Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Patients are not passengers

Christopher Noll, RN, MSN
Patient
December 5, 2018
805 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

Health care safety efforts have long focused on improving the behavior of providers and improving the systems of care. A proven model of safety is in the airline industry. There are undoubtedly many parallels between airline safety and health care working toward common goals. This work should continue in both industries to ensure the safety of the people they serve.

The airline safety model, though, can only look at health care patients through the lenses of satisfaction and service. Patient satisfaction, while important, is just a piece of a complex health care problem. For example, passengers on a plane like to follow the route. So, airlines provide renderings of the flight via active map technology and pilot announcements. This parallels the patient portals popular in health care. Like passengers, patients are provided with information that is interesting but not terribly useful. An airline passenger can no more direct the path of the flight than a patient can determine what tests to order next.

Health care safety experts have considered airline industry models since the mid-1990s. Safety in health care has been at the forefront since the 1999 Institute of Medicine report “To Err is Human.” Health care is not appreciably safer today than it was when the report was published. What can be done? Adopt a new metaphor: the driver model.

Patients must be included in the decision-making process of their health care. Patients need to be recognized for who they are — drivers of their own care. Drivers receive data that is converted into useful information. Drivers are aware of the clear and easily understood rules of the road. They also understand their journey, stops along the way and detours — should they become necessary.

Real-time lab data, imaging and the like are commonly available to patients through portals. But patient portals are like warning lights in a car. A warning light alerts the driver that something is wrong. Conditions have caused a failure.

In the case of a car, it is up to the mechanic to determine what caused the mechanical failure and the driver may not know why the light activated. Similarly, the health care provider must determine the sequela of an illness. The patient may have access to their labs and other data but do not indicate relevance.

Gauges, on the other hand, provide real-time information and allow trending as events unfold. Take for instance the temperature gauge. It begins in the cool position and then arcs up to a midpoint of normal. The speed at which it rises and the place the needle usually rests become a part of the normal operation of the vehicle and are familiar to the driver.

Let the temperature gauge deviate from normal, and the driver is likely to notice. Consider the needle rising above its usual midpoint and then quickly drifting down only to rise again a short time later. This action in and of itself may not ever trigger an overheated indicator, but it does provide valuable feedback that something is wrong with the cooling system.

Patients, too, need to have their health information presented in easily readable and understandable formats. Patients must have a better system so they can meaningfully participate in their care.

It is not that health care providers do not have policies and processes designed to inform patients. They do. And it is not that there is a lack of data. There is more than enough data collected on patients. The fundamental problem is how providers/clinicians share information and how data is turned into information for patients to understand and share with others.

Patient portals are useful but not complete. A better portal design with the end-user in mind is in order. Providers/clinicians need to do a better job converting data into information in a way that makes maximum sense to the consumer. View patients as drivers of their health care and work to provide them with relevant and useful information.

Christopher Noll is a nurse and risk manager.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

What a physician would tell his younger self about the use of debt

December 5, 2018 Kevin 1
…
Next

As doctors, our social capital is changing

December 5, 2018 Kevin 10
…

Tagged as: Hospital-Based Medicine, Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
What a physician would tell his younger self about the use of debt
Next Post >
As doctors, our social capital is changing

More by Christopher Noll, RN, MSN

  • Patient platforms should be intuitive in design and execution

    Christopher Noll, RN, MSN

Related Posts

  • Are patients using social media to attack physicians?

    David R. Stukus, MD
  • Physicians and patients must work together to improve health care

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • How can patients navigate our complicated health care system?

    Linda Girgis, MD
  • Primary care makes a difference for patients and the nation

    Glen R. Stream, MD
  • You are abandoning your patients if you are not active on social media

    Pat Rich
  • Here’s how your attitude affects patients

    Lauren Feltz, MHSc

More in Patient

  • There’s no one to drive your patient home

    Denise Reich
  • Dying is a selfish business

    Nancie Wiseman Attwater
  • A story of a good death

    Carol Ewig
  • We are warriors: doctors and patients

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • Patient care is not a spectator sport

    Jim Sholler
  • Me is who I am

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • I’m tired of being a distracted doctor

      Shiv Rao, MD | Tech
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Navigating adulthood in the digital age

      Eleanor Menzin, MD | Physician
    • Balancing motherhood and medicine [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Misunderstandings about opioid use disorder

      Amy Baxter, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Navigating adulthood in the digital age

      Eleanor Menzin, MD | Physician
    • 5 things to know about weight from a bariatric surgeon

      Maria Iliakova, MD | Conditions
    • Out-of-office infusions in oncology care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The power of business knowledge for medical professionals

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Using the language of art to create work-life balance

      Sarah Samaan, MD | Physician
    • Levamisole is good for your dog, but bad for your cocaine

      Robert Killeen, MD | Meds

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 6 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • COVID Drug and New Mutations; Costco Offers $29 Care; Trump Unmasked Over Bronzer
  • Long COVID Rare in U.S. Kids, Has Affected 7% of Adults
  • Vascular Conditions Offer No Clarity on Pollution-Dementia Link
  • FDA Staff Voice Serious Concerns About Investigational ALS Cell Therapy
  • Primary Prevention Benefits of Lowering LDL Also Apply to the Elderly

Meeting Coverage

  • Loneliness Needs to Be Treated Like Any Other Health Condition, Researcher Suggests
  • Stopping Medical Misinformation Requires Early Detection
  • AI Has an Image Problem in Healthcare, Expert Says
  • Want Better Health Outcomes? Check Out What Other Countries Do
  • ERS Roundup: Cell Transplant Boosts Lung Function in COPD Patients
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • I’m tired of being a distracted doctor

      Shiv Rao, MD | Tech
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Navigating adulthood in the digital age

      Eleanor Menzin, MD | Physician
    • Balancing motherhood and medicine [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Misunderstandings about opioid use disorder

      Amy Baxter, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Navigating adulthood in the digital age

      Eleanor Menzin, MD | Physician
    • 5 things to know about weight from a bariatric surgeon

      Maria Iliakova, MD | Conditions
    • Out-of-office infusions in oncology care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The power of business knowledge for medical professionals

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Using the language of art to create work-life balance

      Sarah Samaan, MD | Physician
    • Levamisole is good for your dog, but bad for your cocaine

      Robert Killeen, MD | Meds

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Patients are not passengers
6 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...