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Home > Our Work > Patient and Consumer Centred Care

Background

Patient or consumer centred care is health care that is respectful of, and responsive to, the preferences, needs and values of patients and consumers. Different definitions and terminology have been used to describe the concepts in this area but key principles of patient centred approaches include:

• treating patients, consumers, carers and families with dignity and respect

• encouraging and supporting participation in decision making by patients, consumers, carers and families

• communicating and sharing information with patients, consumers, carers and families

• fostering collaboration with patients, consumers, carers, families and health professionals in program and policy development, and in health service design, delivery and evaluation

Patient or consumer centred care is increasingly being recognised as a dimension of high quality health care in its own right, and there is strong evidence that a patient centred focus can lead to improvements in health care quality and outcomes by increasing safety, cost effectiveness and patient, family and staff satisfaction.

Internationally, healthcare services use a range of strategies to promote patient centred care and partnerships with patients and their families, including staff development, leadership strategies, collecting and reporting patient feedback, redesigning and co-designing service delivery, implementing patient rights charters, and engaging patients and carers as partners in improving care. A range of organisations provide frameworks and tools to help implement these strategies such as the United States-based Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care and Planetree.

Within Australia, health care organisations are becoming increasingly interested in patient centred and partnership approaches to care. However the Commission is aware that while there is wide and strong commitment to a healthcare system that is focused on the needs of patients and consumers, health services and health service providers can struggle with enacting the principles of patient centred care in practice.

The Commission’s approach to patient centred care and partnerships

The Commission provides a range of national resources, guides and tools, many of which focus on how patients and consumers can be supported, partnered and empowered to improve the safety and quality of health care. Three key Commission resources that explicitly promote patient centred care and partnerships include the:

• Australian Safety and Quality Framework for Healthcare

• Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights

• National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards

In addition to this work, in 2009 the Commission commenced a program that specifically focuses on fostering patient centred and partnership approaches to care: the Patient and Consumer Centred Care Program.

Patient and consumer centred care discussion paper

In 2010, as a first step for the work program the Commission, in collaboration with Dr Karen Luxford and Dr Donella Piper, developed a discussion paper on patient centred care. This paper includes information on the background, context, evidence and impetus for improving quality and safety by giving health care a more patient centred focus. The paper also provides practical examples, tools, tips and resources that can be used by Australian healthcare organisations to re-orient their systems to a more patient centred approach.

In late 2010 the Commission undertook an open consultation process on a draft version of the paper and received more than sixty submissions from a varied range of healthcare professionals, organisations, consumers, colleges, researchers and government agencies. Feedback from stakeholders was supportive of both the content of the paper and for the work the Commission is undertaking in this area. There were also a range of constructive suggestions for modifications to the paper.

After an extensive revision process the final version of the paper Patient-centred care: Improving quality and safety through partnerships with patients and consumers (PDF 2063 KB) paper was provided to Health Ministers who agreed to the papers release in August 2011.

Patient and Consumer Centred Care Newsletter

Feedback from both organisations and individuals throughout the consultation period for the discussion paper indicated that there was great interest in different tools, strategies and resources that facilitate the use of patient centred approaches and partnerships to improve health care at an individual, organisational and system level.

Consequently, the Commission now prepares a quarterly newsletter on patient and consumer centred care that highlights some of the national and international work being done in this area. If you would like to received this newsletter please contact the Commission at: mail@safetyandquality.gov.au

Building Leadership to Improve Patient Based Care seminar

In July 2011 the Commission, in collaboration with the NSW Clinical Excellence Commission, held a seminar for senior managers and executives to assist with leadership skills to face the challenge of shaping organisations to support improved patient care experience.

This seminar was informed by the experiences of international experts Dr Jocelyn Cornwall, Kings Fund (UK) and Dr Susan Frampton, Planetree (USA) who were sponsored by the Victorian Department of Health to attend the 2011 Consumers Reforming Healthcare Conference.

Presentations from this seminar can be found at: http://www.blueshadowgroupvideo.com/leadershipseminar/Start.html

Health Literacy Stocktake

The Commission will shortly be commencing a stocktake of health literacy initiatives, policies and programs that have been developed, implemented and/or evaluated. Information can be provided about projects or initiatives at all stages of development, including those that are currently in development, or those that have been piloted, trialed and evaluated.
The open request will close Friday 30 March 2012. More information on the health literacy stocktake is available at: health literacy stocktake

Links

Australian Safety and Quality Framework for Healthcare

Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights

National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards

Patient-centred care: Improving quality and safety by focusing care on patients and consumers (Draft consultation version)

Patient-centred care: Improving quality and safety through partnerships with patients and consumers (Final version) (PDF 2496 KB)

Patient and consumer centred care newsletters

Building Leadership to Improve Patient Based Care seminar presentations

Contact

Naomi Poole, Senior Project Officer
(02) 9126 3600

Email: mail@safetyandquality.gov.au

Updated: 05 September, 2011

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