The patient ombudsperson’s experience of patient partnership and mutual understanding of rights

Mutual understanding between the patient and the healthcare professional can be considered a key factor of a positive patient experience in the care relationship. Mutual understanding can be promoted through patient partnership, which, in this personal and professional narrative, the author (a patient ombudsperson, known as patient ombudsman, and researcher of patient experience) describes as participation through patient rights during care. In the relationship between the patient and the healthcare professional (i.e., who acts as a care provider in the patient's care), medical treatment decisions and related patient rights go hand in hand. Even in difficult care situations of mutual understanding, the patient and care provider can make decisions that are acceptable to both parties. These decisions are usually related to various shortcomings in care, access to information, and treatment by and behavior of care providers. The task of the patient ombudsperson as a third party is to support the realization of mutual understanding and partnership in treatment by advising patients on their rights. The purpose of patient partnership is to provide pre-known and equal practices for forming mutual understanding between the actors in the care relationship through patient rights.