
Consider this example, “If you think about how we’ve set it up in the past, it’s really been about optimizing the efficiency and experience of our care teams and providers.”
Today, digital-first care is an option for patients. Czartoski and other experts agree that although demand for virtual care has cooled since the initial peak at the start of the pandemic, it is still an option. Healthcare, he said, has made some strides toward patient-centricity — not just more users of virtual care, but more services for people at home. But he added that there is still a long way to go.
Others on the panel agreed that the pandemic has forced a larger shift in that direction in the healthcare industry, which has lagged behind other industries in adopting consumer-friendly technology.Technology is a key component in making care more patient-centred, agree Randy Klein, CEO of Vesta Medical.in New York City Organise carers who support older people and make them part of the care team.
Klein said that even using more basic technologies such as email, chat, text and other means of communication, information can now be shared quickly without having to wait for an office visit. In addition, panelists talked about more technologically advanced ways to improve information sharing, such as making EHRs more interoperable – which is still a work in progress.
Klein believes that involving caregivers is an extension of giving patients a greater say in their care, especially if patients cannot defend themselves. CProviders are usually not clinicians and often have no medical training. But, “what they have is tremendous insight, access, empathy and the ability to do great things with the support and connection of the (healthcare) delivery system,” Klein said.
Panelist Wenora Johnson, third degree Cancer survivor and patient advocate says she likes what she hears.
“Patients just really want to be heard,” said Johnson, who is affiliated with Fighting Colorectal Cancer, or Fighting CRC, and FORCE, whose mission is to improve the lives of people with inherited cancers.
As an advocate, Johnson said she felt empowered and her concerns were heard. But she still sees room for improvement.
In addition to systemic changes to better serve patients, she believes patient-centered care includes considering all aspects of the patient experience. That means taking into account who the patient is and how they are doing emotionally, mentally, spiritually and financially, she said.
“It’s also about treating the whole patient,” she said.
Photo: Walter Lim, MedCity News
