Patient-centered care is all the rage. But why are so few patients receiving it?

Updated: AUGUST 30, 2016 — 4:00 AM EDT
by Robert B. Doherty, Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs & Public Policy American College of Physicians

 You would think that healthcare should be all about the patient, right?  But in fact, it’s long been recognized that patients often are treated like an after-thought by our health care system.  Whether it is overly complex billing systems, lack of transparency in quality and cost, fragmented and uncoordinated care, or hurried, harried and inattentive clinicians, our healthcare system seems to be more about meeting the needs of everyone but the patient.
This is not a new problem.  About 10 years ago, recognition that healthcare was failing so many patients led to a movement, called patient-centered care, to institute reforms to put patients in the driver’s seat.  A 2008 research paper describes the following six core elements of patient-centered care:

• Education and shared knowledge
• Involvement of fam• Collaboration and team management
• Sensitivity to nonmedical and spiritual dimensions of care
• Respect for patient needs and preferences
• Free flow and accessibility of information

To Continue Reading:-http://www.philly.com/philly/health/Patient-centered-care-is-all-the-rage--So-why-are-so-few-patients-receiving-it.html