Some prefer to delegate some, if not most, of the decision making to a trusted clinician/counselor in the care system others want to be full partners in decision making. The level of responsibility patients and their families assume differs from patient to patient. Considering the roles, needs, and objectives of first-level actors-individual patients-and their interdependencies with actors at other levels of the system, opportunities abound for using information/ communications technologies and systems-engineering tools to improve the overall performance of the health care system.Ī starting point for increasing the “patient-centeredness” of health care delivery is changing the perspective of clinicians to consider patients and their families as “partners” and to incorporate their values and wishes into care processes. Unfortunately, most people do not have access to the information, tools, and other resources they need to play this new role effectively.
Overall, the role of the patient has changed from a passive recipient of care to a more active participant in care delivery.Īt the same time, the fragmented delivery system, combined with the growing burden of chronic disease and the need for continuous care, have all but forced many patients to assume an active role in the design, coordination, “production,” and implementation of their care, whether they want to or not. The availability of information, the establishment of private health care spending accounts, and other measures reflect an increasing expectation that patients will drive changes in the system for improved quality, efficiency, and effectiveness.
Recent changes in health care policy reflect an emphasis on “consumer-driven” health care. We begin appropriately with the individual patient, whose needs and preferences should be the defining factors in a patient-centered health care system.
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