How Patient-centred is Australian General Practice?

Abstract

Patient-centred care can be described generally as an approach that emphasises attention to patients’ psychosocial as well as physical needs. The approach emphasises that treatment choice takes patient preferences into account, and that self-care is supported as well as treatment. Central to this is the development of a sense of partnership in care, and facilitation of patient involvement in decision making about treatment decisions (Mead et al. 2002). Patients have been found to prefer patient-centred care, and those who receive it, also report better health outcomes (Little et al. 2001). This article examines the analysis of the General Practice Assessment Survey (GPAS) and what it revels about the degree of patient-centred care experienced by participants.