ABSTRACT
Some of the practicalities of adopting a patient-perspective attitude towards health service provision are discussed in this chapter. Fundamentally, the patient-perspective model of service delivery requires that the first-person perspective of the patient, rather than the third-person perspective of the provider, is used to guide all aspects of treatment delivery. The implications of acknowledging the importance of self-determination will be explored as well as how to deal with the discomfort of situations in which a patient’s ideas about the most appropriate form of care differ from the treating health professional’s opinion. Recognising the crucial necessity of accepting the right of patients to make mistakes and to live lives of their own choosing is emphasised. It is also suggested that there is great value in clearly defining one’s role as a health care provider and the importance of boundaries demarcating reasonable scopes of practice. Conceptualising health care as a resource that people should be able to access whenever they want to improve their lives according to their own design will be encouraged. Twelve key differences between patient-centred care and patient-perspective care are presented and discussed. The implications of these differences for clinical practice are also outlined.
