Author: Business Innovation Factory

Publication Year: 2015

Media Type: Report

Summary:

There is a concurrent shift in healthcare today, toward a more human-focused system in which the patient has a face and a story as well as a chart and a white blood cell count. This approach has long been practiced by artists, performers, poets, and writers.

Abstract:

Our healthcare system has made tremendous advances in the past few decades — advances that have also created very real challenges. Technological advancements, such as Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have created opportunities for collaboration — but for some, have also come with a heavy burden of transition from the comfortable, age-old medium of pen and paper. Some of the blessings that accompany advances in medical devices or research practices also come with newfound risks or ongoing political or moral debate.

There is much more to medicine than technology, drugs, and machinery. Healthcare is about people, and involves the whole person: body, mind, and spirit. There is a concurrent shift in healthcare today, toward a more human-focused system in which the patient has a face and a story as well as a chart and a white blood cell count. This approach has long been practiced by artists, performers, poets, and writers. This approach has also been explored by physicians, nurses, administrators, and other healthcare stakeholders. It has been championed by patients and caregivers — those who need to find their voice in the healthcare system. This human-focused approach acknowledges that curing and healing are not always the same; one can be healed without being cured, and one can be cured without being healed.

Narrative and story is already pervasive in our lives as well as in healthcare. Hospitals, nursing homes, therapy facilities, and other health-related organizations are filled with stories simply because they are filled with people — not just the patients, but all the people involved in their care.

However, this shift to a human-centered approach has been happening in fragmented efforts and separate silos. To truly make an impact, we must connect these fragments and silos. This playbook is just the beginning of that effort. [Introduction]

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