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A Person Centered Care model requires both patients and healthcare professionals to form a partnership. This involves including patients and their families in designing and delivering their care plan to reflect and respect their  preferences, values, cultural traditions and other socio economic factors. This collaboration and shared decision making will lead to a customized care plan which meets the needs of the patient and their family members and ultimately leads to an improved patient experience.

Person Centered Care is all about engagement. A Person Centered Care model cannot be implemented without engaging patients and family members. Engagement at various levels of care including post-discharge forms the crux of Person Centered Care. There are different ways to engage and involve people in care and this can be at an individual or system level i.e. discussing personal preferences to engaging the help of the local community and patient population in the design of services. Person Centered Care requires two way communication in the patient-provider relationship and even beyond that. 

For any hospital, Person Centered Care is the right thing to do since it improves the health outcomes of patients. Patients who are satisfied with the care they receive will heal faster. Addressing the medical needs of patients while recognizing what is important to them works hand in hand and benefits both the patient and the healthcare system. This promotes a cultural shift towards better working partnerships and changes an organization’s culture so staff recognize the importance of designing and managing the system together with patients and family members.