Mapping the Patient Journey Across the Continuum: Lessons Learned From One Patient’s Experience

Patient-centered care is essential for achieving high-quality and cost-effective health care. This is particularly important for patients with chronic or complex conditions who utilize more health-care services and require comprehensive care coordination. This case report draws on a longitudinal journey map—a valuable tool to capture patient experience and inform the care process—for a patient with multiple chronic conditions who needed a hip replacement. An analysis of the patient journey revealed 3 critical needs for a more patient-centered process: (1) making the patient health goal visible; (2) instigating transparent, shared decision-making; and (3) using a closed-loop communication process. Although key challenges exist, systems can facilitate more patient-centered care enabling health-care organizations to improve the patient experience across the continuum and provide higher quality care.