Health care has been evolving away from disease-centered care and toward patient-centered care. In a disease-centered model, physicians make treatment decisions based on clinical experience and data from medical tests. In a patient-centered model, patients are active participants in their own care and receive services that are focused on their individual needs and preferences, in addition to advice from healthcare professionals.
In theory the patient-centered care approach makes a lot of sense but in order for it to become the standard and for patients to be the center of their healthcare experiences these four things need to happen:
The “Whole” Patient Must be Treated. Treating the whole patient means that healthcare professionals must think about the patient within their social context. Factors such as socioeconomic status, family situation and other factors that can determine how the patient accesses and receives healthcare.
Create an Open Environment. Providing the right treatment for a patient is virtually impossible if they do not feel comfortable opening up to their healthcare provider. Patients often feel scared, nervous or embarrassed. Healthcare providers who have great empathy skills can make it much easier to communicate with people who are experiencing these emotions.
No More Fee-for-Service. A key component of patient-centered care revolves around the healthcare provider having enough time to address the whole patient. Fee-for-service care doesn’t encourage doctors to spend time with patients, in fact it does just the opposite, it makes them feel rushed to unnecessarily refer a patient to a specialist or results in the patient leaving with unanswered questions.
Engagement From the Whole Team. The physicians, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and all other healthcare professionals involved need to take an integrated team approach and have open lines of communication to ensure everyone has the same goals and treatment plans. For example, the Pharmacist needs to communicate to the Physician if a patient hasn’t refilled their prescription.
Although there is a better awareness of patient-centered care, it will take time for it to become the standard. Every patient deserves to have a personal team of trusted healthcare providers who are working hard together to provide them the best possible care.
