ELIZABETH TEISBERG, PHD Executive Director, Value Institute for Health and Care, Dell Medical School and McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin
Patients First
What does this mean and what is needed to achieve it?
There are opportunities everywhere to improve
instead, it requires relationship-centred delivery of
health care value by recognising unwarranted
care. The healing relationship matters. We can
differences in health outcomes and closing those
create systems that make respect, empathy, and
gaps. To see the gaps, one starts from the patient
kindness normal in the care processes, rather
perspective: Patients First.
than extra work undertaken by clinicians and
Why patients first? Patients are why health
staff. Health care is full of smart, caring, hard-
care exists: the purpose of health care is to help
working people, working in systems that often
individuals and families with health issues.
don’t make the right things easy or make enough
‘Patients’ include everyone who needs and
time for human interaction. Clinicians then put
wants help, not just those who present for
in extra effort because they care. It is no wonder so
care. This observation has two implications.
many health care professionals feel worn down.
One is that care needs to be designed to include
If systems were redefined to make the right things
people who are underserved or served ineffectively
easy—to truly be relationship centred—there would
now. The other implication is that the highest-value
be support for the patients, the families and the
health care prevents people from becoming
clinicians. The starting point is to be explicit
patients. So, when health care really gets it
that transforming to high-value health
right, the design of care is human centred,
care requires clarity that the purpose is to help
meaning it addresses individuals’ and families’
and to heal, enabling quality of life and dignity of
needs effectively, inclusively, and, when
death. To achieve this purpose, care must focus
possible, proactively.
on achieving the outcomes that matter most to
Patients First does not mean clinicians last;
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The Health Advocate • AUGUST 2021
individuals and families.
