Reference no: EM1366778

In this discussion, I want to turn to health care quality. Most of us have either been patients, or had family members who were patients, in a number of health care facilities. What distinguishes a good patient experience from a bad patient experience?

I have received excellent healthcare and abysmal healthcare, so I have a great deal of information about this topic.

Let us first speak of the good patient experience. This is when you have a good amount of time to speak with your doctor, and in turn, the doctor needs to demonstrate that he is listening by asking leading questions that allow the patient to feel comfortable and speak freely. A good doctor will not answer the phone or be distracted from your case while you are there. The doctor should not be running late. Most importantly, the doctor needs to prove to the patient that they are the ones who do know the most about their own bodies, and the relationship between doctor and patient should be one of equals working together. I was born with cerebral palsy. When I would go to the doctor as a child to get fitted for braces or measured, it was a potentially humiliating situation. This doctor made certain that we had several sessions about my history, how I learned to walk with the braces, and then I also did fine and gross motor tests fully clothed, and only did we start the underpants measuring and weight dangling and blocks under the shorter leg and so on. This doctor was most helpful to me. As a child, I still knew that we saw each other as equals, and deserving of respect. He was my friend. Or it felt like that. I was not unhappy to go see him regardless of the difficulty inherent in these appointments.

The bad patient experience is when a full and uninterrupted medical history is not taken. Respect is not felt, no connections and ideas come from working together.