 Stefanie Un
Senior Research Consultant
High expectations
Technology offers quicker, more accurate results than ever before and as a result patients expect faster, correct diagnosis. But behind every diagnosis is a clinician - who is not infallible - and patients, fueled by the knowledge now so widely and easily available to them, are less tolerant of oversights and blunders that may occur.
Take for example the British patient who earlier this year discharged himself from hospital after being told he had cancer and only a short time to live. Determined to enjoy his remaining days, he and his wife left their jobs and spent all their savings only to hear that an incorrect diagnosis had been made. The man became extremely ill following the (incorrectly prescribed) medication and as you may expect, damage claims are now in motion.
Mistakes of this kind, although not everyday occurances, are now widely communicated. As well as causing increased financial pressure on the system, related liability issues can damage a hospital’s reputation long after the case is closed.
Quality vs effectiveness
As a consequence, hospitals establish new protocols in an attempt to balance efficiency with effectiveness and keep escalating costs to a minimum, putting medical staff under pressure. In some cases the breaking point has been reached. The Dutch Society of Anesthesiologists (NVAM) filed a complaint with a monopoly watchdog organization. Apparently to tackle the problem of staff shortages in the operating room and to secure staff retention, 13 hospitals had made collective employment agreements with operating room assistants and anesthesiologists. According to the NVAM, “no attempt has been made to tackle the problems of understaffing, high work pressure and the concequences on the quality of care”.
So what do issues like these mean to the healthcare system itself? With patients now better informed of treatments available to them and with the expectation that only the best care will be given, staff are under increasing pressure to ensure that these demands are met while working within the constraints and protocols of the hospital. At the same time the hospital itself is confronted with rising costs and the challenge to balance efficiency with effectiveness.
One shared goal
However, in these complicated relationships between patients, the system and healthcare professionals, a common goal is shared. All are driven by the desire to receive or provide medical excellence. For Philips’ healthcare designers, this means focusing on creating improved healthcare experiences - solutions that provide a better working environment for staff, increase comfort and reassurance for patients and improve efficiency and staff retention for hospitals. It is all about creating an experience that encompasses the interests of all stakeholders, using advanced technology to simplify the healthcare experiences for everyone.
| 
