The Medical journal of Australia
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Patient activation is a behavioural concept and is at the heart of personalised care. It is defined as an individual's knowledge, skill and confidence for managing their health and health care. Evidence indicates that patient activation scores can predict health behaviour and are closely linked to various clinical outcomes: reduced unnecessary emergency department visits, hospital admissions and re-admissions. ⋯ The PAM is also useful for population segmentation and risk stratification - to target interventions and health strategies to meet the needs of patients who are at different points along the activation continuum, to measure the performance of health care systems, and to evaluate the effectiveness of health care interventions. The role of patient activation requires further serious consideration if we are to improve the long-term health and wellbeing of all Australians. The PAM tool is a feasible and cost-effective solution for achieving the Quadruple Aim - improving population health, the cost-efficiency of the health system, and patient and provider experience.
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In this article we ask: to what extent is person-centred care truly embedded in our system, and are we making the most of the policy levers that could help? We describe person-centred care, shine a light on deficits in the health system, and point to some policy enablers to support person-centred care. Cultural change and a commitment to value-based health care are required. We highlight the merit in adopting and acting on patient-reported measures as an indicator of what matters to the patient, the need for integrated data systems, and the role of a co-creation approach. Most importantly, we underscore the importance of funding reform and consumer leadership.