Moving Toward Implementation of Person-Centered Care for Older Adults in Community-Based Medical and Social Service Settings: "You Only Get Things Done When Working in Concert with Clients"

Specialized, fragmented acute care is not aligned optimally to serve older adults. Person-centered care (PCC) has emerged as an evidence-based solution that involves enlisting patients as partners in treatment planning. Although several efforts have captured person-centered voices in outpatient care, more information is needed at the organizational and provider level to better understand the feasibility, challenges, and effect of PCC in community-based and social services settings. To assess themes and emerging trends, researchers conducted telephone interviews with leaders at nine organizations providing PCC for older adults. Questions were focused on the legacy of PCC services, whether and how PCC was connected to better quality care, and what tools were used for measuring PCC. Three themes on PCC for older adults emerged. (1) Each organization ascribed to a unique definition and operational structure for PCC. (2) Despite these differences, all organizations specified a strong commitment to PCC. Most noted financial resources and staffing as challenges and opportunities affecting feasibility. (3) Terms such as "patient-centered" care and other PCC synonyms may warrant greater clarification, because ideological differences set these classifications apart. Results from this analysis indicate the lack of a single, established definition for PCC. As interest in and support for PCC mounts, organizations in outpatient medical and community-based settings clearly have undertaken individual efforts to interpret what PCC is and how to provide it. Interview responses reflect this inconsistency, highlighting how staff and financing in particular can bolster or burden the PCC paradigm and what a consensus definition could do for the field.