Introduction

When the Institute of Medicine defined health care quality, patient-centeredness was one of the five core dimensions. Yet as many have noted, the health system often seems to be more organized around the needs of providers than patients.

This reality is particularly true when it comes to older Americans. An entire system of coverage and care has built up around institutional needs and institutional definitions - nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living centers, rehabilitation centers, and more.

Christine Ritchie from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School joins A Health Podyssey to discuss what a reimagined health system truly designed around the needs of older patients could look like.

Ritchie and coauthor Bruce Leff of Johns Hopkins University published a commentary in the May 2022 issue of Health Affairs describing the elements of a new home and community-based care ecosystem for older people.

They argue for a system grounded in principles like respect for caregivers and medical and social integration.

Order the May 2022 issue of Health Affairs for research on telemedicine, disparities, pharmaceuticals, and more.

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