8 Dimensions of Patient-Centered Care Revisited and Reaffirmed
// By Jane Weber Brubaker //
The 2021 book Patient No Longer asks the question, “What makes the top organizations in the country unique?”
Let’s face it. Health care is a maze, and patients often feel like the rat, trying to get through and hitting one dead end after another.
Steven K. Klasko, MD, MBA, former president, Thomas Jefferson University, and CEO, Jefferson Health
More often than not, health systems don’t prioritize what matters to patients. And even calling patients “patients” instead of “consumers” may serve to maintain the status quo.
In the introduction to Patient No Longer, Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, explains, “The title and body of this book focus on consumer centricity, not patient centeredness. Patients are sick and need care for their disease. Consumers expect the kind of service they receive in other industries, regardless of whether they are ill or healthy.”
Co-authored by Ryan Donohue, corporate director of program development at NRC Health, Patient No Longer is framed around the eight dimensions of patient-centered care developed by the Picker Institute and later published in the bestselling 1993 book Through the Patient’s Eyes.
Ryan Donohue, corporate director of program development, NRC Health
In 2019, NRC Health updated the research and reconfirmed the validity of the eight dimensions. “The eight dimensions of patient-centered care developed more than 25 years ago remain relevant despite the myriad changes that have occurred in health care,” says Donohue.
Patient No Longer includes examples of health systems that are working hard to make it easier for patients. Here we look at some of the ways these organizations embrace and embed consumer-centric values.