USA. Expanding patient-centered care to empower patients and assist providers

Citation

(2002), "USA. Expanding patient-centered care to empower patients and assist providers", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 15 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2002.06215gab.008

USA. Expanding patient-centered care to empower patients and assist providers

USA

Expanding patient-centered care to empower patients and assist providers

Keywords: AHRQ, Health plans, Medical errors, Quality care, Patient questionnairs

A new Research in Action report, Expanding Patient-Centered Care To Empower Patients and Assist Providers, from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) suggests that a broader use of tools developed by the Agency can help patients, providers, and health plans make better choices when choosing a health plan, obtaining quality care, avoiding medical errors, and getting preventive care.

Patients have more information today about their diseases and treatment options than ever before, but patients have not had tools to help them decide among these various options, and doctors have not had tools to help gauge how acceptable an option might be to a specific patient. As a result, the medical decision made, in hindsight, may not have been the most suitable one.

In the area of health plan enrolment, information to help patients make better decisions has not been made available. For example, when trying to decide about which health plan to join or provider to see, it would be useful to know about the experiences of others already enrolled in that plan or cared for by its providers, but that information has not been published widely. This, too, could result in patients making unsuitable decisions.

This report describes tools developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) that are currently available to help patients and their providers make better decisions. It suggests that a broader application of existing tools, as well as the development of similar tools for different areas of care, will improve the quality of care from the perspectives of patients, providers, and health plans. The tools described in this report include:

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  patient questionnaires for prostate symptoms and visual function;

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  a consumer survey (Consumer Assessment of Health Plans, or CAHPS*);

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  several publications on choosing health plans, obtaining quality care, avoiding medical errors, and getting preventive care.