The term "patient focused care" has dominated the health care environment for some time. Although widely used, its definition is illusive. This concept has been adopted for varying reasons in numerous environments. The premise is that physicians practicing patient-centered care improve their patients' clinical outcomes and satisfaction rates by improving the quality of the doctor-patient relationship, while at the same time decreasing the utilization of diagnostic testing, prescriptions, hospitalizations, and referrals (Rickert, 2012). Rickert (2012) goes on to say that patient-centered practitioners focus on improving different aspects of the patient-physician interaction by employing measurable skills and behaviors.

Discuss whether or not you agree with making the patient the center of focus. Is this giving the patient too much power? Will the doctor's desire to please the patient result in over-practicing medicine? Please provide references and a min of 250+ words.

Rickert, J. (2012). Patient-centered care: What it means and how to get there. Retrieved from http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2012/01/24/patient-centered-care-what-it-means-and-how-to-get-there/