Extra Additions for Patient Centered Care Model

Extra Additions for Patient Centered Care Model

Within the rubric of 21st century medicine, it is often surprising that we need to be reminded that it is not the technology, the clinical expertise, or even the health care and institutional debates that should drive the paradigm of appropriate medical care -- it is the patient. Patient Centered Care is a model that focuses on the patient as the center of a multi-dimensional approach that considers patients' cultural traditions, their personal preferences and values, their unique family situations, and their lifestyles. The PCC model allows for families to become an integral part of the process of medical care, and the entire care team who assist the patient in making decisions and allowing the patient a modicum of responsibility for their own healing process. Indeed, PCC places the responsibility for important milestones of self-care and monitoring squarely in the patient's hands, yet still provides significant tools and support needed to carry out that long-term responsibility. Additionally, in this day and age of numerous departments, specialists, and specialized procedures, PCC ensures that transitions between providers, deparments, and groups are respectful, coordinated, efficient, and informative. Implementing PCC, however, is crucial for the continued improvement of the contemporary health care model. It not only allows for a multi-faceted approach that involves patients and families in the design of care, it reliably meets patient's needs, preferences, and becomes the locus of informed and shared decision making, thus allowing for greater efficiencies and cost savings (General Overview: Patient Centered Care, 2010).

One of the key aspects of patient care is to combat the impersonality of the managed care paradigm. We know that costs abound within the system, and it is necessary to trim and make tough decisions in order to keep the system going. Escalating pressures on the physician and supporting medical staff, though, mandate more paperwork, justification for procedures, and a quicker turn-around for patient appointments. By implementing a PCC model as part of Best Practice, one can still see patients at a rapid rate, along with still treating the patient with dignity and respect (McKerns, 2009).

The key to this model is actually quite simple -- communication that involves the patient, their families, and the medical professionals involved in the case. In all aspects of their care, the patient is involved, informed, and empowered. It moves the medical paradigm away from being hierarchical and authoritarian to open and honest communication. Doctors in the PCC model ask open-ended questions, encourage the mutual dialog about the paitent and above all, work to ensure there is no confusion regarding a clear understanding of diagnosis, tests, or procedures. PCC also addresses the physical and psychological aspects of treatment and removes the barriers associated with the older model in which the patient, often in pain or discomfort, is asked to sit, stand, or wait for extended periods of times, often alone. The idea is inclusive and holistic, taking the opinion that a patient needs both medical and psychological (emotional) support in order to heal (Parsons and Murdaugh, 1994).