Institute for Healthcare Improvement
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Helping patients and families manage chronic conditions is an idea whose time has come. Self-management support is a central focus in the Institute of Medicine Crossing the Quality Chasm report and the patient-centered medical home, and is receiving increasing attention in the continuing education programs of professional organizations, with good reason.
Many patients do not understand what their doctors have told them and do not participate in decisions about their care, which leaves them ill prepared to make daily decisions and take actions that lead to good management. Others are not yet even aware that taking an active role in managing their condition can have a big impact on how they feel and what they are able to do. Enabling patients to make good choices and sustain healthy behaviors requires a collaborative relationship, a new health partnership between health care providers and teams, and patients and their families; a partnership that supports patients in building the skills and confidence they need to lead active and fulfilling lives.
The concepts and tools in this toolkit are intended to give busy clinical practices an introduction to a set of activities and changes that support patients and families in the day-to-day management of chronic conditions. Experienced organizations and teams will find tested resources and tools. Practices that are just beginning to reorganize for patient-centered care as well as those experienced in collaborative self-management will find tested resources and tools and high-leverage changes that offer a number of ways to begin trying them with a small number of patients.
Background
This content was developed as part of
New Health Partnerships: Improving Care by Engaging Patients, an initiative of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Related Information
Directions
The toolkit, and documents referenced within the toolkit, are listed below in the "Documents" section of this web page.
[Please note: Users will need to be logged in to IHI.org to access the documents.]
