More on so-called "patient-centered care"

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21793115

J Healthc Risk Manag. 2011;31(1):32-7. doi: 10.1002/jhrm.20077.
Ethics, risk, and patient-centered care: How collaboration between clinical ethicists and risk management leads to respectful patient care.
Sine DM, Sharpe VA.
Source
National Center for Patient Safety at the Veterans Health Administration.

Abstract
Patient-centered care is driven in part by the ethical principle of autonomy and considers patients' cultural traditions, personal preferences, values, family situations, and lifestyles. Patient decision-making capacity, surrogate decision making with or in the absence of a patient's advance directive, and the right to refuse treatment are three patient-care issues that are central to the work done by both the risk manager and the clinical ethicist that have strong relevance to patient-centered care. This article discusses these three issues briefly and offers two challenging case studies involving patient-centered care that illustrate how a clinical ethics consultation may help to avert the escalation that can lead to a tort claim.

© 2011 American Society for Healthcare Risk Management of the American Hospital Association.