Focus on Patient-Centered Care to Address Trauma of Hospitalization

InCrossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century, the Institute of Medicine addressed how the nation ’s health care system should be redesigned to improve the delivery of care. The report identifiedpatient-centered care, defined as care that is “respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values, and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions,”(p3) as 1 of 6 core components of the desired state-of-the-art care. Unfortunately, delivering patient-centered care in the hospital setting remains challenging because of the complexity and acuity of illness being treated, the frequency of changes within the health care team, and the rapid pace required to move patients through the system. According to this Institute of Medicine report, determining how to implement patient-centered care within hospital systems is critical to improve the quality of care provided.
Source: JAMA Internal Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Source Type: research