Patient partners should be supported to elevate their skills and knowledge so they can contribute to healthcare improvement and system change, as experts in their own right. This is how Francine Buchanan sees the future of patient partnership. We speak with Francine about her views, and about the article she wrote on healthydebate.ca in response to Frank’s.
Mentioned in this episode:
- How do patients attain equal status if they’re seen as ‘non-expert’? by Francine Buchanan
- The risks of equating ‘lived experience’ with patient expertise by Frank Gavin
- In Part 1, Frank mentions a cartoon/meme (which Emily refers to in this episode) that describes a particular physician-patient dynamic. We couldn’t find it in cartoon form but the idea was popularized in this tweet: https://twitter.com/trishgreenhalgh/status/1000308119115915264
Super connected conversations… thank you to all four of you for bringing this to us now within covid 19’s urgent public health research ….accelerating the mechanics and descriptors of patient and public research involvement …to necessitating clarity on the ‘expert’ patient’s Immediately present validity In eg vaccine trial design..health inequalities ….that voice though as still subjective expression of the patient and carer interest in being present…
Thank you for listening, and for sharing your feedback! Yes, definitely a timely issue. We’ll be sure to pass along your comments to both Frank and Francine.
As a patient who has lived with the worst of the chronic health conditions for coming on 50 years, I feel my lived experiences have relevance for working to improve my quality of life. My career has been in education and I have worked to support students in acquiring the skill of “ACTIVE LISTENING”. Outcomes that make a difference are based on actively listening to the lived experiences of those who seek to improve outcomes. It is about learning to “walk in another’s moccasins” to be able to gain insight into the patient experience. I have been so fortunate to work with a team that has involved me in every step, even listening in and invited to participate in every meeting involving researchers and relevant stakeholders. The outcome is that this group has made a difference, receives funding for their great performance in so many research and training areas. They even continue to invite and engage more patients and they consistently are ranked number one with an international following.