Harvey Picker, Founder of Picker Institute

Harvey Picker
Dec. 8, 1915 – March 22, 2008

Harvey Picker and his wife, Jean, believed that the American healthcare system was technologically and scientifically outstanding, but that it was not adequately sensitive to the concerns and comforts of patients. As a result, Picker Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and promoting a patient-centered approach to healthcare, was founded in 1986. Picker Institutes were established in Sweden, Switzerland and Germany in 1998 and a sister nonprofit, Picker Institute Europe, was established in  2000.

“Understanding and respecting patients’ values, preferences and expressed needs are the foundation of patient-centered care,” said Dr. Picker in describing the mission of Picker Institute.

Volunteering for service in the U.S. Navy before the United States entered World War II, Dr. Picker rose to the rank of lieutenant commander, serving first as a watch officer and then for five years at the Radiation Laboratory at MIT in Cambridge, Mass., where he worked on research and development in microwave radar. He then went into the medical imaging business as president and chief executive of Picker X-Ray (later Picker International), a major manufacturer of not only X-ray but also nuclear, ultrasound and other types of imaging devices.

Educated at Colgate University, Oxford University and the Harvard Business School, Dr. Picker returned to school at the age of 50 to study for a doctoral degree. He became a professor of International Affairs and the dean of the Graduate School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in New York, N.Y.

He served the U.S. Government as a member of the National Science Board, and the United Nations as a member of the board of trustees for the UN’s Institute for Training and Research.

Dr. Picker took over operations at Picker Institute in 1994. The institute, which is credited with having coined the phrase “patient-centered care,” is dedicated to the advancement of patient-centered care as seen “through the patient’s eyes.” Picker Institute also pioneered scientifically valid patient-satisfaction surveys to collect data from hospital patients in an effort to improve the delivery of healthcare services. The Picker Surveys have become a standard measure of patient care worldwide.

Dr. Picker died on March 22, 2008. Picker Institute continues to operate under the guidance of Executive Director Lucile O. Hanscom and a board of directors.