Healthcare

Understanding the full frame of a patient’s life

It’s easy to get narrowly focused on the problem and the individual medical solutions. Yet when we compartmentalize issues, we miss the full picture of patients’ lives. As a result, we don’t always achieve the health outcomes we seek.

When we shift the dialogue from “What’s the matter with you?” to “What matters to you?” we can open new doors to seeing the whole patient. We’re all driven to meet our needs for wellbeing, but sometimes we make choices for our wellbeing that get in the way of health. That might mean avoiding medication with side effects that limit our time with friends or family. Or it could mean skipping medical appointments due to the lack of medical interpreters.

KEY INSIGHTS

Wellbeing is essential for health

1. By seeing individuals as whole people and not just the problem or disease we’re trying to fix, we empower patients to take the lead in their own health and can re-envision our solutions in ways that support long-term health.
2. A wellbeing approach helps providers understand the significance of an illness or a condition in a person’s life and how that illness is affecting their wellbeing, which then informs a possible response.
3. The wellbeing frame motivates providers to ask questions that focus more on the patients’ lives and what resources they are well connected to, which helps broaden their understanding of patients and their communities – and ultimately leads to better overall outcomes.

Make change in healthcare

Interested in putting a wellbeing approach into practice in healthcare? Here are some places to start.

Shift patient intakes to incorporate wellbeing.

Intake and assessment are an essential part of getting an understanding of what’s going on, but traditional approaches are often incomplete and miss patient strengths. Focus on creating a person-centered experience and ask new kinds of questions that don’t lead with the illness that brought the patient in – you will discover the full frame of patients’ lives and unlock new approaches to helping patients get healthy.

Reimagine case plans.

Instead of focusing goals on a patient’s disease, try aligning with the patient’s personal goals. Asking patients what matters to them makes it possible to reimagine case plans with their goals at the center, which can help lead to long-term success.

Learn from innovative change agents across the country.

Camden Coalition’s COACH framework empowers patients to take control over their health by developing authentic, healing relationships with practitioners. The Live HealthSmart Alabama initiative partners with local businesses and organizations to increase access to healthy food choices, exercise and healthcare in communities where policy choices have made these options less plentiful. Bread for the City in Washington DC is piloting a “food home” model through collaboration between social services, care management, medical and food teams to reduce food insecurity and improve overall health outcomes.