The best strategies in healthcare begin with empathy Revolutionary advances in medical knowledge have caused doctors to become so focused on their narrow fields of expertise that they often overlook the simplest fact of all: their patients are suffering. This suffering goes beyond physical pain. It includes the fear, uncertainty, anxiety, confusion, mistrust, and waiting that so often characterize modern healthcare. One of healthcare’s most acclaimed thought leaders, Dr. Thomas H. Lee shows that world-class medical treatment and compassionate care are not mutually exclusive. In An Epidemic of Empathy in Healthcare, he argues that we must have it both ways—that combining advanced science with empathic care is the only way to build the health systems our society needs and deserves. Organizing providers so that care is compassionate and coordinated is not only the right thing to do for patients, it also forms the core of strategy in healthcare’s competitive new marketplace. It provides business advantages to organizations that strive to reduce human suffering effectively, reliably, and efficiently. Lee explains how to develop a culture that treats the patient, not the malady, and he provides step-by-step guidance for unleashing an “epidemic of empathy” by: Developing a shared understanding of the overarching goal—meeting patients’ needs and reducing their suffering Making empathic care a social norm rather than the focus of economic incentives Pinpointing and addressing the most significant causes of patient suffering Collecting and using data to drive improvement Healthcare is entering a new era driven by competition on value—meeting patients’ needs as efficiently as possible. Leaders must make the choice either to move forward and build a new culture designed for twenty-first-century medicine or to maintain old models and practices and be left behind. Lee argues that empathic care resonates with the noblest values of all clinicians. If healthcare organizations can help caregivers live up to these values and focus on alleviating their patients’ suffering, they hold the key to improving value-based care and driving business success. Join the compassionate care movement and unleash an epidemic of empathy! Thomas H. Lee, MD, is Chief Medical Officer of Press Ganey, with more than three decades of experience in healthcare performance improvement as a practicing physician, leader in provider organizations, researcher, and health policy expert. He is a Professor (Part-time) of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health.

The best strategies in healthcare begin with empathy Revolutionary advances in medical knowledge have caused doctors to become so focused on their narrow fields of expertise that they often overlook the simplest fact of all: their patients are suffering. This suffering goes beyond physical pain. It includes the fear, uncertainty, anxiety, confusion, mistrust, and waiting that so often characterize modern healthcare. One of healthcare’s most acclaimed thought leaders, Dr. Thomas H. Lee shows that world-class medical treatment and compassionate care are not mutually exclusive. In An Epidemic of Empathy in Healthcare, he argues that we must have it both ways—that combining advanced science with empathic care is the only way to build the health systems our society needs and deserves. Organizing providers so that care is compassionate and coordinated is not only the right thing to do for patients, it also forms the core of strategy in healthcare’s competitive new marketplace. It provides business advantages to organizations that strive to reduce human suffering effectively, reliably, and efficiently. Lee explains how to develop a culture that treats the patient, not the malady, and he provides step-by-step guidance for unleashing an “epidemic of empathy” by: Developing a shared understanding of the overarching goal—meeting patients’ needs and reducing their suffering Making empathic care a social norm rather than the focus of economic incentives Pinpointing and addressing the most significant causes of patient suffering Collecting and using data to drive improvement Healthcare is entering a new era driven by competition on value—meeting patients’ needs as efficiently as possible. Leaders must make the choice either to move forward and build a new culture designed for twenty-first-century medicine or to maintain old models and practices and be left behind. Lee argues that empathic care resonates with the noblest values of all clinicians. If healthcare organizations can help caregivers live up to these values and focus on alleviating their patients’ suffering, they hold the key to improving value-based care and driving business success. Join the compassionate care movement and unleash an epidemic of empathy! Thomas H. Lee, MD, is Chief Medical Officer of Press Ganey, with more than three decades of experience in healthcare performance improvement as a practicing physician, a leader in provider organizations, researcher, and health policy expert. He is a Professor (Part-time) of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health.

There is widespread disagreement over what constitutes an experience of empathy. In this study of its value and moral features, Mark Fagiano acknowledges the ambiguity surrounding the term and offers a unified theory of empathy that includes rival definitions. His historical account of the multiple meanings of empathy lays the groundwork for a new philosophical theory. Based on relations, it resolves the problem of conflicting definitions of empathy by distinguishing between the three kinds of empathy: the relations of feeling into, feeling with, and feeling for, each of which has been defined historically as a type of empathy. Fagiano's unique focus on relations, on the modes and manner by which we are connected with things and with people, reveals a transactional account of empathy that can be applied to a variety of different contexts and social circumstances. Grounded in the philosophical tradition of American Pragmatism, Fagiano's approach demonstrates the practical benefits of adopting a broad and pluralistic understanding of empathy as both an idea and a practice. His pragmatic and contextualist philosophy of empathy provides a valuable starting point for answering some of the most pressing questions surrounding empathy today, including can empathy be developed? Is empathy moral? What is the difference between empathy and sympathy?

The Value of Empathy explores various approaches to understanding empathy and investigates its moral and practical role. The central role of empathy in understanding others, and the need for it in our social and inter-personal encounters, is widely acknowledged by philosophers, social scientists and psychologists alike. Discussions of empathy abound, not only in more specialised academic publications, but also in traditional and social media. Yet neither a clear understanding, nor a uniform definition of this relatively new term is available. Indeed, one difficulty in discussing empathy, in philosophy and beyond, is the profusion of definitions; the difficulty is compounded by a lack of clarity in the distinction between empathy and cognate concepts such as sympathy and compassion. This book has two aims: Chapters 1–5 seek to address the dual concerns of the lack of clarity and profusion of interpretations by suggesting new ways of approaching the topic. The second aim of the book is to connect the more abstract discussions of empathy with its normative functions. Chapters 6–8 engage with the theoretical concerns relevant to the ethics of empathy and raise interesting points about its significance in ethical thought and action. The final four chapters focus on the practical normative significance of empathy by examining the connections between empathy, vulnerability and care in circumstances of ill health. The chapters in this book were originally published in the International Journal of Philosophical Studies.

All health care students must be familiar with the basic concepts of health care in the United States. This introductory textbook presents vital information on health care careers and legal, ethical, financial, and policy issues that will help their future practice. It includes chapters on: careers in the health care profession; the complexity of health care; the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; professionalism in health; health care for special populations; the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards; research and advancements in health care; the future of health care. Fundamentals of U.S. Health Care is unique in the way it highlights the important elements of each health career, including job requirements, length of study, and salaries. With the student in mind, this book is accompanied by a website that features detailed PowerPoints and test banks with more than 1,000 review questions. Well-organized and easily understood, this overview provides a reliable, relevant resource and up-to-date reference. It is essential reading for all allied health students, including nurses, surgical technicians, dental hygienists, radiology technicians, medical assistants, pharmacy technicians, physician assistants, and more.

Quantum Leadership: Creating Sustainable Value in Health Care, Sixth Edition focuses on the issue of leadership within the shifting landscape of health care. With clarity and depth of detail, the text features theories about contemporary leadership within today’s increasingly complex and diverse healthcare delivery system. It works from a model of complexity leadership, in which leadership is not limited to those with certain titles but an attribute that every healthcare worker can develop for success in fast-moving, information-overloaded organizations. The Sixth Edition focuses on supporting high levels of interdisciplinary teamwork as a key leadership strategy to further advance the skills necessary to lead complex, cross-departmental teams. The unique hallmark of this text is its focus on the postindustrial, complex and highly mobile modern healthcare system. The authors emphasize the importance of characteristics, elements, and role of leaders in guiding individuals and teams.

An indispensable guide to reducing the suffering―of patients and caregivers alike―and to improving healthcare delivery for all In our efforts to treat patients, cure illness, and manage institutions, healthcare professionals too often overlook the fundamental purpose everyone in the industry shares: to alleviate suffering. Press Ganey’s Chief Nursing Officer, Christina Dempsey, has worked everywhere in healthcare, from the ward floor to the hospital boardroom. She has also experienced the system as a patient and as a family member of a critically ill patient. In The Antidote to Suffering, this 30-year healthcare veteran and patient-experience thought leader argues that the key to improving healthcare is to reduce the suffering—physical, psychological, and emotional—of patients and caregivers alike through Compassionate Connected CareTM. Drawing on her 360-degree perspective, Dempsey offers a comprehensive, detailed, evidence-based plan that addresses the clinical, operational, cultural, and behavioral dimensions of care that every patient and caregiver experiences, in every setting. When suffering decreases, Dempsey argues, outcomes improve for patients and those who care for them. A virtuous cycle takes hold, leading to increases in morale, loyalty, and productivity and results in a culture that drives quality, safety, and value. It paves the path for creating a new national healthcare culture—one that values compassion, fosters efficiency, and drives innovation The Antidote to Suffering is the first book to explore the pervasiveness of suffering in our healthcare system, and to provide the strategies and tools to: * Identify and measure suffering throughout your organization * Create a system in which every clinical response is informed by compassion * Operationalize staff behavior to promote meaning and purpose * Increase productivity by building a culture of collaboration Reducing human suffering isn’t just a moral imperative for healthcare providers. It’s a practical way to improve organizations and fix our broken system—without sacrificing the respect, dignity, and compassion we all deserve.

Do you look forward to your next hospitalization or medical procedure? If not, you are far from alone! Very few people enjoy needing a doctor, physical therapist, or other healthcare provider. Even fewer look forward to needing a hospital, assisted living, home health, or hospice services for themselves or their loved ones. Dread of interacting with the healthcare system has skyrocketed because of the pandemic. Distrust in public health officials and agencies is at an all-time high. Patients have died alone in the hospital because of ongoing COVID-19 policies. Some outpatient health and mental health providers still refuse to see patients in person. Prior to March 2020, patients dreaded the thought of needing healthcare services. Now, several years after waiting for things to get better, they hate the thought of needing these services even more. Reimagining Customer Service in Healthcare helps leaders and clinicians transform their organizations with simple, creative strategies. The results? Previously reluctant, uneasy, and resistant patients, clients, and family caregivers become less stressed and more trusting.

Concierge medicine represents a relatively novel health care delivery model that is becoming more appealing both to providers and patients because of its potential to improve quality and value in health care. A gap exists in the current literature regarding the benefits and challenges associated with concierge medicine as well as best practices for developing and sustaining a successful, patient-centered concierge practice. This book aims to close the gap by discussing the role of concierge medicine in the context of the evolving U.S. healthcare system and the changes produced by the Affordable Care Act. It will address questions about affordability, access, quality, value, communication, technology, and patient-centered care, and will include real-world best practice examples from a successful concierge medicine practice.

Performance and medicine are now converging in unprecedented ways. London's theatres reveal an appetite for medical themes – John Boyega is subjected to medical experiments in Jack Thorne's Woycek, while Royal National Theatre produces a novel musical about cancer. At the same time, performance-makers seek to improve our health, using dance to increase mobility for those living with Parkinson's disease or performance magic as physiotherapy for children with paraplegia. Performance, Medicine and the Human surveys this emerging field, providing case studies based on the author's own experience of devising medical performances in collaboration with cancer patients, biomedical scientists and healthcare educators. Examining contemporary medical performance reveals an ancient preoccupation, evident in the practices of both theatre and healing, with the human. Like medicine, theatre puts the human on display in order to understand and, perhaps, alleviate the suffering inherent to the human condition. Medical practice constitutes a sort of theatre in which doctors, nurses and patients perform their humaneness and humanity. This insight has much to offer at a time when established notions of the human are being radically rethought, partly in response to emerging biomedical knowledge. Performance, Medicine and the Human argues that contemporary medical performance can shed new light on what it means to be human – and what we mean by the human, the humane, humanism and the humanities – at a time when these notions are being fundamentally rethought. Its insights are relevant to scholars in performance studies, the medical humanities, healthcare education and beyond.