Best Hospital in Hyderabad: What Makes a Hospital Truly Patient-Centric?

Medical care is no longer only about the diagnosis and treatment of a particular condition or an individual. Sure, the objective is always to help them feel better but being a hospital that is patient centric goes much beyond just that. Patient centric healthcare means a hospital takes all those steps and processes necessary to ensure that patients feel good about being treated – so it places an emphasis on awareness, consent and the mood of a patient, once they walk in and request a consultation or need any kind of treatment for a condition. The Picker Institute in the UK and Harvard Medical School have listed out a few important principles which are thought to help patients receive the best possible care – based on their needs, preferences and that personnel remain respectful of those decisions. KIMS Sunshine has proved to be one of the best hospitals in Hyderabad, as patients always commend us for our personalised and patient centric treatment approach. What makes us a truly patient centric hospital? Read on to understand just that!
Pillars of Patient Centric Healthcare
We ensure to follow the 4 pillars of patient centric healthcare-
- Transparent Communication- Patients and their doctors should be comfortable with open conversations- where all questions or concerns are duly noted and answered for. Doctors should avoid using technical jargon, explain everything in an easy to understand way and ensure that patients can give consent, without feeling coerced.
- Respecting Values and Preferences– Each person has their own needs, values and preferences and doctors need to be able to respect them, even if they cannot agree with them. They should hence be open to trying different treatment approaches – based on what the patient needs.
- High Quality Care– Patient care is a complex interplay of many doctors, advanced medical facilities and multidisciplinary teams working together to come up with a feasible solution. KIMS Sunshine has an in-house diagnostic laboratory, advanced imaging and surgical capabilities and experienced personnel to ensure that you receive the treatment that you require, without any undue delay. Hospital patient safety standards come within this umbrella- as we are an NABH accredited hospital.
- Supporting Caregivers or Family- Treatment and recovery in a hospital can be mentally and physically very draining for patients and they often look to their friends and family or caregivers for support and affection. A good hospital ensures that family is well taken care of- while the patient gets access to the care required. They should also help family and friends understand how their help can improve prognoses in the long term.
There are many advantages to being a patient-centric hospital. Some of them are-
- Better quality of care– By keeping communication open, doctors and providers can help understand what the patient needs, their preferences and then make sure that they are treated in the right way after a definitive diagnosis has been made. Errors are reduced when a doctor actively listens to a patient and does not just treat them like a symptom of their condition.
- Better trust and rapport- When a doctor listens to a patient, there is a personal rapport and degree of trust that is established. This only keeps getting better with every session or consultation. This can translate to better adherence to treatment plans, open communication with doctors and can make for a patient friendly experience in the end.
- Better patient outcomes and improved satisfaction– This can mean better treatment plan adherence, lesser rates of readmission or even the need for a second or third opinion at times. Quality of life is also better when the right kind of care is given at the right time.
Conclusion
A hospital is considered to be truly patient centric when it begins to pay attention to people it is supposed to treat. Individuals are not just dots in a plot or are not symptoms alone in a constellation of conditions. They have their own feelings, needs and preferences and hence it falls to a hospital and its personnel to understand them, to ensure they get the care they need and do not get offended in any way.This can be done by ensuring that everyone gets the right information at the right time, that they are not rushed into making a decision, that the patient is comfortable enough to think lucidly without being in too much pain and that there is continual access to care, whenever needed- at present or in the future. A patient rarely enters a hospital alone- they have friends and family. A good hospital should cater to their needs so they can provide much needed support to the patient in question.