Patient Experience, Safety, and Quality

Abstract

The psychosomatic evidence from the past decade offers an ideal background to better prepare healthcare systems globally for unmet and emerging needs. However, much of the literature surrounds assessment and evaluation, factors that increase vulnerability, and the application of psychiatric treatment to psychosomatic medicine. While serving as an excellent platform, this literature pays far too little attention to the societal undercurrents that continue to separate and dichotomize the “mental” from the “physical,” thus perpetuating the ongoing oppressive stigmatization of mental health. This chapter challenges our healthcare systems to consider patient experience and safety, which ultimately informs patient quality, and invites systems to embrace collaborative care practices. It is only when these patient factors are considered that the ongoing efforts toward addressing psychiatric and psychosocial comorbidities that adversely impact healthcare may truly develop clinical pathways in psychosomatic medicine. This proposed psychosomatic approach can improve global healthcare by emphasizing cross-disciplinary collaboration and integration of mental health into primary care, taking into account the individual and contextual influences on health to reduce barriers related to stigma and to ultimately improve quality, safety, and experience across all health systems.