The Institute of Medicine defines patient–centered care as: “Providing care that is respectful of, and responsive to, individual patient preferences, needs and values, and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions.”
Education is key to Patient-Centered Care
In 2016, there were approximately 4.45 billion prescriptions issued all over the United States. And according to the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative, four out of five patients who visit a physician leave with at least one prescription.
Medications are involved in 80 percent of all treatments and impact every aspect of a patient’s life. The two most commonly identified drug therapy problems in patients receiving comprehensive medication management services are: (1) The patient requires additional drug therapy for prevention, synergistic, or palliative care; and (2) The drug dosages need to be titrated to achieve therapeutic levels that reach the intended therapy goals.
Drug therapy problems occur every day and add substantial costs to the health care system. Drug-related morbidity and mortality was estimated to cost $76.6 billion in the ambulatory setting in the United States. The largest component of this total cost was associated with drug-related hospitalizations.
So what can we do as a society to help focus on Patient-Centered Care and decrease the cost related to drug therapy? Educate.
By educating healthcare professionals on the tools and resources available will help not only individualize care, but will also save money and time by providing scientific based results for proper prescribing and help eliminate the “trial & error” prescribing that has been done for decades.
When a patient is on medications he/she can metabolize properly, you reduce the risk of falls, re-hospitalization and what they call the “Prescribing Cascade” where the side effects of drugs are misdiagnosed as symptoms of another problem resulting in further prescriptions and further side effects and unanticipated drug interactions.
So how do we combat this problem? Pharmacogenetic testing.
Pharmacogenetics is one of those tools. Pharmacogenetics aligns current and future medications with each persons unique genetic profile. It is a simple cheek swab that can help “personalize” medicine based on each individual person – Right Drug, Right Dose, for the Right Person.
Patient-centered care is intended to empower patients in making decisions regarding their own healthcare. The hope is by engaging patients and getting input on their own health, they will have better outcomes. Education is a big component of patient-centered care. By educating the patient and providing information to help them understand their diagnosis and treatment, they can begin to work alongside their provider and have input into their treatment.
Patients bring a unique perspective on their own care. No one knows your body better then you. Far too often patients and their families are not educated or informed on their healthcare decisions. Looking forward into the future, creating a system that is “patient-centered” and focuses on educating patients and healthcare providers will help in so many areas of our healthcare system.
PGx Medical is single-focused. Meaning, we do one thing and we do it with passion. We focus on pharmacogenetics in the field of aging services. As consultants, PGx Medical educates healthcare providers, senior communities, patients and families across the country on the benefits and value of this medication management tool.
For more information, or to schedule an educational webinar or request educational material, contact:
PGx Medical
405-509-5112
info@pgxmed.com
source: pcpcc.com, ncbi.com