Goal-oriented patient care - an alternative health outcomes paradigm

Reuben & Tinetti. Goal-Oriented Patient Care - An Alternative Health Outcomes Paradigm. N Engl J Med 2012; 366:777-779. March 1, 2012.

"It is clear from reading some of your comments that a lot of MS'ers don't get out of their encounters with the healthcare system what they want. This perspective published in last week's New England Journal of Medicine addresses some of the aims of goal-orientated patient care. I suggest you read it in full and may be we could discuss some of the issues around this noble aim."


The following are two excerpts from the paper: 

... major efforts have been launched to make care more patient-centered, defined as “respectful of
and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values, and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions.”

... Ultimately, good medicine is about doing right for the patient. For patients with multiple chronic diseases, severe disability, or limited life expectancy, any accounting of how well we’re succeeding in providing care must above all consider patients’ preferred outcomes.

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