Accounting for culture in patient focused care

The presentation proposes that the patient be trained to take primary responsibility for their health choices and outcomes.  That is, the patient will be educated in or made aware of various medical systems and trained to work as full partner with various health care practitioners. The medical approaches of European nations and Asian medical systems will be discussed.  Other nations’ medical costs and outcomes will be compared with the U.S. When pharmaceuticals are the alternative medicine each individual patient is capable of taking charge of their own health, and WHO figures indicate the outcomes are healthier than current US outcomes.

With culturally diverse patients, practitioners will be learning the patient’s traditional healing methods as well.

Barriers to patients making fully informed decisions regarding health care choices, such as lack of transparency in pricing and accessibility to personal medical records, can be largely sidestepped by the educated and assertive patient/consumer.

Research has shown that the patient involved in health decisions heals faster.  This new paradigm would simplify medical care by using traditional medical systems first—as is done in every country except the US—and thereby lower medical costs while improving health outcomes.

As to tools to implement this paradigm, an “interview schedule” for a doctor’s visit will be presented that prepares the patient for a productive office visit, and a Personal Health Chart for the patient to keep health records and notes will be demonstrated. Finally, the experience of one major employer that holds employees accountable for their health goals and consequent insurance costs will be presented in an on-line tool-kit.