Resources

We all understand that the essential role of patient experience in achieving successful healthcare delivery. Or do we? This article argues that really understanding the patient experience in such a way that it drives organisation-wide improvement,  requires a comprehensive view that captures the full range of interactions across a health service organisation, beyond completing a survey.

Listening to patient voices has many benefits and is proven to contribute to care and service improvement. This article describes how consumers can help healthcare organisations detect and address performance drift, described as gradual deviations from best practice that become normalised over time.  

Consumer-directed care, consumer-centred care, consumer-focused care - whatever terms are used in your sector - remains a work in progress across human services.  Some sectors have embraced and refined their approach to consumer decision-making and partnerships over many years; for others it remains a current challenge.  Aged care, in particular, demonstrates some unique barriers to partnering with consumers in their care, as highlighted by this systematic review which examined the evidence relating to consumer-directed care (CDC) in the aged care environment.  

This storytelling guide is a guide for consumers and their support network who want to share their stories in such a way that they transform the human experience in healthcare. While storytelling is a powerful way to convey experiences in all areas of life, in health and human services it is vital for those advocating for change. 

Historically, consumers have been passive recipients of healthcare services, receiving diagnoses and treatments without active involvement. Recently, that has changed, with co-design and person-centred care part of the treatment process. However, diagnosis has rarely been a domain for partnership (other than in history taking). The article identifies several challenges to consumer involvement, including communication barriers, lack of fit for purpose information, and mistrust or fear or health professionals.

All human service sectors rely heavily on a common success factor: people. Care providers and consumers form a symbiotic relationship. They are two sides of the same coin. This paper explores how this relationship can be designed to create a systematic ‘upward spiral’ of improved staff satisfaction and care quality.

The Australasian Institute of Clinical Governance (AICG) is pleased to announce the launch of a newly adapted version of its Certificate in Clinical Governance, tailored specifically to address the unique healthcare needs of Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs). 
 

In this webinar, Tarati and Jenny presented He Ara Whiria (the woven path), a partnership model of co-governance that is in place at Te Toka Tumai (previously Auckland District Health Board). They discussed some of the challenges and opportunities that arise when weaving an indigenous worldview into the governance of a large public health service.

In this Lightbulb Moment webinar, Dr Cathy Balding and her guest, Alex Cockram, discuss Alex's "ah-ha!" moment about the one word that transformed consumer focus.

The NDIS Independent Advisory Council’s (the Council) paper ‘choice and control to safely live a good life of belonging and citizenship’ recognises the system-wide focus on improving supports for people with disability who are at risk of harm. In response to this paper, the NDIA committed to developing a NDIA Participant Safeguarding Policy (Policy) to guide and enhance the way the NDIA works with NDIS participants and people with disability.