Bring patients into focus

Article by Adjunct Associate Professor Ron Tomlins,
GP and past chair, National Asthma Council Australia

Patient centred health care in everyday practice

As we move towards evidence based decision making in health care, it's clear that there are still treatment failures. And it's not that the doctor is getting it wrong. In spite of the best advice, our patient just doesn't get better.

For people with a number of different conditions, there could be a whole host of medical reasons why a recommended treatment isn’t effective.

The older person with asthma, diabetes and arthritis can be a challenge to manage using current best practice guidelines. Also, a complex treatment regime can be very difficult to follow, particularly when the patient or their carer does not understand why the treatment is necessary.

But it is also possible that the patient’s view of their health, and what they want out of life, could differ from their doctor’s view of what is right for them.

This is when a patient centred approach – where the patient is engaged and involved in decisions about their treatment – can be more effective than following the textbook.

To read the full article, please visit the GP Review website.