Listening to people’s lived experience

A new article in the New York Times today.

People’s experience of the medical care they receive deserves respect and if there is an issue caused by the care someone received, it should be investigated and not simply dismissed.

Although we know the vast vast majority of people who get health services benefit from them, in the effort to promote healthy behaviors, we shouldn’t shut down or ignore people’s lived experiences. If there is a disconnect, then it’s the health system’s job to understand and fix it.

Misinformation is effective because it preys on people’s emotions and vulnerabilities. Maybe people would be less vulnerable to it if they could trust someone would return their phone call or respond to that message at the health center or that their healthcare provider will listen fully without hurrying them out of the appointment after 20 minutes.

Trust in the health system should be built every day , and by every contact people have with health services, products, and health workers. That’s a high-order expectation from the health system. There are massive gaps in investment, training, support, and policy that would need to be filled to ensure that the health system did its job well and that people received consistent care and attention and, therefore, trust the health system.

The gaps in vaccine-related event surveillance and monitoring and response to them in the US health system this article highlights is a reflection of the system’s shortcomings, the sometimes pervasive attitude of dismissing valid patient concerns and perpetuating a lack of appropriate and responsive care those patients should have received a long time ago.

Read the full article here.