Patients in control

Rick Muir

1. What is empowerment?

Empowering people means giving them more control over their health and healthcare so

they can:

• prevent themselves getting ill in the first place

• self-manage their condition once diagnosed, which in turn means

• feeling in control, to the extent they choose to

• having a strong input into decisions that affect them

• feeling that their medical teams understands their circumstances, wants and

needs

• being able to access support and advice when they need it

• have services that fit around their lives, and which help them to live the lives

they want to lead.

2. Why is empowerment important?

• Giving people the knowledge about how to stay healthy and well will prevent them

from getting ill in the first place

• People self-manage most of the time. If they cannot do this effectively, they will be

more likely to need acute care

• Autonomy is a good thing

• Autonomy can make you healthier

• People know a lot about what makes them well and what doesn’t

• Empowered patients means more responsive services

3. What do patients with long term

conditions think?

4. What should be done to empower

patients?

4. What should be done to empower

patients?IPPR recommends a number of person centred guarantees:

• a single named contact for all care needs

• patients should legally own their medical records and have access to them in a digital

format

• everyone should be offered advice and training in how to a manage their condition

• everyone with a long term condition should be able to access peer support

• everyone with a diagnosed long-term condition should be guaranteed a healthcare plan

covering their physical health, mental health and social care needs

• personal health budgets should eventually be an option for everyone with a long term

condition

4. What should be done to empower

patients?The system needs to change in the following ways in order to support this empowerment:

• The community needs to be mobilised to create a preventative layer before people

access health or formal care

• Investment in education around self-management and facilitation of peer support

• Culture change led by community based intermediaries working with patients and

clinicians

• Break down the divide between primary care, community services, social care and

secondary care through pooled local budgets and joint commissioning alongside the

development of integrated care models

• Funding reforms such as capitated budgets

• Long term security on funding

Thank you.

r.muir@ippr.org

http://www.ippr.org/publications/patients-in-control-why-people-with-long-term-conditions-

must-be-empowered