Person-centred health care
Person-centred care occurs when the people using health and social services are equal partners in all aspects of their care to make sure it meets their needs.
People and their families are at the centre of decisions and they work alongside health care professionals to get the best outcomes.
Person-centred care happens when health care professionals and services put you, the patient, at the ‘centre’ of your healthcare by:
- Treating you with dignity, respect and compassion
- Communicating clearly and coordinating your care between specialists, other health professionals and other services
- Tailoring the care to suit your needs and what you want to achieve
- Empowering you to understand and learn about your health
- Helping you find ways to get better, look after yourself and stay independent
- Involving you and your family or carer in health care decisions at all times
A key part of patient-centred care is you becoming involved in your health care. This means you choosing to be included in all decision making, health care planning and goal setting.
You also have the right to refuse any treatment that you are not comfortable with, except when you are not able to give your consent. If you lose the capacity to make decisions, you have the right to appoint someone to make medical decisions for you.
A person-centred health system works as one to deliver accessible, equitable, high quality, integrated care. In a person-centred health system, the person and their family and carers are at the centre of care.
A key component of a person-centred health system is the Patient Centred Medical Home.
Patients partner with their GP and medical home team and work together to improve their health outcomes and health care experience.
The medical home acts as a gateway to more specialised services within the healthcare neighbourhood, making sure that patients and their family and carers can access the care they need when they need it. The patient is always an informed partner in this shared care decision making.
Healthy North Coast is committed to assisting general practices and AMSs on their medical home journey and we offer guidance and ongoing support to implement this model.
