October is Patient-Centered Care Month

Patient-Centered Care Awareness Month is an awareness-building campaign commemorated globally every October to engage all healthcare stakeholders in adopting and advancing patient-centered approaches to care (Planetree.org, 2015). 

 

But what is Patient-Centered Care exactly? The IOM (Institute of Medicine) defines patient-centered care as: "Providing care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values, and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions." 

 

It has also been described as an approach to care that is 1) organized around the needs of the patient; and 2) promotes relationships between patients, their families and their healthcare teams that nurture trust, transparency and collaboration (Planetree.org, 2015). 

 

Here at The Royal our mandate is simple: to get more people living with mental illness into recovery faster. By practicing patient-centered care, we are able to fulfill our mandate every day!

 

During the month of October I'll share with you some of the ways we maintain our alignment with patients/clients because that is the key toward ensuring we are truly providing Patient-Centered Care.

 

Share your thoughts; what does Patient-Centered Care look like at your organization?