Aligning Care With Values: The Core Practices of Person-Centered Care

Person surrounded by symbols to indicate person-centered care principles
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Have you ever walked out of your health appointment and  wished the healthcare team saw you and not just your symptoms? Person-centered care (PCC) is an evidence-based practice that involves patients as active partners in their own care and considers all aspects of their health that goes beyond their physical needs1,3 to provide high-quality, equitable healthcare2. Instead of decisions being made on the behalf of patients, PCC promotes active collaboration with patients. 

But what does person-centered care look like in real-world practice? We have identified four core practices that are present in PCC.

1. Interprofessional Collaboration: Making Decisions Together 

Have you heard the saying that “two heads are better than one?” This principle is central to PCC, where interprofessional collaboration ensures that care decisions are not made in isolation. When a team of healthcare professionals contribute their expertise, patients gain a clearer and comprehensive understanding of their treatment options. Through shared decision-making, the final care plan reflects the patient’s unique values and preferences. This collaborative partnership strengthens confidence in the care plan and leads to improved outcomes, especially for long term conditions4.

2. Active Listening: Hearing Beyond the Words

Hearing doesn’t always equal listening. As healthcare providers, the skill of active listening gives the opportunity to validate a person’s experience and build connection. It involves direct eye contact, a non-judgmental attitude, and listening with empathy. Instead of diving into a checklist, it is important to ask the patient, “What matters most to you today?”, so concerns or priorities that would otherwise go unnoticed are revealed. Research shows that active listening builds trust, improves communication, and increases patient satisfaction5.

3. Accessibility: Removing Barriers to Care

True PCC is only achieved when it is accessible in all forms. This means care should be easy to navigate, timely, and adapted to each person’s unique needs. Accessibility can include offering telehealth visits, providing interpreter services, or ensuring clinics are physically-accessible. Accessibility is more than logistics, it is about equity and ensuring healthcare teams are meeting people where they are at. 

4. Emotional Support: Caring for the Whole Person

Fear, anxiety, grief, and uncertainty often accompany illness and these feelings can affect healing just as much as any medical condition. Health is physical, but it’s also emotional. Simple actions such as checking in on the mental well-being of patients or gently asking how a patient is coping can make a meaningful difference. When healthcare providers create space for emotional expression, they show that a person’s experiences and feelings truly matter. 

A Self-Reflection Exercise to Identify PCC in Practice

Take five minutes to reflect on a time when you or someone you love felt genuinely cared for in a healthcare setting. What made that moment stand out?

Write down your thoughts, then identify which of the four core practices of PCC (collaboration, active listening, accessibility, or emotional support) were present. This exercise serves as a reminder of how meaningful PCC can be. Consider how you can bring these elements into your own practice.

References:

  1. Coulter A, Oldham J. Person-centred care: what is it and how do we get there?. Future Hosp J. 2016;3(2):114-116. doi:10.7861/futurehosp.3-2-114
  2. World Health Organization. Integrated people-centred care. https://www.who.int/health-topics/integrated-people-centered-care#tab=tab_1
  3. Santana, M. J., Manalili, K., Jolley, R. J., Zelinsky, S., Quan, H., & Lu, M. (2018). How to practice person‐centred care: A conceptual framework. Health Expectations : An International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy, 21(2), 429–440. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.12640
  4. Elwyn, G., Frosch, D., Thomson, R., Joseph-Williams, N., Lloyd, A., Kinnersley, P., Cording, E., Tomson, D., Dodd, C., Rollnick, S., Edwards, A., & Barry, M. (2012). Shared Decision Making: A Model for Clinical Practice. Journal of General Internal Medicine : JGIM, 27(10), 1361–1367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-012-2077-6
  5. Bombard, Y., Baker, G. R., Orlando, E., Fancott, C., Bhatia, P., Casalino, S., Onate, K., Denis, J.-L., & Pomey, M.-P. (2018). Engaging patients to improve quality of care: a systematic review. Implementation Science : IS, 13(1), Article 98. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-018-0784-z