Carers: The Forgotten Heroes of Healthcare

In healthcare nowadays, we talk a lot about the patient journey – the entirety of a person ' s experience from first symptom to final treatment. Yet, it is easy to forget that the patient is rarely alone on this life trek.' Informal ' carers are the forgotten heroes of every patient story – forgotten, most of all perhaps, by pharma. Until recently, caregivers have been relegated to the background; after all, it ' s the patient that takes a medicine, isn ' t it?The truth is that carers walk alongside the people they care for throughout the entire journey. They drive patients to appointments then sit with them in the waiting room. They help patients to decipher medical information and medication schedules, and remind them to take their meds. They ’re there for the highs and the lows, supporting their loved ones’ emotional journeys from start to finish.However, unpaid caregivers are not only a vital part of patient care and wellbeing, they also play a vital role in deciding on that care. They don ’t stay in the waiting room, they contribute to discussions about care choicesbefore, during and after consultations with clinicians, plus they actively seek information for their charges (61% of health information seekers online are ‘surrogate seekers’).A passion project The importance of informal carers has been highlighted recently in an international campaign – Embracing Carers – run by Merck (EMD Serono in the US) and advised by eight leading caregiver organizati...
Source: EyeForPharma - Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Source Type: news