About the Picker Institute

Picker Institute is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the principles of patient-centered care and the global patient-centered care-movement.

“Understanding and respecting patients’ values, preferences and expressed needs is the foundation of patient-centered care.”

Harvey Picker, Founder
Picker Institute

Mission

Picker Institute sponsors education and research in the field of patient-centered care in cooperation with educational institutions and other interested entities and individuals. The institute’s goal is to foster a broader understanding of the theoretical and practical implications of patient-centered care by approaching healthcare with a focus on the concerns of patients and other healthcare consumers.

Values

All patients deserve high-quality healthcare, and patients’ views and experiences are integral to successful improvement efforts. The Patient-Centered-Care movement believes in the

Principles of Patient-Centered Care

• fast access to reliable health advice
• effective treatment delivered by staff you can trust
• involvement in decisions and respect for patients’ preferences
• clear, comprehensible info0rmation and support for self-care
• physical comfort and a clean, safe environment
• empathy and emotional support
• involvement of family and friends and support for career
• continuity of care and smooth transition

Board of Directors

The Picker Institute board of directors and advisors bring a wealth of knowledge and a commitment to the institute’s vision of improving the quality of healthcare by advancing the tenets of patient-centered care.

J. Mark Waxman, Esq., Chairman
Foley and Lardner, Boston, Mass.

Samuel Fleming, Treasurer and Secretary
Chairman Emeritus, Decision Resources, Waltham, Mass.

Sir Donald Irvine, C.B.E., M.D., F.R.C.G.P.
Ex-President of the General Medical Council, UK
Northumberland, UK

David C. Leach, M.D.
Executive Director, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, Chicago, Ill.

Harvey Picker, Founder, Picker Institute , Camden, Me.

Stephen C. Schoenbaum, M.D.
Senior Vice President, The Commonwealth Fund, New York, N.Y.

Gail Warden,
President Emeritus, Henry Ford Health Systems, Detroit, Mich.

Staff:

Lucile O. Hanscom, Executive Director
Cathy Pine, Financial Director
Carolyn Marsh, Communications Director
Judi Barratt , Director, Special Projects
Richard Allen, Esq., General Counsel

Advisors:

Michael Hays

Harvey Picker,
Founder of the Picker Institute

About the Picker Institute and the "Patient-Centered Care Movement"

The Picker Institute began when Harvey and Jean Picker experienced the healthcare system first-hand. Despite their resources and influence - the Picker family refined and marketed early and subsequent x-ray machines, and Jean was for many years, a U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations - they realized the healthcare system did not meet patients' needs.

Dr. Harvey Picker emerged from the ordeal with a clear goal and conscious commitment, to improving healthcare delivery and creating a patient-centered care environment, which meets the true needs and concerns of patients and their family members. Dr. Picker joined with researchers at the Harvard Medical School and set about uncovering issues that matter most to patients and their families, and that would assist hospital staff in improving the delivery of care in areas that matter most to patients.

From that commitment, and with assistance from the Commonwealth Fund and Beth Israel Hospital, grew the Picker Institute, a not-for-profit entity dedicated solely to developing a patient-centered research approach to performance measurement.

While the Picker Institute provides patient experience measurement services to the healthcare industry, its history and mission are deeply rooted in the pure research arena. Researchers at the Institute suspected, and later confirmed through extensive research, that simply adopting the accepted measurement tools in place then, and even today, would not in fact assist hospitals in improving patient experience and outcome. They theorized that current patient satisfaction tools and programs too often approached the task from an institutional mindset and quite literally failed to collect data most relevant to patients. Throughout those next seven years, extensive interviews with more than 8,000 patients, family members, physicians, and hospital staff were conducted.

Researchers sought to uncover the answer to four basic questions:

What do patients want?
What do patients value?
What helps or hinders their ability to manage their health problems?
What aspects of care are most important to them and their families?

Results of the interviews were used to identify the areas of care most important to patients and their family members. At the same time, the Picker Institute developed a unique approach - they asked patients and family members to objectively report on their experience with the care provided, rather than provide simple satisfaction ratings. Doing so provides hospitals and staff with clear areas of focus.

What researchers at the Picker Institute developed, has become the world standard for measuring performance through the patient's eyes. The Picker family of patient experience surveys is being used in quality-driven organizations throughout the U.S., Great Britain, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland, largely because they apply the patient perspective to performance measurement.

Picker Institute International Offices

We have offices in Germany, Switzerland and Europe.

Picker Institut Deutschland

Picker Institut Schweiz

Picker Institute, Europe

About the Picker Institute

Harvey Picker, Founder of the Picker Institute

About the Picker Institute and the "Patient-Centered Care Movement"

Picker Institute International Offices

Harvey Picker,
Founder of the Picker Institute