Patient-centered healthcare is something we are about to here very often in the future. The healthcare market is all about patient-centered and value-based healthcare. Patient-centered care is a way of thinking and doing things that sees the people using health and social services as equal partners in planning, developing and monitoring care to make sure it meets their needs. This means putting people at the center of decisions and, moreover, seeing them as experts, who are working alongside professionals in order to achieve the best outcome.

The important thing about patient-centered healthcare is, that the doctor not only has to focus on the body of a patient, but also care about the heart and soul by showing care and listening to their needs. Nowadays it is essential to empower patients with information and education about their own clinical status, prognosis and progress. Their fears and anxieties must be mitigated by the physician’s best abilities.

Having a look at the financial perspective, it can be said that patient-centered healthcare has been associated with lower healthcare charges and specialty care clinic charges. The study conducted by Klea D. Bertakis shows that the reason for the drop in charges takes place thanks to fewer specialty care visits, laboratory and diagnostic tests.

However, other non-monetary benefits of patient-centered healthcare include improved disease outcomes and quality of life. Among the key principles of patient-centered care are continuity and transition of care, better enabling patients to care for themselves after discharge, as well as integration of care across service lines. Patient-centered healthcare “is critical to addressing racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in healthcare and health outcomes,” according to Ronald M. Epstein.

Potentially in today’s patient-centered care initiative, doctors can enlist patients as partners for the patients’ own disease care by monitoring them weekly or monthly.

We can see that drift to person-centered services not just in the healthcare industry, but many other industries, such as the automotive. The reason for this is the increasing demand of people wanting to get involved in happenings and the demand for having a crucial impact on decision-making processes.

References 

• Hospital&Healthcare Management. Benefits of Patient-centered Healthcare. Available at: http://www.hhmglobal.com/knowledge-bank/articles/the-benefits-of-patient-centered-healthcare [Accessed: May 16, 2018]
• Clancy, Carolyn M. How Patient-Centered Healthcare Can Improve Quality. Available at: psqh.com/marapr08/ahrq.html. [Accessed: May 16, 2018]
• Patient-Centered Healthcare.pdf. Delivering Better Outcomes with Employer On-site Health. Available at: Centershttps://carehere.com/Download/Patient.Centered.Healthcare.pdf. [Accessed: May 17, 2018]