Kristen Miller: A Guiding MedStar for the Patient’s Journey

Kristen Miller is a healthcare delivery researcher with nearly two decades of experience working with MedStar Health. Her work focuses on improving how care is delivered across all phases of the patient journey, from preparation before appointments to follow-up after visits. Unlike traditional bench science, her research emphasizes real-world tools and systems designed to help providers and patients make safer, more informed decisions.She emphasizes the importance of tools tailored to various stages of care: pre-encounter preparation, in-visit communication, and post-visit follow-up. Her team is working on simple, accessible aids, such as cue cards and checklists, to help patients describe symptoms more effectively. She also highlighted the widespread issue of diagnostic errors, noting that one in 20 people will experience one in primary care annually, and that all patients are likely to face at least one in their lifetime.Kristen Miller is a fantastic presenter. She has appeared live at numerous conferences, including PULSE’s Pulse's Family-Centered Patient Advocacy Training New York this past March. Resources Mentioned in the Podcast:Be the Expert on You (tool from MedStar and AHRQ)PatientPartneredDCE.orgECRI Top 10 Patient Safety ConcernsChatGPT (mentioned in context of AI usage)Timestamps of Important Moments in the Podcast: 00:51 Kristen explains her focus on healthcare delivery research 03:27 Description of clinical decision support tools for providers 06:14 The evolution of risk tools from provider to patient use 08:28 Kristen discusses medical gaslighting and patient dismissal 12:55 Diagnostic errors in primary care and patient lifetime risk 14:56 “Be the Expert on You” tool and symptom description training 17:32 Adapting patient tools to different needs and health literacy 21:31 Empowerment during the encounter, not just preparation 25:14 Discussion on types of AI tools and patient trust 31:53 Diagnostic safety as a core focus of medical care 35:03 Misdiagnosis of cardiovascular disease in women 38:47 Challenges of provider pattern recognition and AI comparison 39:56 PatientPartneredDCE.org and ways for advocates to participate 41:40 From patient education to full diagnostic empowerment