Listening, offering comfort, advising and understanding patients’ opinions are some of the characteristics of humanized care. This is a care model that is increasingly common in hospitals, clinics, offices and several other health-related environments.
In general, humanized care represents the union between ethical behavior and technical knowledge. In the health area, this type of care becomes even more important, since when seeking medical help, the person is already going through a delicate and sensitive moment.
Next, we go deeper into what humanized care is and how to implement this care model. Read on and understand more about it!
What is humanized health care?
The concept of humanization in health is linked to the model of the provision of care and service. Generally speaking, it involves practices and resources aimed at improving and developing a relationship between professionals and patients.
Understanding the feelings of those being cared for, as well as showing interest in the other’s pain, are examples of attitudes that are associated with humanized care within clinics and hospitals. This may even seem simplistic, but in reality it is very difficult, as the hospital routine and work overload can harden the gaze of those who live through those situations every day.
During the treatment, it is necessary to consider the existential needs of the patients, attend with affection, solidarity and offer some comfort to someone who is already going through a difficult time.
The integration between patients and employees creates an essential bond for the success of many treatments. Therefore, humanization processes have become increasingly necessary to ensure that care is provided in the best possible way.
However, it is also worth remembering that humanized health care does not only depend on professionals. Other details such as environment, infrastructure, quality of materials and services are also of great influence, as they too contribute to the patient’s experience.
How do we provide humanized health care?
When there is a need to undergo treatment, the person often goes through a moment of emotional weakness. The patient is not always emotionally prepared to deal with the situation. Receiving humanized care, in these and other cases, will be of paramount importance to truly help that person.
Thus, a humanized service is one that understands that each patient will react in a different way, so it is necessary to personalize each case. That is, offering an experience focused on what the patient’s problem really is, which will not always be the disease itself, but the psychological shock it causes.
In addition, it is important to respect the patient’s rhythm. Each person has a different timing, and professionals should not pressure or rush them. The best thing to do is to try to calm, comfort and support the patient, so that they feel comfortable and safe within the situation.
There is also a great importance given to being proactive, offering viable solutions to the patient and taking their needs into account. To do this, it is essential to listen carefully, trying to understand the person’s history in order to seek answers that can truly help.
And don’t forget, that to humanize care, the health care clinic itself needs to adopt some humanization measures. It should offer a comfortable environment for patients, a trained team, a management that understands how to talk to, recognize and respect the other.
But don’t think that you are restricted examples alone, you can look for new ways to humanize relationships within your environment. You can also use technology to your advantage, with the support of many available tools it is possible to improve and optimize the provision of services. Read on to find out more.
How can technology help improve service?
The Electronic Citizen’s Record (PEC) — mandatory in all Basic Health Units (UBSs) since 2017 — is an important tool to better understand the history of all patients. After all, to offer a humanized and personalized service it is necessary to have information.
Data is essential to assist in decision making. The Internet of Things allows a large amount of information to be collected by integrating equipment. This makes it possible to unite all this data to make diagnoses and care more efficient and targeted.
Data Science is one of the afore mentioned tools available to assist with humanized health care. It generates analyses, statistics and reports that guide doctors, nurses and all other professionals involved in healthcare. One thing you may not realize or think about, is that data is a kind of insurance, that is to say, it helps to minimize the chances of errors.
A very simple way to provide a more humanized care is to prevent the patient from having to go through a plethora of administrative procedures. In many cases, bureaucracy creates stress which is clearly not an ideal situation for someone needing healthcare. To help avoid this, process automation can be used to make the availability of information faster and more reliable.
The use of technology applied to health is beneficial not only for patients, but also for the institution itself. It allows for the feasibility and optimization of processes, reduces time spent and ensures efficiency. It also reduces the margin for human error and improves medical practices.
Technology in health provides greater awareness of the importance of self-care and enables an improvement in quality of life. Patients notice the difference when processes are agile, easy to access and simple. For example, scheduling appointments and exams through apps.
Therefore, humanized care seeks to cooperate with the patient in every way. So, when you think about the optimization of processes, which in turn ensures a better quality of life for patients and a reduction in costs, it is clear that technology is the way forward.
Atlantico offers several solutions aimed at health. To get in touch with us and learn more about each one of them, simply visit our Contact Us page!
