Patient-centered care has become a standard approach for many healthcare facilities, including primary care settings and hospitals. But what exactly does it mean?
As you might guess from the name, patient-centered care is centered around the patient. But there’s more to it than that. In this post, we explain the methodology behind patient-centered care, what goes into it and how it ultimately benefits you as a patient.
Overview of patient-centered care
Patient-centered care is an approach to healthcare in which the patient is an active participant in the goals and decision-making, rather than a passive recipient of doctor’s orders.
What makes this approach different from traditional methods is that it focuses on improving the health outcomes of patients individually, based on their expressed needs and goals. That’s unique from traditional approaches, which apply healthcare directives to a patient with little consideration to their input, based on what’s known to work for a broader population.
Patient-centered care goes beyond the conventional approach of care by inviting the patient (and their loved ones) to be actively involved in the decision-making process, taking into consideration their emotional, social and sometimes even spiritual concerns, in addition to their medical histories.
What does it involve?
From top to bottom, the assigned medical professional or team ensures that the patient is made to feel they are as confident and comfortable in their medical decisions as they can be. In cooperation with the physician, treatment may be adapted to fit the patient’s values, traditions, religious beliefs or simply their viewpoints. Family visits are encouraged and members can play a critical role in the decision-making process.
What are the benefits?
The first and most obvious benefit of patient-centered care is that it can greatly improve the overall health outcomes of the treatment plan. With the focus on tending to all aspects of the patient, they are often happier and more comfortable, healing quicker and staying healthier longer.
This approach does wonders for the morale of not just the patient, but also the medical staff. When patients feel better about their treatment plans and trust their medical providers, staff too feel more comfortable, experience less stress and are more productive.
Patient-centered care can often be more cost-effective too, for patients and their medical providers. Individualized treatment plans, combined with better health outcomes, can help to limit wasted supplies, reduce delays between drafting the treatment and putting it into action and decrease the number of diagnostic tests.
Patient-centered care is all about making the patient feel confident that they are having all their needs met, while still receiving the expertise they expect from their trusted medical professionals.
At Maryland Primary Care, our patients are our top priority. We’re committed to patient-centered care – we treat each patient with respect, encouraging them to be an active participant in their medical treatment in conjunction with their physician’s expert medical advice.
For more information, call us at 301-277-3555 or make an appointment today.
