Understanding the Patient Experience: A Conceptual Framework

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality
• Patient-Centered Care
• Human Experience in Medicine

Background:

• Patient experience is globally recognized as a critical dimension of healthcare quality.
• Despite agreement on its importance among stakeholders, a standardized definition of patient experience is lacking.
• Understanding the foundational concepts is more critical than a formal definition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review a framework for understanding the fundamental human experience of patients.
• To explore the patient's journey from healthy individual to experiencing illness and healthcare.
• To establish a foundational understanding of patient experience as a human experience.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of the human experience in healthcare.
• Analysis of patient progression through health and illness states.
• Development of a conceptual framework for patient experience.

Main Results:

• Healthcare fundamentally involves human interaction during times of distress.
• The human experience is central to defining patient experience.
• A novel framework conceptualizes patient experience as the human experience of healthcare services.

Conclusions:

• A clear understanding of the human experience is essential for defining patient experience.
• The proposed framework provides a basis for understanding patient experience.
• Patient experience is intrinsically a human experience within the healthcare setting.