Person-centred care
Person-centred care is widely recognised as a foundation to safe, high-quality health care. It is care that respects and responds to the preferences, needs and values of patients and consumers.
Overview
The person-centred approach treats each person respectfully as an individual human being, and not just as a condition to be treated. It involves seeking out and understanding what is important to the patient, their families, carers and support people, fostering trust and establishing mutual respect. It also means working together to share decisions and plan care.
There is good evidence that person-centred care can lead to improvements in safety, quality and cost-effectiveness of health care, as well as improvements in patient and staff satisfaction.
Person-centred care is embedded throughout all of the Standards developed by the Commission, including the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards and the Primary and Community Healthcare Standards, reflecting its importance to the safety and quality of health care.
Resources and information
A wide range of resources and information are available to help healthcare organisations understand and implement best-practice person-centred care.
- Person-centred Care Network
Join an online network of people who share an interest in the delivery of person-centred care
- Person-centred care in practice webinar series
Learn more about person-centred care from our webinars
- Rationale and approaches to person-centred care
A review of the benefits of person-centred care, and successful approaches from Australia and overseas
- Attributes of person-centred healthcare organisations
The seven key attributes provide an ideal model for delivering high-performing, person-centred care
Implementing person-centred care
Governing bodies, managers, clinical leaders and healthcare staff all have a role to play in implementing person-centred care within their healthcare organisation. Exploring the tools and supports available in various areas can assist in effective implementation.
- Promoting and supporting person-centred care within healthcare organisations
Explore information and tools to implement person-centred care
- Evaluating person-centred care in healthcare organisations
Evaluation by management and consumers can identify areas of need
- Staff wellbeing and teamwork as part of person-centred care
Resources to support the wellbeing and collaboration of healthcare staff
- Patient safety as part of person-centred care
The principles of person-centred care can help to foster patient safety
-
- Person-centred care case studies
These highlight the person-centred strategies used by other organisations
Keep up to date
Stay informed about the latest news and important announcements by subscribing to the Person-centred Care Network.