Focus on optimal health, not ideal health
Published November 4, 2021
Providers strive to help patients live the best, healthiest life they are capable of living. However, those efforts should involve a careful assessment of what the patient’s optimal health status is. It is deleterious to the therapeutic relationship to drive a patient towards a health status they are not able to attain. This article provides a brief commentary on the author’s experience as a patient to illustrate this point.
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The outcomes of complex care are never predictable. Despite this, reflecting on my husband’s care and his untimely death, I am certain that his fate would have been different with better communication, attention to detail, collaboration, and measures of curiosity, humility, and compassion.
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Stories are fundamental to how we understand individual beliefs and experiences, as well as collective mindsets and institutional practices. Volunteered narratives are abundant, especially on the interweb. We in the health experiences research community, however, are challenged to develop effective, equitable approaches to moving beyond surveys by hearing and responding to not just dominant voices,
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Patient Family & Community Engagement | Policy & Measurement
Care Partners as Essential Team Members in Safe Care
Published June 9, 2026
2pm ET / 1pm CT / 12pm MT / 11am PT – This session explores the role of care partners as essential members of the care team and their impact on patient safety. Participants will examine strategies to support care partner presence and engagement across the care continuum, including bedside rounding, shift reports, discharge planning,
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Become a member for access to this resource and more:
- Live and On-demand Webinars and Connection Calls
- PX Papers, Case Studies and Research Reports
- PX Connect Online Community
- Discounts on Learning Programs and Events