The Power of Patients to Heal Healthcare

A group effort of Science and Love

”Patients are the ultimate arbiters of diagnostic excellence.“

Being able to write that opening sentence and co-author so many supportive arguments for my first Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Issue Brief was very emotional for me. I’m over-the-moon excited that it was accepted for publication by this important governmental healthcare division.

I hope it will propel positive changes in how healthcare professionals work with healthcare consumers.

The full title of the Issue Brief is The Patient’s Role in Diagnostic Safety and Excellence: From Passive Reception Toward Co-Design.

Patients’ experiences, feedback, intimate knowledge of their own medical conditions, and pain levels have been ignored for as long as there has been modern Western medicine. That is changing. Patients have a fundamental role in diagnostic quality, safety, and excellence, not just for themselves but for American healthcare overall.

“Patients’ possible range of responsibilities has proliferated ‘from having a seat in the back of the room, to sitting at the table, being heard, and now shaping the patient safety landscape.’”

That is no longer just the opinion of my fellow #PatientAdvocates. It has become a rallying cry.

“The active involvement of patients represents a paradigm shift essential to achieving the goal of diagnostic excellence. Moving up the ladder of co-production—from being passive recipients of care to becoming active partners and leaders of their own care—has profound implications for enhancing diagnostic accuracy and safety.” 

Thank you to everyone at the Patient-Partnered Diagnostic Center of Excellence especially Kelly Smith Kristen Miller Traber D. Giardina Helen Haskell Carole Hemmelgarn Ilene Corina BCPA She / Her and Steven Coffee. This was truly an effort of both Science and Love.

© Helene M. Epstein 2024