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A proposal that patients be considered honorary members of the healthcare team
Author(s) -
EDWARDS CAROL
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2702.2002.00612.x
Subject(s) - health care , intervention (counseling) , nursing , health professionals , rehabilitation , psychology , patient satisfaction , medicine , boundary (topology) , physical therapy , political science , mathematical analysis , mathematics , law
• Most research on cross‐boundary issues in healthcare focuses on boundaries between groups of healthcare professionals, or between different healthcare settings. This paper considers the boundary between healthcare professionals and their patients, as complementary providers of care to the individual. • Following major surgery, patients now spend the vast majority of their rehabilitation period in their own homes. This raises questions about where to draw the boundary around a healthcare intervention, and how to allocate and support responsibility for care once the patient is home. • This paper reports the findings of a study within orthopaedic surgery that followed patients from a few weeks before their surgery to 3 months afterwards, recording their interpretations of their healthcare experiences. • Most patients were keen to take responsibility for playing their part in trying to optimize the outcome of their surgery, but many were frustrated by lack of information and support to allow them to fulfil this role to their satisfaction. • Reconceptualization of patients as honorary members of the healthcare team may facilitate the development of a framework within which the potential contribution of patients to their own care could be valued and supported more effectively. This would contribute towards optimizing patient outcomes and increasing patient satisfaction with care.