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Patient-centered care is a key characteristic of quality health care in the 21st century. Three patient-driven processes of care, characteristic of patient-centered models of care, may be related to improved readiness for discharge: patients' knowledge of their home-going needs, their relative importance, and their active involvement in the discharge process. Forty-four patients having planned abdominal surgery were interviewed at three time points to determine their information needs and preference for involvement. Patients identified 4.74 needs prior to admission, 5.05 needs prior to discharge, and 5.35 needs after discharge. Using Friedman's ANOVA for ranks, the importance of each need did not change over time. Patients expressed a desire for information and preference to be involved. These findings provide initial evidence for the efficacy of future interventions in designing care as seen through the eyes of the patient.

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