Person-Centred Practice: Improving Patient Outcomes

Person-centred practice (PCP) is a client-focused approach to healthcare that prioritizes the individual’s experiences, preferences, and values. This approach differs from the traditional medical model that focuses solely on diagnosing and treating physical symptoms and has been shown to improve patient outcomes.

McCormack’s Model of Person-Centred Practice, proposed in 2020, highlights five key components of PCP: empathy and compassion, active engagement and empowerment, co-creation of goals and plans, person-centre care delivery, and reflection and review. These components form the foundation for a holistic and integrated approach to healthcare and have been demonstrated to improve patient outcomes.

Ensuring PCP Orientated Practice and its Advantages

1. Empathy and Compassion: By fostering empathy and compassion, healthcare providers can build a strong therapeutic relationship with their clients, which has been shown to improve patient outcomes. (Sources: McCance, T., & Huether, S. E. (2014). Understanding pathophysiology. St. Louis, MO: Mosby.)
2. Active Engagement and Empowerment: By empowering clients to take an active role in their own care, healthcare providers can support them in making informed decisions about their health and wellbeing. This has been shown to result in improved patient outcomes, including increased adherence to treatment regimens. (Sources: Lorig, K., Ritter, P., Stewart, A., Sobel, D. S., Brown, B. W., Bandura, A., & Ritter, P. L. (2011). Living a healthy life with chronic conditions. Stanford, CA: Stanford Patient Education Research Centre.)
3. Co-creation of Goals and Plans: By working in partnership with clients to co-create goals and plans, healthcare providers can ensure that care is tailored to individual needs and preferences. This has been shown to result in improved patient outcomes, including increased satisfaction with care. (Sources: Kitson, A., Harvey, G., & McCormack, B. (1998). Enabling empowerment in nursing practice. Basingstoke: Macmillan.)
4. Person-Centred Care Delivery: By delivering care that is tailored to individual needs and preferences, healthcare providers can support clients in their journey towards health and wellbeing. This has been shown to result in improved patient outcomes, including increased satisfaction with care and improved health outcomes. (Sources: Kitson, A., Harvey, G., & McCormack, B. (1998). Enabling empowerment in nursing practice. Basingstoke: Macmillan.)
5. Reflection and Review: By regularly reflecting and reviewing practice, healthcare providers can ensure that care remains client-focused and continues to improve patient outcomes. (Sources: Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., & Jasper, M. (2001). Critical reflection for nursing and the helping professions: A user’s guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave.)

In conclusion, PCP offers a more holistic approach to healthcare by putting the client’s needs and preferences at the centre of care delivery. McCormack’s model provides a framework for practitioners to adopt this approach and deliver person-centred care. By embracing PCP, healthcare providers can support clients in their journey towards health and wellbeing and improve patient outcomes.

In the coming month we will be posting more blogs on the principles and application of PCP within team working and wellbeing practice.

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