Patient-Centred Care: The Cornerstone For High-Value Musculoskeletal Pain Management

We identified 11 common recommendations to deliver best care for musculoskeletal (MSK) pain.1 Recommendation 1, that MSK pain care is patient centred, is the cornerstone for best care. Yet patient-centred care is often undervalued, under-recognised, undertrained and considered less important than technical skills/knowledge. Greater attention to patient-centredness improves patient and practitioner outcomes and reduces costs.2 3 A paradigm shift is needed in which patient-centred skills are learnt with the same rigour as technical skills (eg, patient physical examination procedures). However, clinicians and high-performance professionals are often unsure of how the patient centredness of their practice can be improved. The simplest step is for clinicians to improve the effectiveness of their communication.\n\nPatient-centred care incorporates each individual’s context, knowledge, needs, values, goals and preferences into shared decision-making about management.4 Achieving this relies on effective communication,4 which elicits the patient’s concerns, within their unique context, leading to a partnership in management. This process is individualised, interactive, dynamic and evolves over the patient’s journey.\n\nCommunication is also not just about the patient interview. It includes how clinicians approach the physical examination, how they engage and empower the patient in shared decision-making and arrive …