We are all unique individuals and each person is an ‘expert in their own life’ with different goals, preferences and aspirations for their care. Active involvement in our own care improves our outcomes whether that is through health behaviours or confident management of our chronic conditions. To do this we need to be able to access the information we need and be supported to make the choices about treatments that will achieve our health goals, whatever they may be and irrespective of what stage of life we are. We need to be able to navigate the healthcare system to access the help that we need at the right time.
The Welsh Value in Health Centre is focussed on:
• Training and embedding shared decision making into clinical practice.
• Patient education and information to support health literacy and health lifestyle choices.
• Patient-focused research into patient-reported outcome measures.
• Consulting with patient organisations.
• Understanding the impact on patients of new models of care.