Table 2.
Patient-identified elements of compassionate care.
| Element | Description | Supporting quote |
|---|---|---|
| Autonomy | The availability of choice and ability to make an informed, independent decision. | “And this is something that could be engaged by healthcare clinicians. “Under what circumstances would you be comfortable? Teleconferencing? Videoconferencing? And seeing me in person?” It's part of the education process so that patients themselves realize, “Yeah. That's true, when this was happening, this was important to me.” So that they themselves learn about their needs and convey that to healthcare clinicians. We need to have that dialogue moving forward.” P21, F, virtual experience |
| Holistic care | Care that extends beyond the presenting symptom(s) to include the patient's context and broader needs. | “They are a person who is also learning from you about what's important, what your values are, what issues are most concerning to you, what your resources are. And if there's trust, you’re more apt I think to be open about all of those areas that will impact your health. So, I think being humanistic means connecting on a personal level, building trust and ensuring that both partners in this healthcare relationship can contribute to positive outcomes.” P25, virtual experience |
| Security | Feeling physically and psychologically safe. | “Another thing that I kind of had, sometimes I would be nervous when I would see the doctor, like in person, and I would forget to ask certain things. But this time, because I was on my laptop, like I kind of had my questions ready to go and I had them on the side. So I was just looking at the screen and I was just asking him more questions based off of that. Whereas, in person I would be a little bit nervous to take out my phone and go through it and be like OK, I have all these questions.” P10, virtual experience |
| Encounter-based presence | Feeling prioritized by and connected to the clinician during the visit. | “I feel like I need to connect with someone, you’re taking care of me, this has to do with my life, it has to do with my health, it's a priority for me. So me placing myself in your hands and asking for your opinion or for your services with regards to my health, is like me putting my life with you. So I feel like I have to have a particular connection with that person or - I just don't know. I just feel like I've got to be close with that person, or it's actually someone I trust out - I don't know how to really explain this. It's probably because I'm used to having him for a long while, so I'm not used to new faces or new people taking care of my treatments and all that.” T5, no virtual experience |
| Collaborative approach | Being engaged as an equal in the conversation, including mutual exchanges of knowledge. | “OK asides my family doctor I believe that whatever relationship person or individual has with any health care clinician should be a partnership. Every person should have a say in his or her health. So it should definitely be a partnership. It shouldn’t be one within the, the physician shouldn’t be telling you everything you must do. I believe even in the medical space there are options for therapies and then you know consider the options as a patient and see which best fits your needs.” P18, no virtual experience |