A recent medical society article demonstrates that participatory medicine advocates have made progress.

The central point of the article is that the current approach to metrics distracts from the need to focus on the patient. As the authors phrase it:

“There are legitimate concerns that as more and more metrics are being measured we may be losing focus on our patients’ concerns, and on the more meaningful but less measurable determinants of health.”

The article, METRICS for Metrics, is a short commentary published in the WMJ, the journal associated with the Wisconsin Medical Society. (Disclaimer: one of the authors, John Beasley, is a friend of mine from residency days.)

The authors propose METRICS as a mnemonic for assessing metrics:

Meaningful (which they specifically describe as patient-centered)
Evidence-based
Timely
Return on Investment
Individualized
Community and Population Health Outcomes
Shared Decision Making

It is significant that four of the seven criteria specifically relate to care from the perspective of the patient and require patient participation.

I see the publication of a commentary like this in a state medical society journal as evidence that the concepts underlying participatory medicine have penetrated in a deep and irreversible way.

There is still considerable work to be done making this real in a practical sense for every patient and caregiver – but make no mistake. We are having an impact. The culture of medicine is changing.

Join Us for #SPM2017 in Boston October 17

SPM’s second annual conference is Oct. 17 in Boston, a pre-conference for the Connected Health conference. Register here ($100 for members, $150 for non-members). In our early years it’s priced as a great bargain for a full day. See this blog’s #SPM2018 series for more about the day’s speakers and activities.