Patient Centred Interactions

 

Patient centred interactions are a core implementation element of the Patient's Medical Home (PMH) model. In the PMH model, patients and healthcare providers are partners in care and work together to achieve the patient's goals. This helps patients to better understand their health condition or treatment. Greater understanding enables patients to expand their role in shared decision making and gain confidence for self-management, which ultimately improves outcomes and fosters wellbeing.

Patient centred interactions may require a change in how care is traditionally delivered. Patient centred behaviours in a PMH often include:

• Respecting patient and family member values and needs
• Encouraging patients to expand their role in the care team through shared decision making and increased self-management
• Communicating in a way that is appropriate to the patient and easily understood
• Obtaining feedback from patients about their experiences and using that information to continually improve quality