Insights and Overview: Patient-Centered Care

Goals & Objectives:

Course Overview

The term patient-centered care has become widely used throughout the healthcare sector as a means of expressing core values and integration of the patient's perspective in treatment plans, preferences, and health-related goals. Historically, patient care was provider driven, and this shift to integrate patient-centered approaches requires insight, understanding, and buy-in from healthcare leadership in any health-related entity.

This course will provide the learner with information pertaining to the history of patient-centered care, its advantages, integration and application for specific specialties, and some barriers that may present prior to and during implementation. The course will provide examples and a deep dive into the application of patient-centered care in the Veterans Administration, in intensive care units, with pediatric patients, as well as other situations. Healthcare professionals taking this course will be able to identify ways to apply patient-centered care principles and core values into their own practice, while also recognizing potential barriers that may present. Recognizing the patient-centered care approach to healthcare will be beneficial to all healthcare professionals, providers, and specialists and will be a key measurable element with surveys and other evaluation tools. 

Learning Outcomes

Upon completing this course, the learner should be able to:

• Recognize the history and early development of the patient-centered care concept and elements. 
• Identify healthcare organizations that have established patient-centered care protocol and application of methodology to serve patients for improved outcomes. 
• Indicate specific patient questions designed to understand their preference, needs, and goals. 
• Recall patient-centered process, barriers, and approach for pediatric care and other specialties. 
• Recognize health-related outcomes relative to increased patient engagement due to application of patient-centered care. 
• Identify aspects of the patient-centered care approach towards virtual health care provision.