Identifying Aspects of Change Management That Directly Affect Elements of the Patient Experience

 

Providing high-quality patient-centered care requires an effective partnership between healthcare providers and individual patients. Patients’ aspirations and needs influence healthcare outcomes and decisions. Therefore, the aspects of change management that directly affect elements of patients’ experience essential to the provision of high-quality and patient-centered care are: Ensuring that the healthcare system’s quality-improvement initiatives, leadership, values, vision and missions align with patient-centered goals. Secondly, the change management should ensure that the care accessed by patients is coordinated and collaborative and focuses on the patient’s emotional and physical well-being. Additionally, the care should focus on the family and patient socioeconomic status, cultural traditions, values, and preferences. Consequently, patients and their relatives should be involved in the design of care plans and the decision-making process. The healthcare provider should also share information with patients to make informed decisions. Considering these aspects of change management will benefit both patients and healthcare providers. For instance, patients’ health outcomes and satisfaction scores will improve. In contrast, staff morale and productivity will increase while healthcare costs decline.

 
Explaining the Rationale for Coordinated Care Plans Based on Ethical Decision Making
The primary objective of coordinated care plans is to synchronize patient care from multiple specialties and care providers to improve health outcomes. For instance, care coordination engages the patient’s in care delivery and improves their experience.  Engaging patients in designing healthcare plans facilitates effective communication between patients and their healthcare providers, leading to medication adherence and managing their conditions. However, healthcare providers should adhere to ethical decision-making when designing care plans. When making ethical healthcare decisions, healthcare providers should rely on four principles of nurse ethics: autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, and beneficence.  According to the principle of autonomy, patients should understand information, and healthcare interventions’ risks and benefits. Thus, patients should engage full in the design of their care plan and provide consent if they can do so. Otherwise, not respecting the patient’s autonomy during the design of their care plans can result in legal lawsuits if the health intervention results in adverse healthcare consequences.

The principle of beneficence requires healthcare providers to balance the benefits of healthcare interventions against the risks. Therefore, healthcare providers should make decisions that are in the patient’s best interest, especially if the patient makes decisions that harm them.  The principle of non-maleficence requires healthcare providers not to harm the patients, while the principle of justice mandates healthcare providers to prioritize resources. Therefore, coordinated plans should enhance patients’ autonomy, and the healthcare intervention should benefit rather than harm the patients.