The Cautious Patient Foundation was founded on certain guiding principles. These principles lead and remind us of the role that we want to play and the impact we want to see in society and in our healthcare system. The foundation was formed to:
Educate patients about the inadequacies, injustices and downright hazards in our healthcare system. (Only 55 percent of patients who see a doctor in his or her office get adequate and up-to-date care; nearly 100,000 patients die in U.S. hospitals each year due to preventable medical errors; and another 99,000 die due to hospital-acquired infections.)
Educate patients that the movement to prevent these hazards is called “patient safety,” and that many organizations are working on these problems; but we can’t get even close to best results without the patients’ help.
Inform patients that their participation is one of the few things that will improve the care that they and their loved ones receive.
Inform patients where to get the information they need.
Inform patients how to use the information once they obtain it.
Inform patients how best to interact with doctors. We help them get what they need without getting into an argument with their doctor
Innovate and bring the latest tools to patients to help them manage their healthcare more effectively.
Encourage dialogue among those who’ve suffered errors or tragedies, for comfort and consolation.
Encourage patient advocates to share “what works” with each other and with leaders in the industry to help doctors get what they need to treat patients more easily in an up-to-date fashion.
Partner with doctors to continue to search for ways we can help them. We would like to take some of the burden off the doctor and other medical professionals, by letting the patient contribute more to his or her own care—an absolutely necessary evolution in medicine today.)
