COMMENTARY
No Respect: Research in Quality, Safety, and Process Improvement.
The need for good quality and safety research has never been more imperative, but even as it is encouraged it is suppressed through institutional bias and inertia. This commentary explores implications of the application of pure science standards at the sharp end of clinical practice, where the down-and-dirty street-level improvement work happens.
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Health Care Delivery Performance: Service, Outcomes, and Resource Stewardship.
As competition intensifies within the health care industry, patient satisfaction and service quality are providing the evidentiary basis for patient outcomes. We propose a conceptual model of three interrelated areas--service, health outcomes, and resource stewardship--all affected by the clinician-patient relationship, and from the perspectives of the health care organization, clinician, and patient, to define a more comprehensive measure of health care delivery performance
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Patient–Physician Language Concordance: A Strategy for Meeting the Needs of Spanish-Speaking Patients in Primary Care.
Patients need to communicate with a language-concordant physician, not simply an interpreter, to receive the best medical care, bond with the physician, and be satisfied with the care experience. A Spanish Language Task Force addressed the issue of Spanish-speaking patients visiting Primary Care Departments. Not all physicians who self-identify as Spanish-speaking truly speak fluently. Once an individual assessment is completed, then a plan for concordance can be made.
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