Relationship-centered care: A new paradigm for population health management

TLDR

Relationship-centered care centers on patient–provider relationships, which are essential to population health management and have evolved to strengthen coordinated, team-based care. The study investigates the fundamental role of relationship-centered care in population health management, its compatibility with patient-centered care, and early examples of its application. The authors illustrate how the paradigm is implemented in a population health management organization and outline the lessons learned. They find that applying relationship-centered care provides actionable insights that can improve population health management practices.

Abstract

At the center of population health management services are the relationships between the patient and their care providers. The spread of relationship-centered care has resulted from the need to develop and nurture these relationships. As a model of coordinated and team-based care, relationship-based care is able to strengthen population health management. This paper explores why relationship-centered care is fundamental to population health management, describes compatibilities with patient-centered care and discusses examples of early applications of this paradigm. Using our experience in a population health management organization, we describe applications and lessons learned using this paradigm.