Where The Patient Comes First

[Guest guest]

Where The Patient Comes First

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=48912

It's a medical scenario that's all too common: patient has health

issue and makes visit to physician, who then makes diagnosis and then

independent decision about patient's treatment. But a paradigm shift

is taking place, where the patient is an integral part of the

treatment decision-making process, according to a special editorial

published in the August 2006 issue of the Journal of the American

Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Orthopaedic patient-centered care,

defined by The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS)

as " the provision of safe, effective and timely musculoskeletal care

achieved through cooperation between the orthopaedic surgeon, and

informed, respected patient (and family) and a coordinated health

care team " is necessary for patients to get the most out of their

medical care. Now, the authors argue, is a critical time to support

and facilitate the development of a patient-centered care model in

the field of orthopaedic surgery.

" In the old days when you went to see your orthopaedic surgeon, they

would make the treatment decision and take care of you with

appropriate surgery or other medical care, " said Frances A. Farley,

MD, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery at the University of

Michigan and author of the editorial. " Now, we're talking about the

patient and the orthopaedic surgeon partnering together, examining

options to make the best choices for treating the patient. "

The idea behind patient-centered care, what the AAOS calls " Getting

Better Together, " is to improve the quality of medical care. Some

evidence indicates that when patient-centered care is incorporated

into treatment, patients are more pleased with the treatment outcome

and physicians are happier with the care they've given. Although an

emphasized program throughout orthopaedics, many physicians believe

that patient-centered care should be practiced throughout all medical

disciplines.

" Visiting the doctor can be an intimidating experience for some

people, " said Stuart L. Weinstein, MD, Ignacio V. Ponseti Professor

of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Iowa, past president of

AAOS and co-author of the article. " But if physicians foster a good

and continuous dialogue with the patient, both parties can walk away

from the health care experience feeling good and satisfied with the

interaction, because they were both participants in all discussions

and decisions. "

Under the guidance of a physician who understands and follows patient-

centered care, a patient who has an arthritic knee, for example,

would share and exchange ideas and thoughts about expectations and

options for treatment that meshes with their personal values.

" If I have a very arthritic knee, I probably can't expect to be a

marathon runner, but I may be able to expect to be pain free and play

with my grandkids -- and those are discussions that the patient and

the physician should have, " said Dr. Weinstein. " The bottom line is

that if a patient helps make the decisions about treatment, he or she

is going to be a happier patient -- and a happier patient means a

happier physician as well. "

An orthopaedic surgeon is a physician with extensive training in the

diagnosis and non-surgical as well as surgical treatment of the

musculoskeletal system including bones, joints, ligaments, tendons,

and nerves.