“Let me summarize my interpretation of these findings in one sentence: We don’t know what patient-centered care means nor do we know how to approach it, but things are going great.”
Karen Minich-Pourshadi
“Putting Patient-Centered Care Into Perspective”
HealthLeaders Media, May 2, 2011
Click here to read the complete article.
“The drive to diagnose Alzheimer’s before it has progressed into profound dementia is also reflected in a bill introduced in Congress this month, which would create specific Medicare cost codes for Alzheimer’s diagnosis, including steps involving discussions between the patient’s doctor and caregivers, a recognition that keeping family members well-informed can result in better planning and care.”
Pam Belluck, ”Guidelines Allow Earlier Definition of Alzheimer’s”
The New York Times, April 19, 2011
Click here to read the entire article.
Picker Institute has announced the award of matching grants to 20 healthcare organizations around the country. The grants are being administered under Picker Institute’s Always EventsSM /Always ExperiencesSM initiative, which was launched in April 2010. (Click here for a list of the grantees and a short description of their project.)
Always EventsSM /Always ExperiencesSM refers to those aspects of the patient and family experience that should always occur during interaction with healthcare professionals and/or the healthcare delivery system. The grant program provides matching funds in support of innovative approaches to creating specific Always EventsSM that achieve measurable improvements in patient- and family-centered care.
“This concept is a very important step forward in the journey toward our ultimate goal,” said Lucile O. Hanscom, executive director of Picker Institute. “As a distillation of the essence of our Eight Principles of Patient-Centered Care, Always EventsSM /Always ExperiencesSM represents the next phase in the evolution of the institute’s guiding principle. Informed in this initial stage by two of the most important tenets, communication and care transition, it represents a very strong complement to our robust programs in education, research, recognition of best practices, publications and support for advancing patient-centered care.
“When we introduced Always EventsSM /Always ExperiencesSM about a year ago, it drew a very enthusiastic response,” she added, “and we have been very gratified to see support for this innovative program gathering strength and positive feedback at all levels of the healthcare industry. Our list of grantees is very impressive, and we look forward to working with all these excellent institutions to make Always EventsSM /Always ExperiencesSM a vital part of the medical vocabulary and the healthcare industry.”
For more information on the institute’sAlways EventsSM /Always ExperiencesSM initiative, please visit http://alwaysevents.pickerinstitute.org/.
“I found in my research that the biggest reason people aren’t more self-compassionate is that they are afraid they’ll become self-indulgent. They believe self-criticism is what keeps them in line. Most people have gotten it wrong because our culture says being hard on yourself is the way to be.”
–Dr. Kristin Neff
Dr. Kristin Neff is an associate professor of human development at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of “Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurity Behind.” Click here for more of her thoughts.
“TimeSlips shifts from the pressure to remember to inviting imagination, which is a huge relief for people who are having problems remembering. It shifts from focusing on peoples’ weaknesses, which is memory, to their strengths, which is imagination. When you experience memory loss you begin to edit yourself into silence out of fear of saying the wrong thing, or if you say something there’ll be real ramifications about the way you live your life. You’ll have to live somewhere else, or people will have to come in and care for you. People stop talking.”
Click here to see Anne Basting’s video on the TimeSlips project, funded in part by Picker Institute.
