Perspective:

The following are 10 points to remember about this health policy statement on patient-centered care in cardiovascular medicine.

1. In 2001, the Institute of Medicine published a report, ‘Crossing the Quality Chasm.’ In this report, six characteristics of an effective health care system were identified. These characteristics include safe, effective patient-centered care that is timely, efficient, and equable. Patient-centered care should be responsive to patient preferences, needs, and values.

2. The patient-centered care model needs to empower patients to become active participants in their care. Elements of the patient-centered care model include: a) enhanced clinician-patient communications, b) health literacy, c) clinician-directed patient education, d) shared decision making, e) collaborative care planning, f) collaborative goal setting, and f) patient empowerment leading to improved self-management.

3. Focused education and training related to patient-centered communication should be incorporated into medical school and continuing education curricula.

4. Health care policies including performance measurement and payment models should support and promote assessment of patient-centered outcomes including health status (symptoms, function, and quality of life).

5. Interventions need to be designed and implemented to support the patients and family caregivers in order to achieve optimal health outcomes for patients and their families.

6. The health care system needs to develop a means of accumulating and sharing information across all encounters of an individual patient. Information should be easily accessible, searchable, and organized to support evidence-based approaches to care, in particular chronic disease management.

7. Personalized medicine can only be sustained if patients have a clear and realistic understanding of therapeutic options, including costs and therapeutic limitations.

8. The patient-centered medical home should be developed for care of patients with advanced cardiac conditions and encompass a continuum of care from the stable outpatient environment to the level of intensive in-hospital care without change in care teams.

9. Sufficient financial reimbursement and/or financial incentive that accommodates for additional clinician time to provide patient-centered care needs to be developed and implemented.

10. Nonphysician members of the care team should be empowered to provide patient-centered care to help manage the increasing demands of patients with chronic heart disease.