Patient-Driven Care

Why Patient DRIVEN Care?

There are many definitions of Patient/Person Centred Care but there are two universal elements: Quality of Care and Management of Care. Invariably we are much better at the quality spectrum of indicators than the shared management of care. Patient DRIVEN Care emphasises both the service provider AND the consumer roles in patient centredness and is an acronym for the things that matter most to consumers:

Decision sharing – Goal setting, Informed choice, financial consent, inclusion of family/friends

Respect – Dignity, privacy, timeliness, cultural sensitivity, confidentiality, welcome

Integration – Holistic care, coordinated, continuous, transitional, comprehensive, minimally disruptive

Validation – Acknowledging the patient as a reliable witness to their own lived experience

Empathic – Relief of anxiety, compassion, comfort, treating the whole person within their social context, not just their condition

Remedy – when something goes wrong, providing alternative treatment pathways, adverse event reporting, complaint handling