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Strengthen the Evidence for Maternal and Child Health Programs

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Evidence Tools
MCHbest. Medical Home: Usual Source of Sick Care.

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Strategy. Patient-Centered Care

Approach. Promote patient-centered care model

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Overview. In patient-centered care, providers treat patients within the context of their individual preferences, needs and values, ensuring that the patient guides all decisions.[1] When children and families are at the forefront of decision-making, providers can more easily foster trust, communication, and collaboration. Differences in access to patient-centered care exist among children and youth with special healthcare needs.[2] Evidence shows that patient-centered care, and strategies to implement it, lead healthcare settings to perform well and have good health outcomes overall, highlighting the importance of leveraging this model of care to benefit children with and without special healthcare needs.[3]

Evidence. Moderate Evidence. Strategies with this rating are likely to work...

Access the peer-reviewed evidence through the MCH Digital Library or related evidence source.

Potential Data Sources. Data to support this strategy can be accessed through:

  • Patient-reported experience measures
  • Provider-patient shared decision-making surveys
  • Patient and family advisory council meeting minutes and action items

Outcome Components. This strategy has shown to have impact on the following outcomes (Read more about these categories):

  • Patient Experience of Care. This study improves individuals' perceptions, feelings, and satisfaction with the healthcare services they receive.
  • Quality of Care. This strategy promotes the degree to which healthcare services meet established standards aimed at achieving optimal health outcomes.
  • Utilization. This strategy improves the extent to which individuals and communities use available healthcare services.

Detailed Outcomes. For specific outcomes related to each study supporting this strategy, access the peer-reviewed evidence and read the Intervention Results for each study.

Intervention Type. Direct Care (Read more about intervention types and levels as defined by the Public Health Intervention Wheel).

Intervention Level. Individual/Family-Focused

Examples from the Field. There are currently no ESMs that use this strategy. Search similar intervention components in the ESM database.

Sample ESMs. Here are sample ESMs to use as models for your own measures using the RBA framework (see The Role of Title V in Adapting Strategies).

Quadrant 1:
Measuring Quantity of Effort (“What/how much did we do?”)

  • Number of healthcare organizations implementing patient-centered care practices. (Measures uptake of patient-centered care)
  • Number of providers trained in patient-centered communication and shared decision-making. (Assesses workforce capacity building)

Quadrant 2:
Measuring Quality of Effort (“How well did we do it?”)

  • Percent of care process incorporating patient-centered practices. (Measures fidelity to patient-centered care delivery)
  • Percent of healthcare teams trained in patient-centered care. (Assesses workforce competency)

Quadrant 3:
Measuring Quantity of Effect (“Is anyone better off?”)

  • Number of patient-centered care measures integrated into healthcare performance monitoring. (Assesses alignment with quality frameworks)
  • Number of collaboratives formed to advance patient-centered care practices who report high levels of engagement. (Shows field-building for care transformation)
  • Number of payment models prioritizing patient-centered care delivery. (Assesses enabling systems for sustainability)
  • Number of communities experiencing improved health outcomes through patient-centered care models. (Measures population-level impact)

Quadrant 4:
Measuring Quality of Effect (“How are they better off?”)

  • Percent of patient-centered initiatives prioritizing needs of communities. (Measures commitment to patient-care efforts)
  • Percent of care metrics reflecting patient and community definitions of quality. (Shows alignment with community priorities)
  • Percent reduction in differences in patient-reported experiences across all populations. (Measures initiative impact)
  • Percent of patients from reporting care approaches affirm their identities. (Assesses responsiveness of care)

Note. When looking at your ESMs, SPMs, or other strategies:

  1. Move from measuring quantity to quality.
  2. Move from measuring effort to effect.
  3. Quadrant 1 strategies should be used sparingly, when no other data exists.
  4. The most effective measurement combines strategies in all levels, with most in Quadrants 2 and 4.

Learn More. Read how to create stronger ESMs and how to measure ESM impact more meaningfully through Results-Based Accountability.

References

[1] Everhart JL, Haskell H, Khan A. Patient- and Family-Centered Care: Leveraging Best Practices to Improve the Care of Hospitalized Children. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2019 Aug;66(4):775-789. doi: 10.1016/j.pcl.2019.03.005. Epub 2019 May 14. PMID: 31230622.

[2] Pérez Jolles M, Thomas KC. differences in Self-reported Access to Patient-centered Medical Home Care for Children With Special Health Care Needs. Med Care. 2018 Oct;56(10):840-846. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000000978. PMID: 30211808.

[3] Edgman-Levitan S, Schoenbaum SC. Patient-centered care: achieving higher quality by designing care through the patient's eyes. Isr J Health Policy Res. 2021 Mar 5;10(1):21. doi: 10.1186/s13584-021-00459-9. PMID: 33673875; PMCID: PMC7934513.

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U02MC31613, MCH Advanced Education Policy, $3.5 M. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.