Stewarding Patient Experience Through Alignment
Organizations play a critical role in ensuring that care reflects what matters most—consistently and sustainably
WHY CONVERSATIONS DON’T HAPPEN
Serious illness conversations are widely recognized as essential to patient-centered care. Yet they often occur late in the course of illness or not at all.
Several factors contribute to this:
Communication training has not always been part of clinical education
Uncertain about when to begin these conversations
Conversations about uncertainty can be emotionally difficult
Clinical environments are often focused on immediate treatment decisions.
These challenges reflect system structures, not individual clinician shortcomings