Speaker: New health care models must focus on patients’ needs

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — The health care industry in the United States needs to be better aligned to consumers, according to a presenter at the Interdisciplinary Conference on Orthopedic Value-Based Care, here.

In his keynote speech, Eric J. Schneidewind, JD, the president of AARP, said orthopedic surgeons, clinicians and other health care professionals should focus on and understand as well as possible each patient’s compelling story and respect each patient’s sense of well-being.

Eric J. Schneidwind

“Person- and family-centered care is what people want,” but this requires a culture change, he said, noting the culture change must begin now.

“For a population that is growing older, this is no small order. In the United States, 10,000 people are turning 65 [years of age] every day,” he said.

Schneidewind discussed the vision of AARP founder Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD, who not only understood leadership, but made it her touchstone.

“She understood the enormous strength that resides in collective action. We need to keep that power in mind when we think about health care. If we weigh the kind of health care that patients want and will benefit from against what [we too often see], we see how out of balance things can be,” Schneidewind said.

In the new model of consumer-focused health care that he presented, nurses will play a greater role than they do now, and more patient navigators will be employed as part of the care team, according to Schneidewind.

“The aim of [the] work we are doing at AARP is a person-centered standard of care in which [an] individual’s goals and preferences are treated as paramount,” he said. – by Susan M. Rapp

Reference:

Schneidewind EJ. Disrupting age with personal, patient-centered care. Presented at: Interdisciplinary Conference on Orthopedic Value-Based Care; Feb. 9-11, 2018; Newport Beach, California.

Disclosure: Schneidewind reports no relevant financial disclosures.