ABSTRACT
Many of us have been patients at some point in our lives. Most of us have loved ones who have been in hospitals or nursing homes. These personal experiences teach us a great deal about what is most important to people when they are ill and in need of care. Sometimes the care experience is not optimal and can leave a person feeling that they have been robbed of their dignity and humanity, and determined that the system must change. Changing the entrenched culture found in hospitals and health systems, widely considered to be the most complex organizations existing today (IOM 2001), is particularly challenging. Inherent in this challenge is the signicant power differential that traditionally exists between those highly trained professionals delivering care, and people who are often at their most vulnerable when in the role of “patient.” Planetree has dedicated itself to addressing this imbalance and the work of the Point of Care programme at The Kings Fund, which is based in England, has focused on the role of staff in creating person-centered environments. Both organizations have pioneered unique ways of integrating the patient perspective into organizational change efforts This chapter presents insights into this transformational work with patients and staff. Planetree is a non-prot patient advocacy organization that was established in the U.S. originally, and now has partner ofces in Europe, South America, and Canada, as well as afliated providers in several additional countries.
