Column: Caring, and what it means to you

With Valentine’s day fast approaching, expressions of care will fill the aisles of mega-marts and Mom & Pops nationwide.

Teddies and truffles, thorn-stripped roses, and thoughtful cards, having long implanted themselves into our definition of care, will find their way into the willing arms of loved ones.

“I care” and other words of devotion will ring through the night.

Yet, as I write, I imagine a few of us shaking our heads in disagreement with these tangible definitions of care. Who is correct?

Care, in healthcare settings, is no different. Inserted definitions of care, promoted to tout the quality of services delivered, are also subjective. Of course, there are evidence-based, quality enhancing criteria that all hospitals meet and even excel at. But is this care?

As patients, we often associate care with love. We see images of nurses who love what they do and offer that tender touch, and of doctors who take the time to sit and listen. However, that is not how patient care is defined.

Rather, it is defined as the prevention, treatment and management of illness and the preservation of physical and mental well-being through services offered by healthcare professionals. Acronyms like I.C.A.R.E, — Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect and Excellence — use phonics to elicit this word association but are simply measurable core values of healthcare.

We do not have the acronym I.L.O.V.E and I dare say that’s because love cannot be measured. So, as health professionals and health systems, we try a different angle. To measure your love, we measure your happiness and then call it patient satisfaction.

You’ve seen it. Those after-care surveys that want to know how happy you were with your provider’s level of empathy. Yes. Those. As soft as they may sound, it is serious business. And as much as we may debate definitions of care, we value your collective opinion. It’s a driving force behind value-based payments and a major factor behind how we are paid.

So, though care may vary from one professional to another and may not be all times altruistic, your happiness is currency, and with it, you are king. We want to know what caring means to you. This Valentine’s Day, use that leverage. Throw your weight around and write that big fat check of happy words to your phlebotomist and let that survey know just how happy you were made to feel the last time we showed you care.

Because with that, you will improve the quality offered to the next patient. And that, to me, is caring.