ABSTRACT
Relationships are at the heart of the healthcare experience; or they should be. The Patient Centered Value System is a comprehensive approach to healthcare delivery comprising three equally important tools: Shadowing, the Patient and Family Centered Care Methodology, and Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing. Shadowing is the essential tool used in the Patient and Family Centered Care Methodology to enable healthcare professionals to see the current state of any care experience from the patient's and family's point of view through direct, real-time observation of their experience as they move through it, whether in doctors' offices, hospitals, clinics, imaging centers, long-term care facilities, rehabilitation centers, skilled nursing facilities, or other settings. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. It also explains the six steps of the Patient and Family Centered Care Methodology.
