Lars-Eric Olsson

Person-Centered Care — Ready for Prime Time

Long-term diseases are today the leading cause of mortality worldwide and are estimated to be the leading cause of disability by 2020. Person-centered care (PCC) has been shown to advance concordance between care provider and patient on treatment plans, improve health outcomes and increase patient satisfaction. Yet, despite these and other documented benefits, there are a variety of significant challenges to putting PCC into clinical practice. Although care providers today broadly acknowledge PCC to be an important part of care, in our experience we must establish routines that initiate, integrate, and safeguard PCC in daily clinical practice to ensure that PCC is systematically and consistently practiced, i.e. not just when we feel we have time for it. In this paper, we propose a few simple routines to facilitate and safeguard the transition to PCC. We believe that if conscientiously and systematically applied, they will help to make PCC the focus and mainstay of care in long-term illness.

Efficacy of person‐centred care as an intervention in controlled trials – a systematic review

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To identify person-centred care as an intervention in controlled trials, where patients had been involved as a partner, and to describe the outcomes of these studies. BACKGROUND The notion of person-centred care asserts that patients are persons and partners in care and should not be reduced to their disease alone. DESIGN A systematic literature review. METHOD Searches were undertaken in the databases PUBMED and CINAHL. The inclusion criteria were that person-centred care as an intervention was described as a partnership between the caregiver and the patient, and that the studies were randomised controlled trials or quasi-experimental designs. The studies were analysed based on methodology, context and type of intervention, outcomes and effects of the interventions. Eleven trials fulfilled the inclusion criteria. RESULTS The studies were carried out in a variety of contexts with diverse outcomes. Person-centred care as an intervention was shown to be successful in eight of the studies. The internal and external validity in the studies were generally good. However, as regards the precision of the studies there was a wide variation. CONCLUSIONS The value and efficacy of person-centred care as an intervention have only been studied to a limited extent. Methodological problems in trial design and execution could account for the general lack of research on person-centred care. Evidence that person-centred care is effective is insufficient, more stringent studies are needed. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The results suggest that person-centred care may lead to significant improvements, but the implementation and relevant effects needs to be assessed in more studies.

The integrated care pathway reduced the number of hospital days by half: a prospective comparative study of patients with acute hip fracture

BackgroundThe incidence of hip fracture is expected to increase during the coming years, demanding greater resources and improved effectiveness on this group of patients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an integrated care pathway (ICP) in patients with an acute fracture of the hip.MethodsA nonrandomized prospective study comparing a consecutive series of patients treated by the conventional pathway to a newer intervention. 112 independently living patients aged 65 years or older admitted to the hospital with a hip fracture were consecutively selected. Exclusion criteria were pathological fracture and severe cognitive impairment. An ICP was developed with the intention of creating a care path with rapid pre-operative attention, increased continuity and an accelerated training programme based on the individual patients prerequisites and was used as a guidance for each patients tailored care in the intervention group (N = 56) The main outcome measure was the length of hospital stay. Secondary outcomes were the amount of time from the emergency room to the ward, to surgery and to first ambulation, as well as in-hospital complications and 30-day readmission rate.ResultsThe intervention group had a significantly shorter length of hospital stay (12.2 vs. 26.3 days; p < 0.000), a shorter time to first ambulation (41 vs. 49 h; p = 0.01), fewer pressure wounds (8 vs. 19; p = 0.02) and medical complications (5 vs. 14; p = 0.003) than the comparison group. No readmissions occurred within 30 days post-intervention in either group.ConclusionImplementing an ICP for patients with a hip fracture was found to significantly reduce the length of hospital stay and improve the quality of care.

Uncertainty in illness among patients with chronic heart failure is less in person-centred care than in usual care

Background: Many patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) experience uncertainty regarding the treatment and characteristics of their illness. Person-centred care (PCC) emphasizes patient involvement in care. We have previously shown that PCC improved outcomes such as length of hospital stay and activities of daily living in patients with CHF. The impact of PCC on self-reported uncertainty in illness among patients hospitalized for CHF is still unknown. Aim: To evaluate whether PCC is associated with less self-reported uncertainty in illness compared with usual care in patients hospitalized for worsening CHF. Methods: Using a controlled before-and-after design, eligible CHF patients were assigned to either a usual care group or a PCC intervention group. Patient-reported uncertainty in illness was assessed at hospital discharge with the Cardiovascular Population Scale (CPS). The CPS consists of two domains: 1) Ambiguity (about illness severity); and 2) Complexity (of treatment and system of care). Results: Two hundred and forty-eight patients were included in the study; 123 in the usual care group and 125 in the PCC intervention. The PCC group had better scores than the usual care group in the CPS domains complexity (M=15.2, SD=4.7 vs. M=16.8, SD=4.7; p=0.020) and ambiguity (M=27.8, SD=6.6 vs. M=29.8, SD=6.9; p=0.041). Conclusion: Patients with CHF were less uncertain in their illness after PCC, which may help to equip and empower patients to manage their illness. Together with earlier findings of shortened hospital stay and improved activities of daily living, this indicates that PCC should be a standard approach for hospital care of patients with worsening CHF.

Organizational culture and the implementation of person centered care: Results from a change process in Swedish hospital care

Sweden has one of the oldest, most coherent and stable healthcare systems in the world. The culture has been described as conservative, mechanistic and increasingly standardized. In order to provide a care adjusted to the patient, person centered care (PCC) has been developed and implemented into some parts of the health care industry. The model has proven to decrease patient uncertainty. However, the impact of PCC has been limited in some clinics and hospital wards. An assumption is that organizational culture has an impact on desired outcomes of PCC, such as patient uncertainty. Therefore, in this study we identify the impact of organizational culture on patient uncertainty in five hospital wards during the implementation of PCC. Data from 220 hospitalized patients who completed the uncertainty cardiovascular population scale (UCPS) and 117 nurses who completed the organizational values questionnaire (OVQ) were investigated with regression analysis. The results seemed to indicate that in hospitals where the culture promotes stability, control and goal setting, patient uncertainty is reduced. In contrast to previous studies suggesting that a culture of flexibility, cohesion and trust is positive, a culture of stability can better sustain a desired outcome of reform or implementation of new care models such as person centered care. It is essential for health managers to be aware of what characterizes their organizational culture before attempting to implement any sort of new healthcare model. The organizational values questionnaire has the potential to be used as a tool to aid health managers in reaching that understanding.

Person-centred care – An approach that improves the discharge process

Background: Discharge planning is important to bridge the gap between hospital and home. Many patients with chronic heart failure are often fragile elderly with co-morbidities and functional decline due to increased symptom burden. A structured Gothenburg person-centred care (gPCC) approach may promote better discharge-planning. Aims: To evaluate whether proactive care-planning based on the gPCC model leads to improved efficiency in discharge procedures compared with usual care in patients hospitalized for worsening chronic heart failure. Methods: In a controlled before-and-after design, patients hospitalized for worsening chronic heart failure were assigned to either a usual care group or a gPCC intervention group. The patients’ social situation, their discharge destination and the number of days until the discharge were recorded. The time interval (in days) between notification and start of coordination of care was recorded. Results: In total, 248 patients were included, 123 in the usual care group and 125 in the gPCC intervention. During hospitalization, notifications to the community home help service and/or round-the-clock home nursing care services were more frequent in the gPCC-group (33.8%) compared with patients in the usual care group (12.1%). A confirmed discharge planning conference started within the first five days in the gPCC group whereas the usual care group ranged from one to 28 days. Compared with the usual care group, the gPCC group had fewer days in hospital (11 versus 35) ready for discharge. Conclusion: gPCC improves discharge processes because patients are viewed as competent to be involved in planning their subsequent care.

Incidence and root causes of cancellations for elective orthopaedic procedures: a single center experience of 17,625 consecutive cases

BackgroundThe purpose of the Swedish public health-care system is to provide care on equal terms for all citizens. In this, as in most other systems where taxes and/or insurances pay for most of the care, normal market forces are set aside at least in part. At times, this has, for example, resulted in long waiting lists, particularly in terms of elective orthopaedic surgery, with several negative consequences, such as cancellations of planned surgery.MethodsThe main purpose of this retrospective observational single center study was to evaluate and describe the number and reasons for cancellations in elective orthopaedic surgery. Studied were all the elective patients scheduled for joint replacement, arthroscopy and foot & ankle surgery, January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2011, whose procedure was cancelled at least once.ResultsOf all 17,625 patients scheduled for elective surgery 6,911 (39%) received at least one, some several cancellations. The most common reason for cancelling a planned surgery was different patient-related factors 3,293 (33%). Cancellations due to treatment guarantee legislation reached 2,885 (29%) and 1,181 (12%) of the cancellations were related to incomplete pre-operative preparation of the patients. Organisational reasons were the cause of approximately 869 (9%) of the cancellations.ConclusionsIn this study of patients waiting for elective orthopaedic surgery 6,911(39%) had their surgical procedure cancelled at least once, some several times. It appears that it should be possible to eliminate many of these cancellations, while others are unavoidable or caused by factors outside the responsibility of the individual clinic or even hospital. One possible way of influencing the high rate of cancellations might be to change the view of the patients and involve them in the overall planning of the care process.

Person-centred care compared with standardized care for patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty—a quasi-experimental study

BackgroundA common approach to decrease length of stay has been to standardize patient care, for example, by implementing clinical care pathways or creating fast-track organizations. In a recent national report, it was found that Swedens healthcare system often fails to anticipate and respond to patients as individuals with particular needs, values and preferences. We compared a standardized care approach to one of person-centred care for patients undergoing total hip replacement surgery.MethodsA control group (n =138) was consecutively recruited between 20th September 2010 and 1st March 2011 and an intervention group (n =128) between 12th December 2011 and 12th November 2012, both scheduled for total hip replacement. The primary outcome measures were length of stay and physical function at both discharge and 3 months later.ResultsThe mean length of stay in the control group was 7 days (SD 5.0) compared to 5.3 days in the intervention group (SD 2.2). Physical functional performance, as assessed using activities of daily living, was similar at baseline for both groups. At discharge, 84% in the control group had regained activities of daily living level A vs. 72% in the intervention group. At 3 months after surgery, 88% in the control group had regained their independence vs. 92.5% in the person-centred care group.ConclusionsFocusing attention on patients as people and including them as partners in healthcare decision-making can result in shorter length of stay. The present study shows that the patients should be the focus and they should be involved as partners.

Person-centred care for patients with chronic heart failure – a cost–utility analysis

Background: Costs of care for patients with chronic heart failure have been estimated at between 1% and 2% of the total health care expenditure in Europe and North America. Two-thirds are for inpatient care. Person-centred care (PCC) asserts that patients are persons and should not be reduced to their diseases alone. Aims: The aim of this study was to estimate the cost–utility of PCC when compared with conventional care in patients hospitalized for worsening chronic heart failure. Methods and results: Data for the cost–utility analysis were collected alongside a prospective clinical intervention study with a controlled before and after design from 2008 to 2010. Patient-specific resources used and preference-based health status data were collected at an individual level. Only 63% received PCC as intended illustrating the difficulties of introducing new methods in established organizations. The group intended to have PCC yielded higher costs in comparison with the conventional care group. The incremental cost was estimated as €98. The costs for those who actually received PCC, per protocol (PP) (63%) were significantly (p=0.026) lower than for those in the conventional care group, with an incremental cost-saving of €863. For the first three months, patients in the conventional care group showed decreasing health-related quality of life, with a corresponding improvement in the PCC(PP) group. Conclusion: It must be emphasized, however, that these positive effects, both cheaper and somewhat better, were obtained only among those receiving the PCC intervention in its intended form, PCC(PP).

The impact of organizational culture on the outcome of hospital care: After the implementation of person-centred care

Aims: To measure the effect of organizational culture on health outcomes of patients 3 months after discharge. Methods: a quantitative study using Organizational Values Questionnaire (OVQ) and a health-related quality of life instrument (EQ-5D). A total of 117 nurses, 69% response rate, and 220 patients answered the OVQ and EQ-5D, respectively. Results: The regression analysis showed that; 16% (R2 = 0.02) of a decreased health status, 22% (R2 = 0.05) of pain/discomfort and 13% (R2 = 0.02) of mobility problems could be attributed to the combination of open system (OS) and Human Relations (HR) cultural dimensions, i.e., an organizational culture being dominated by flexibility. Conclusions: The results from the present study tentatively indicated an association between an organizational culture and patients’ health related quality of life 3 months after discharge. Even if the current understanding of organizational culture, which is dominated by flexibility, is considered favourable when implementing a new health care model, our results showed that it could be hindering instead of helping the new health care model in achieving its objectives.