On a fundamental level, elevating the patient experience for this diverse population requires an understanding of the various elements that impact patient-provider relationships, shape patient experiences, and affect the care continuum for this community. As such, we highlighted the various health disparities that this community encounters in healthcare settings, including communication access barriers and not having access to culturally sensitive and responsive care. These are often exacerbated by the barriers impeding Deaf and hard of hearing individuals from achieving health literacy.

Furthermore, we also provided a comprehensive review of healthcare organizations’ legal responsibilities in meeting this community’s diverse communication needs and preferences. As an extension of this review, we discussed the importance of shifting organizational emphasis away from legal compliance to driving patient-centered experiences for Deaf, DeafBlind, hard of hearing, and late-deafened individuals.

Ultimately, in the context of the Deaf and hard of hearing community, delivering patient-centered care starts with providing a comprehensive suite of auxiliary aids and services. This will help ensure effective communication takes place between signing and non-signing Deaf and hard of hearing individuals and their healthcare providers. As patient-centered care also emphasizes the importance of ensuring providers practice cultural sensitivity, humility, and empathy, it is important to provide robust trainings that address cultural, social, and linguistic considerations as it pertains to Deaf and hard of hearing individuals.

While leading with a patient-centered approach is at the heart of elevating the care delivered to this community, improving the provision of services is dependent on a shared sense of ownership and responsibility throughout your organization to create a more accessible and inclusive healthcare experience across all organizational touchpoints.

At the center of this shared responsibility is putting together a core team that is charged with optimizing the patient experience for this diverse population in partnership with the appropriate departmental stakeholders. In addition to partnering with internal stakeholders, this group should work in conjunction with signing and non-signing Deaf and hard of hearing individuals to understand the organization’s current state of delivering care to the Deaf and hard of hearing community. Furthermore, it is important for this group to create and maintain an ongoing feedback loop with the Deaf and hard of hearing community as strategic initiatives are developed and put into place.

As you look to advance the patient experience for Deaf and hard of hearing individuals, 2axend is prepared to provide your organization with the necessary insight, tools and strategies designed. Ultimately, we share the same goal: to move the needle forward in providing Deaf and hard of hearing individuals with improved patient experiences and continuum of care.