Enhancing the Patient Experience: Suggestions to Promote a Patient-Centered Approach to Sonography

Abstract

A patient’s health care experience is considered as valuable feedback and a perception of the quality medical care that was provided. People have underlying factors that affect their perception and experiences, and these can impact how they gauge the medical care that they have received. Identifying specific factors and responses can better inform practitioners on ways to engage appropriately and provide patient-centered and safe services, as part of the sonographer’s scope of practice. Focusing on enhancing the patient experience and how they perceive and face medical experiences can be achieved by applying patient-centered approaches to care, rather than just being solely task-focused. Patient-centered approaches involve consistently considering patient needs, with safety and compassion, to add value to their examination. Data support that positive patient experiences through improved communication, inclusion in medical decisions, and the preservation of safety and comfort can add diagnostic value, as well as improve obtaining a patient history and overall cooperation.