CMS Releases its Person and Family Engagement Strategy

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Person and Family Engagement Strategy outlines key tenets, foundational principles, and values of person and family engagement, while highlighting the importance of collaboration and partnerships to reach the specified goals. This Strategy emphasizes that person and family engagement goes beyond informed consent. As delivery system reform efforts move the nation to focus on the quality of care and not the quantity of care received, person and family engagement is an essential part of a health care system that delivers high quality care, spends dollars more wisely, and improves the health of people in their communities.

The CMS Person and Family Engagement Strategy will serve as a guide for the implementation of person and family engagement principles and strategies throughout CMS programs. This strategy will expand the awareness and practice of person and family engagement by providing the following goals and objectives:

  1. Actively encourage person and family engagement along the continuum of care within the broader context of health and well-being in the communities in which people live.
  2. Promote tools and strategies that reflect person and/or family values and preferences and enable them to actively engage in directing and self-managing their care.
  3. Create an environment where persons and their families work in partnership with their health care providers to develop their health and wellness goals informed by sound evidence and aligned with their values and preferences.
  4. Develop meaningful measures and tools aimed at improving the experience and outcomes of care for persons, caregivers, and families. Also, identify person and family engagement best practices and techniques in the field that are ready for widespread scaling and national integration.

To learn more, visit the CMS blog, or access the full strategy plan here.