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Which Approaches Encourage Patients to Become More Engaged in Their Own Health Care?
Patients have the power to transform the health care system by demanding better care. The more engaged patients are, the more likely they are to use information about quality to select a provider; seek and obtain preventive services such as health screenings and immunizations; adopt positive behaviors such as eating right, exercising, monitoring health conditions; and, following treatment, actively asking questions of providers. For these reasons, many experts believe health care delivery systems should focus more on patients.
- Patient engagement is a critical component of improving quality of care. It encompasses many elements, such as self-management and increased collaboration between patients and doctors.
- Increasing engagement involves patients choosing doctors, clinics and hospitals based on data-driven information about providers ability to consistently deliver effective, high-quality care.
- The 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to set national standards for collecting and reporting provider-performance data and to pilot interventions to support patient engagement.
Health Policy Snapshot
Two-page briefs providing insight and analysis on key issues affecting health and health care in the United States.
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