Giving providers a patient's perspective

A New England-based foundation is offering a growing list of providers a new perspective by setting up meetings exposing clinicians to patients' stories of their healthcare experiences. The "Rounds Program" is sponsored by the Kenneth B. Schwartz Center, which was founded by a health attorney who died of lung cancer in 1995. The program brings patients to speak to groups of healthcare professionals about their contact with the healthcare system, giving even seasoned pros a perspective they'd seldom gotten in the past.

In the more than 10 years since the center's founding, the Rounds Program has traveled to 110 sites in 26 states, reaching about 26,000 medical professionals. Topics have included everything from breaking bad news to a family to coping with the death of a child. These programs are growing in popularity, attracting everyone from orderlies to PhDs, say Schwartz Center staff.

To find out more about these programs:
- read this piece [1] from The Boston Globe

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