Patient Experience Outcomes Research Articles

Patient Experience and Clinical Outcomes after Same-day Outpatient Mastectomy and Immediate Breast Reconstruction Protocol during the Global Pandemic.

This is a retrospective single-institution study of consecutive patients who underwent mastectomy and immediate alloplastic reconstruction between July 2019 and November 2020. A postoperative survey was completed by patients to evaluate satisfaction with perioperative communications, recovery, and their overall experience. A total of 302 patients (100% women) underwent mastectomy and immediate alloplastic reconstruction (174 pre-COVID-19, 128 during COVID-19). During COVID-19, 71% of patients were scheduled for a same-day discharge, among which 89% were successfully discharged the same day. Compared with pre-COVID-19, there were no differences in type of surgery, operative times, pain scores, 30-day readmission, or unplanned visits (all P > 0.05) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared with pre-COVID-19, patients during the pandemic reported comparable satisfaction with their care experience and postoperative recovery (56% survey response rate). Patient satisfaction was also similar between those discharged the same day (n = 81) versus the next day (n = 47) during COVID-19. Same-day discharge is feasible, safe, and can provide similar patient-reported satisfaction and outcomes compared with traditional overnight stay. These data highlight the ability to deliver adaptable, high-quality breast cancer care, within the constraints of a global pandemic.

The Use of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Clinical Practice and Clinical Decision Making.

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are highly effective measures of quality of care and outcomes that matter to patients regarding their physical, mental, and social health. While PROMs have played a notable role in research and registry reporting, they are also useful as clinical tools. Real-time PROM collection can be integrated into routine clinical care with immediate access to scores within the electronic health record. This can be integral when discussing treatment options and using decision aids. PROM scores can also be useful for postoperative monitoring. Various approaches to quantifying clinical efficacy have been developed, including the minimal clinically important difference, the substantial clinical benefit, and the patient acceptable symptom state (PASS). As the patient experience and patient-reported outcome measurement of health-related outcomes become increasingly emphasized in patient-centered, high value care, so too will the importance of methods to gauge clinical benefit using these instruments for improved clinical decision-making.

The HOPE Project: Improving Cancer Patient Experience and Clinical Outcomes Through an Integrated Practice Unit and Digital Transformation

Summary Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital — a 651-bed teaching hospital in Madrid, Spain, which is part of the publicly funded, privately run Quirónsalud 4-H Network — developed and launched an initiative to incorporate technical innovation and an integrated practice unit (IPU) model to enhance care delivery for the more than 4,000 patients with cancer it serves annually. By 2021, the third operational year of the initiative, called the Hóspital Oncológico PErsonalizado (HOPE) project, the IPU was handling 75% of day hospital patients for chemotherapy-related care. Compared with 2018 preimplementation data, the first-to-subsequent appointment index (the number of appointments that are generated after a first appointment) was cut by 63% (to 6 from 16) (P < .001) due to the standardization of the appointments for each clinical pathway, better coordination between oncologists and nurses, and nursing empowerment to avoid redundancies in clinical tasks. The efforts have contributed to a reduction of oncologist appointments by more than 30,000 per year (to 16,280 in 2021 from 50,528 in 2018), while handling 4.25% more patients (to 1,616 from 1,549), cutting the overall process time from 10 hours over 3 days to just 2 hours in a single day at a single location, eliminating patient waiting-room time to 0 hours from 10 hours, and boosting patient Net Promoter Scores to 95 from 75. In terms of cost and efficiency, under the HOPE project model the average cost per cancer treatment has decreased 24%, and the number of patients who can receive treatment on a given day has doubled (60 vs. 30 patients). Importantly, data collection systematization and the early detection of adverse effects has contributed to a reduction in hospital admissions due to severe adverse effects or increased symptoms to 33% (525 of 1,615 patients) versus the 2018 rate of 58% (895 of 1,549 patients) (relative risk = 0.56 [confidence interval, 0.52–0.61], P < .001).

902-P: Patient Experience and Clinical Outcomes in Pregnant Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Using Open-Source Automated Insulin Dosing Systems

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) in pregnancy is associated with increased obstetrical and neonatal complications; thus, stringent glycemic targets are imperative. While commercial automated insulin dosing (AID) systems represent an important development in management of T1D, a limitation is that the glycemic targets are not adjustable for pregnancy. Before commercial AID, a community of people with T1D combined CGM sensors, insulin pumps and open-source code, developing open-source automated insulin delivery systems (OSAIDS). Given customizable glycemic targets, OSAIDS may fill an important clinical gap in pregnancy. We included participants ≥18 years old with T1D who had at least one pregnancy using OSAIDS. Of 37 completed surveys, motivations for using OSAIDS included commercial AID targets being too high for pregnancy (78%), increased ownership over diabetes (53%) and transparency (44%). The INsulin Dosing Systems: Perceptions, Ideas, Reflections and Expectations (INSPIRE) questionnaire showed that 100% strongly agreed or agreed with: helped in pregnancy (89% strongly agree), better quality of life (94% strongly agree) and better sleep (83% strongly agree). With a glycemic target of 3.5-7.8mmol/L (63-140mg/dl), 86% exceeded the time-in-range (TIR) target of ≥ 70% set by the Advanced Technologies &amp; Treatments for Diabetes Congress. The majority (66%) had a more stringent TIR of ≥ 80%. The vast majority (97%) did not have severe hypoglycemia; 74% had time-below-range ≤ 4%. Of the 71% who experienced labor and delivery, 90% delivered at 37 weeks gestational age or greater; 90% did not have shoulder dystocia. Median birth weight was 3374g (SD 600g), 19% of newborns had macrosomia (&amp;gt;4000g). Neonatal hypoglycemia (&amp;lt;2.5mmol/L/&amp;lt;45mg/dl) occurred in 24% with 14% requiring NICU. OSAIDS provides excellent glycemic control, maternal quality of life and neonatal outcomes. More data is needed to validate these initial promising outcomes. Disclosure Y.Yang: None. I.Halperin: Advisory Panel; Sanofi, Speaker's Bureau; 3Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd./Ltée, Abbott Diabetes, Dexcom, Inc., Novo Nordisk.

Leveraging Patient Comments to Improve the Patient Experience

Obstetrics is the largest service line at one organization, where they support the highest number of births in the region, that is, 5,400 annually. Although the hospital is widely known for its obstetric program, the patient-experience outcomes did not support the reputation we aspired to cultivate. Though the division had seen historical success with improving patient-experience outcomes, sustainability was never achieved. In fact, in fiscal year 2021, the women’s health inpatient service line ended the year with an overall Rate this Hospital top box score of 64.6%, in the 22nd percentile compared with the benchmark.

Associations between Patient Experience and Addiction Treatment Facility Services: Results of the Addiction Treatment Locator, Assessment, and Standards Surveys.

Patient experience and presence of evidence-based facility services are 2 dimensions of assessing quality of addiction treatment facilities. However, the relationship between these two is not well described. The objective of this study was to explore associations between patient experience measures and service offerings at addiction treatment facilities. We used data from cross-sectional surveys of addiction treatment facilities and persons involved in treatment at corresponding facilities to identify facility services (eg, availability of medications for alcohol use disorder, assistance with obtaining social services, etc) and patient experience measures (overall facility rating, extent helped by treatment, ability to deal with daily problems after treatment), respectively. We used hierarchical multiple logistic regression to test for associations between top-box scores for each patient experience outcome and facility services. We analyzed 9191 patient experience surveys from 149 facilities. Assistance with obtaining social services (adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval], 0.43 [0.28-0.66]) was associated with lower overall treatment facility ratings. Childcare (2.00 [1.04-3.84]) was associated with top-box scores for extent helped. Availability of cognitive behavioral therapy (2.67 [1.25-5.73]) and childcare (1.77 [1.08-2.92]) were associated with top-box scores for ability to deal with daily problems after treatment. Assistance with obtaining social services (0.61 [0.41-0.90]) was associated with lower scores for ability to deal with problems after treatment. Few addiction treatment facility services were associated with patient experience measures. Future work should explore bridging the gap between evidence-based services and positive patient experiences.

Patient Experience Performance at a Primary Cancer Center Versus Affiliated Community Facilities

Patient experience tools are used throughout health care to evaluate physician and departmental performance. In radiation medicine, these tools are important in evaluating patient-specific metrics throughout their care journey. This study compared patient experience outcomes from a central tertiary cancer program with network clinics in a health care network. Radiation medicine patient experience surveys (Press Ganey, LLC) were collected from a central facility and 5 network locations from January 2017 through June 2021. Surveys were distributed to patients after treatment completion. The study cohort was divided into the central facility and satellites. Questions were converted to a 0 to 100 scale from the Likert scale (1-5). To compare scores between site types, 2-way analysis of variance tests for the significance of sites adjusted for years of operations and adjustments for multiple comparisons (Dunnett's test) were completed on each question. The number of consecutively returned surveys analyzed was 3777; a response rate of 33.3% was observed. The central site conducted 117,583 linear accelerator, 1425 Gamma Knife, 273 stereotactic radiosurgery, and 830 stereotactic body radiation therapy procedures. All satellites combined conducted 76,788 linear accelerator, 131 Gamma Knife, 95 stereotactic radiosurgery, and 355 stereotactic body radiation therapy procedures. The central facility fared better than the satellites on "Convenience of parking" (95.9 vs 87.9; P=.0001) but worse in other domains of care. All sites yielded exemplary patient experience rates. Community clinics scored higher than the main campus. The higher scores at the network sites require a deeper analysis of factors influencing the central facility, as the survey did not account for varying patient volumes and disparities in care complexity across sites. Attributes to satellites include lower patient volumes and easily navigable layouts. These results counter the impression that increased resources at the main campus create a better patient experience relative to network clinics and suggest that high-volume tertiary facilities will require unique initiatives to improve the patient experience.

Association between the nurse work environment and patient experience in Chilean hospitals: A multi-hospital cross-sectional study.

International evidence shows that nurses' work environments affect patient outcomes, including their care experiences. In Chile, several factors negatively affect the work environment, but they have not been addressed in prior research. The aim of this study was to measure the quality of the nurse work environment in Chilean hospitals and its association with patient experience. A cross-sectional study of 40 adult general high-complexity hospitals across Chile. Participants included bedside nurses (n=1632) and patients (n=2017) in medical or surgical wards, who responded to a survey. The work environment was measured through the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index. Hospitals were categorized as having a good or poor work environment. A set of patient experience outcomes were measured through the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey. Adjusted logistic regression models were used to test associations between the environment and patient experiences. For all outcomes, the percentage of patients satisfied was higher in hospitals with good as compared to poor work environments. In good environment hospitals patients had significantly higher odds of being satisfied with communication with nurses (OR 1.46, 95% CI: 1.10-1.94, p=0.010), with pain control (OR 1.52, 95% CI: 1.14-2.02, p=0.004), and with nurses' timely responses in helping them to go to the bathroom (OR 2.17, 95% CI: 1.49-3.16, p < 0.0001). Hospitals with good environments outperform hospitals with poor environments in most patient care experience indicators. Efforts to improve nurses' work environment hold promise for improving patient experiences in Chilean hospitals. Hospital administrators and nurse managers should value, especially in the context of financial constraints and understaffing, the implementation of strategies to improve the quality of nurses´ work environments so that they can provide patients with a better care experience.

Evaluation of a New Hospital Building's Impact on Clinical Outcomes and Consumer Experience in Medical Inpatients.

Hospitals often seek to improve the effectiveness and experience of care through new building construction. However, the association between the built hospital environment, patient outcomes, and patient experience remains unclear. This retrospective matched cohort study leveraged natural experimental conditions to characterize major clinical outcomes and patient experience in medicine patients admitted to a new hospital building incorporating evidence-based design features compared with controls admitted to legacy buildings. Among patients discharged between June 1, 2019, and March 1, 2020, there were no significant differences in intensive care unit transfer, inpatient mortality, 30-day readmission, 30-day mortality, or length of stay. However, discharge from the new hospital building was associated with a higher percentage of top box scores on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems overall hospital rating item (60% vs 76%, P = 0.02). Further studies are needed to identify specific hospital design features that influence patient experience and clinical outcomes.

Protecting seriously ill populations during pragmatic clinical trials.

Pragmatic clinical trials (PCTs) emphasize real-world effectiveness methodology to address the limitations of results from explanatory randomized clinical trials (RCTs), which often fail to translate to real-world medical practice. An inherent tension in the conduct of PCTs is that the research must impose a minimal burden on patients and health care institutions. PCTs prioritize outcome measures from existing data sources to minimize data collection burden; however, a lack of patient-reported outcomes may result in gaps in safety for vulnerable populations, such as those with serious illnesses. One proposed standard for judging the readiness of a study for a pragmatic trial is a ranking system that assigns PCTs a lower rank if they impose additional data collection burdens. However, this results in the wide use of measures of health care utilization and costs while patient experience measures, which could capture adverse unintended consequences, are omitted. In this article, we make the case for a risk-based approach to imposing additional data collection in PCTs to capture potential safety and patient experience outcomes, using examples from "real life" implemented interventions to improve end-of-life care through the Liverpool Pathway and through the implementation of Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) in Oregon.

Development and deployment of a new operating model: A framework to engage leaders and align them with execution

Healthcare systems are complex organisations. Therefore, well-defined systems and processes are necessary to achieve and sustain desired quality, safety, patient experience and financial outcomes. Success depends on aligning members of the workforce, producing robust action plans and creating a culture of accountability. These aims can be accomplished by use of an operating model that organises daily work and coordinates the completion of priorities via an annual operating plan. In that model, an operational excellence team — built on existing resources — identifies and manages important projects and initiatives. Their focus is to develop standardised, templated project plans, support project teams through execution and organise regular performance reviews with senior executives to monitor important performance indicators and act upon barriers or project vulnerabilities. Such a simple, low-cost, structured approach is used to engage leaders, initiate change and create a high-performing organisational culture. This model was developed and deployed across an operating division of Jefferson Health, an 18-hospital health system with US$10bn in annual revenue, to accelerate transformation. This paper, in a case study format, details the framework, tactics, results and learning through implementation.

How did healthcare professionals define patient engagement in quality management? A survey study

BackgroundPatient and family engagement (PFE) can positively impact the patient experience and care process outcomes. There is no unique type of PFE, and the process is usually defined by the quality management department or professionals responsible for this process in the hospital. The objective of this study is to define PFE in quality management based on the professional’s perspective.MethodA survey was carried out with 90 professionals from Brazilian hospitals. There were two questions aimed at understanding the concept. The first was a multiple-choice question to identify synonyms. The second was an open-ended question to develop the definition. A content analysis methodology was employed by applying techniques for thematic and inferential analysis.ResultsThree words were classified as synonyms by more than 60% of respondents: involvement, participation, and centered care. The participants described patient participation at both the individual (related to the treatment) and organizational levels (related to quality improvement). The PFE in the treatment is related to the development, discussion and decision-making about the therapeutic plan, participation in each step of care, and knowledge of the institution's quality and safety processes. At the organizational level, engagement in quality improvement includes the involvement of the P/F in all processes of the institution, from strategic planning to the design or improvement processes, as well as active participation in institutional committees or commissions.ConclusionThe professionals defined engagement in two levels (individual and organizational) and the results suggest that their point of view can influence the practice in the hospitals. Professionals of hospitals that implemented mechanisms of consult defined PFE more in the individual level. On the other hand, professionals of hospitals that implemented mechanisms of involvement considered PFE more focus in the organizational level.

Improving Ambulatory Surgery Environments: The Effects on Patient Preoperative Anxiety, Perception, and Noise.

The study aimed to comparatively evaluate three types of preoperative care environment in terms of patient experience outcomes including patient preoperative anxiety, perceived environmental qualities, and noise level. Preoperative anxiety is a major healthcare problem causing delays, complications, dissatisfaction, and rising healthcare costs. The design of preoperative spaces may play an important role in reducing preoperative anxiety and improving outcomes. Anonymous questionnaire surveys were conducted with 228 patients in the three types of preoperative bays that varied in terms of bay size and the amount of hard-wall partitions between bays to compare patient self-reported anxiety and perceived environmental qualities. Sound level measurements were conducted throughout the three preoperative care units. Female patients in the preoperative unit with largest bays and full hard-wall partitions between bays reported significantly lower levels of subjective anxiety (p's = .002, <.001) and higher levels of perceived environmental qualities on privacy, cleanliness, noise, and pleasantness (p's from <.001 to .017) than patients in the units with smaller bays and no or partial hard-wall partitions. Similar but less clear pattern was found among male patients. The lowest average noise levels were recorded in the unit with largest bays and full hard-wall partitions between bays (2.3-6.1 decibels lower than the other units). The design of preoperative care environment may contribute to the better management of preoperative anxiety. Further efforts in research and design are needed to maximize the benefits in clinical, experiential, and financial outcomes.

Patient experience outcomes are consistent between men with median and lateral lobe obstruction following treatment with the Prostatic Urethral Lift (PUL)

Patient experience outcomes are consistent between men with median and lateral lobe obstruction following treatment with the Prostatic Urethral Lift (PUL)

P705 Switching from intravenous to subcutaneous infliximab: clinical and patient experience outcomes

Abstract Background Intravenous (IV) infliximab (IFX) monotherapy is associated with significant loss of response. Therapeutic drug monitoring shows an association with low serum trough drug levels and development of anti-IFX antibodies. Combination therapy with immunomodulators is not always possible, and IFX dose escalation leads to higher drug costs and time pressure on infusion units. Both approaches have raised heightened patient safety concerns due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Subcutaneous (SC) IFX pharmacokinetics lead to improved drug trough levels, which could lead to better clinical outcomes. Methods The NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde biologics database was used to identify selected patients currently treated with IV IFX for IBD for suitability for SC switch. Patients were contacted to allow informed choice to opt in or out of switch. Baseline clinical data was collected, and patients were reviewed at week 8 and week 24 for assessment of clinical disease activity scores, IFX trough levels/anti-drug antibody levels, and faecal calprotectin. Patient experience outcomes were assessed using a quality of life questionnaire (CUCQ-8). Results 31 patients consented to switch; F:M = 17:14. The majority of patients (16) had Crohn’s disease, with 13 with UC and 2 IBDU. Mean duration of disease was 9.1 years and duration of prior IV therapy was 3.3 years. 28 patients were reviewed at week 8 and 24 at week 24. At week 24, 71% of patients were in clinical remission (Harvey-Bradshaw index score &amp;lt;5 or partial Mayo score &amp;lt;2), 96% had CRP &amp;lt;5 mg/Land 87% had FCP &amp;lt;250µg/g. 21% of patients had subtherapeutic IFX trough levels at baseline, all had increased by week 8 and there were no subtherapeutic levels measured by week 24. One patient had detectable antibodies at week 24, compared with 9 patients at baseline. Three patients required oral steroid therapy during the 24-week follow up period. There were no hospital admissions, significant infections or adverse reactions within the cohort. 15 patients submitted CUCQ-8 scores, of these 7 patients’ scores had worsened at week 8 but by week 24 13/15 were stable or improved compared to baseline. Conclusion Switching from IV to SC infliximab is welcomed by most patients. The efficacy, tolerability, increased drug level and safety which has previously been demonstrated is reproduced in our cohort. This study is the first to explore patient experience outcomes. The finding of initial worsening of the CUCQ-8 score, but overall improvement by week 24 opens further opportunity for engaging patient involvement in switch programmes.

Patient experience of imaging reports: A systematic literature review.

Written reports are often the sole form of communication from diagnostic imaging. Reports are increasingly being accessed by patients through electronic records. Experiencing medical terminology can be confusing and lead to miscommunication, a decrease in involvement and increased anxiety for patients. This systematic review was designed to include predefined study selection criteria and was registered prospectively on PROSPERO (CRD42020221734). MEDLINE, CINAHL, Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost), EMBASE, Scopus and EThOS were searched to identify articles meeting the inclusion criteria. Studies were assessed against the Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool version 2018 for quality. A segregated approach was used to synthesise data. A thematic synthesis of the qualitative data and a narrative review of the quantitative data were performed, and findings of both syntheses were then integrated. Twelve articles reporting 13 studies were included. This review found that patients' experiences of imaging reports included positive and negative aspects. The study identified two main themes encompassing both qualitative and quantitative findings. Patients reported their experiences regarding their understanding of reports and self-management. Patient understanding of imaging reports is multi factorial including medical terminology, communication aids and errors. Self-management through direct access is important to patients. While receiving bad news is a concern, responsibility for accessing this is accepted. A patient-centred approach to writing imaging reports may help to improve the quality of service, patient experience and wider health outcomes.

Integration of patient experience factors improves readmission prediction.

Many readmission prediction models have marginal accuracy and are based on clinical and demographic data that exclude patient response data. The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of a 30-day hospital readmission prediction model that incorporates patient response data capturing the patient experience. This was a prospective cohort study of 30-day hospital readmissions. A logistic regression model to predict readmission risk was created using patient responses obtained during interviewer-administered questionnaires as well as demographic and clinical data. Participants (N = 846) were admitted to 2 inpatient adult medicine units at Massachusetts General Hospital from 2012 to 2016. The primary outcome was the accuracy (measured by receiver operating characteristic) of a 30-day readmission risk prediction model. Secondary analyses included a readmission-focused factor analysis of individual versus collective patient experience questions. Of 1754 eligible participants, 846 (48%) were enrolled and 201 (23.8%) had a 30-day readmission. Demographic factors had an accuracy of 0.56 (confidence interval [CI], 0.50-0.62), clinical disease factors had an accuracy of 0.59 (CI, 0.54-0.65), and the patient experience factors had an accuracy of 0.60 (CI, 0.56-0.64). Taken together, their combined accuracy of receiver operating characteristic = 0.78 (CI, 0.74-0.82) was significantly more accurate than these factors were individually. The individual accuracy of patient experience, demographic, and clinical data was relatively poor and consistent with other risk prediction models. The combination of the 3 types of data significantly improved the ability to predict 30-day readmissions. This study suggests that more accurate 30-day readmission risk prediction models can be generated by including information about the patient experience.

Patient Experience with Their Health Care Provider Among Non-Pregnant Women of Childbearing Age with Diabetes Mellitus by Race and Ethnicity in the United States.

The study objective was to investigate differences in patient experiences with health care providers among non-pregnant women of childbearing age with diabetes mellitus (DM) by race/ethnicity. This study used cross-sectional data from the 2012-2018 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. The sample was limited to women of childbearing age (18-45 years) who have ever been told they had diabetes (n = 763; weighted n = 903,670). The key independent variable was race/ethnicity. The variables of interest included patient experiences with health care in the past 12 months: patient-provider communication (PPC); patient-provider racial/ethnic concordance; patient-provider gender concordance; and satisfaction. After adjusting for age, marital status, education, poverty level, health insurance, and perceived health status, non-Hispanic (NH) Black women had lower odds (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.04; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.01-0.11) of receiving care from a health care provider of the same race compared with NH white women. Similar results were found among Hispanic and NH women of other or multiple races. Hispanic women had lower odds (aOR = 0.18; 95% CI = 0.06-0.50) of seeing a health care provider of the same race/ethnicity compared with NH white women in adjusted models. There were no statistically significant differences in PPC, patient-provider gender concordance, and satisfaction with their health care provider among Hispanic, NH Black, or NH women of other or multiple races in comparison to NH White women. There is a need to improve PPC quality and satisfaction in this patient population. Patient-provider racial/ethnic discordance among women of color with DM is concerning given the existing diabetes-related disparities. More research on women with DM is needed to inform and improve patient experience and health outcomes.

Defining comprehensiveness in primary care: a scoping review.

Introduction The term comprehensiveness was introduced into the literature as early as the 1960s and is regarded as a core attribute of primary care. Although comprehensive care is a primary care research priority encompassing patient and provider experience, cost, and health outcomes, there has been a lack of focus on consolidating existing definitions. Aim To unify definitions of comprehensiveness in primary care. Methods The PRISMA extension for scoping reviews was followed, hierarchically filtering 'comprehensiveness' MeSH terms and literature-defined affiliated terms. Snowballing methods were used to include additional literature from known experts. Articles were systematically reviewed with a three-clinician team. Results The initial search populated 679 607 articles, of which 25 were included. Identified key terms include: whole-person care (WPC), range of services, and referral to specialty care. WPC is the extent which primary care physicians (PCPs) consider the physical, emotional, and social aspects of a patient's health. It has been shown to positively impact clinical costs and outcomes, satisfaction, and trust. Range of services encompasses most health problems to reduce unnecessary spending on specialty care and promote continuity. Referral to specialty care is utilized when PCPs cannot provide the necessary services - balancing depth and breadth of care with the limitations of primary care scope. Discussion This scoping review unified the interrelatedness of comprehensiveness's main aspects - whole-person care, range of services, and referral to specialty care - framing a working, evidence-based definition: managing most medical care needs and temporarily complementing care with special integrated services in the context of patient's values, preferences, and beliefs.

Health Communication Should do no Harm: Weight and Diabetes Stigma in Online Health Content

Stigmatizing language in online health communication negatively impacts patient experience and health outcomes. Journals, medical associations, and patient groups have affirmed the use of person-centered language; however, those changes have not been applied broadly to health systems’ patient-facing materials. Health communicators and providers can work together to develop medically accurate, person-centered content that avoids stigmatizing people, improves self-management of personal health, and enhances the online patient experience.