Primary Care
The principles underlying patient- and family-centered care can serve as a framework for making primary care responsive to the concerns and priorities of all. This approach to health care involves patients and their families as partners in their own care as well as in planning, implementing, and evaluating improvements to the systems of care. Patient- and family-centered care places an emphasis on collaborating with patients and families of all ages, at all levels of care, and in all health care settings.
In the United States and Canada, hospitals and clinics of all sizes are recognizing
the value of patient and family resource centers in meeting consumer information and
support needs. A number of trends, prominently the commitment to family-centered care,
public interest in health issues, and competition between institutions are fostering an
increased interest in developing patient and family resource centers in health care settings.
Patient & Family Resource Centers: Introduction »
“The institution that has the foresight and understanding of creating a supportive
environment for their patients, families, visitors, medical staff, and [other] health professionals
will be the leader in the future delivery of health care.”
—Alberto Salvatore, Banker and Tradesman, February 1998
Environment & Design: Introduction »
Addressing the Issues of Parental Illness and its Impact on Children, Youth and Families
How can we build and sustain a system of care to support families, children, and youth when a parent has a serious, chronic, or life-threatening illness? When a parent is diagnosed with a chronic or life-threatening illness, children are reluctant to verbalize their fears and concerns to those closest to them because they don't want to add to their family's burdens. Often schools, recreation programs, and other sources of community support are not aware of the problems nor prepared to help the child and family.
Parental Illness Special Topic »
Medical Education—Creating Patient and Family Faculty Programs
Patient and family faculty programs are a major means through which family-centered professional education can become a reality. In these programs, patients and families work side by side with health professionals in the education of medical students, nursing students, and other trainees, and in the provision of inservice training as well.
Medical Education Special Topic »
Advancing the Practice of Patient- and Family-Centered Geriatric Care
While many people lead healthy lives into their eighties and beyond, most become more fragile and less independent as they grow older. The traditional health care model focuses on the immediate needs of the older person as a patient with one or more diseases, but care in this model is fragmented and narrowly focused. The complexities of the older person's support system of family, friends, and other community members may not be fully utilized. The family-centered care model seeks to address all spectrum of concerns by creating a collaborative partnership among the patient, the family, and physicians and other health care providers.