Provider‐centric models of care in which most consumers of healthcare are passive

Building the community of patient‐centred care practice across all sectors of health care and health professional education

“…In the third editorial in the healthcare series in the Internal Medicine Journal , Benny not only captured the essence of the barriers existing for implementation and sustainability of patient‐centred care within our current complex health system but also offered hope for a way forward. The yet to be achieved nirvana state of a ‘…flexible and responsive workforce…’ (Benny, p. 796) within a healthcare model supporting a patient‐centred approach are two crucial prongs of this issue, which must be a collective responsibility.…”

Author reply

“…Interestingly, although the profound thinking and tangible actions that might deliver such a system remain amorphous. Barr et al have very astutely identified that one of the first steps we must take in our journey toward a different health system is to ascertain exactly what we mean by ‘patient‐centred care’ when commenting on my editorial in the August issue of Internal Medicine Journal . Their current and proposed work in this area will provide valuable insight into the potentially profound changes that will be needed to deliver a truly patient centred system.…”

“…We will need to balance carefully the lack of detailed knowledge that most members of the public have of this complex and multi‐layered system we call ‘health’ with the detailed and professional, but nevertheless, vested, interests of we as health workers in our extant systems. In the end, it is likely that most of the change needed to ensure we are successful in building a new, sustainable health system will be in how we, as health professionals, change the way we work …”