Institute of Medicine New Report, Best Care at Lower Cost, Embraces Patient and Family Engagement
In the recently released report of its Committee on the Learning Health Care System in America, Best Care at Lower Cost: The Path to Continuously Learning Health Care in America, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) embraced patient-centered care as one of the vital components of creating a system that will provide Best Care at Lower Cost.
Committee Member, James B. Conway,Senior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare
Improvement
The President of the IOM, Harvey Fineberg, MD, PhD, wrote that the report presents a "vision of what is possible if the nation applies the resources and tools at hand by marshaling science, information technology, incentives, and care culture to transform the effectiveness and efficiency of care—to produce high-quality health care that continuously learns to be better." Further, Dr. Fineberg stated, "Importantly, the report demonstrates how a health care system that delivers the best care at lower cost is not only necessary, but also possible. The committee has articulated detailed strategies for incorporating continuous learning and improvement into all facets of healthcare." As stated in Chapter 7 of the report, "When patients, their families, other caregivers, and the public are full, active participants in care, [then] health, the experience of care, and economic outcomes can be substantially improved."
Specifically, one of the report's ten recommendations is to embrace patient-centered care by involving "patients and families in decisions regarding health and health care, tailored to fit their preferences. Patients and families should be given the opportunity to be fully engaged participants at all levels, including individual care decisions, health system learning and improvement activities, and community-based interventions to promote health." According to the report, "a learning health care system is one in which patients and their families are key drivers of the design and operation of the learning process."
View the webcast of the report's release at the National Press Club and see the entire report.
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