From Theory to Practice: Bridging the Gap in Person-Centred Care Implementation

This article discusses the disconnect between understanding person-centred care principles and applying them effectively in real-world settings.

Person-centred care (PCC) is widely recognised as the gold standard in healthcare delivery. It empowers patients, improves outcomes, and fosters collaboration between healthcare providers and consumers. Yet, while the concept of PCC seems like common sense, it is not yet common practice.

For health professionals and leaders the challenge lies not in understanding what person-centred care is, but in creating some consistency around how to embed it into daily practice. This article explores why implementation often falters, the common challenges faced, and actionable tips to bridge the gap.

Why Implementation is the Weak Link:

Despite the growing emphasis on person-centred practice, many healthcare systems struggle to operationalise it in a systematic way. According to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, partnering with consumers is consistently identified as one of the most challenging National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards to implement. (2) This is because changing practice requires more than just policy changes—it demands a cultural shift, consistent training with skills development support, and the integration of new workflows into already time-pressured environments.

Moreover, successful implementation requires healthcare providers and leaders to move beyond theoretical understanding and adopt practical, evidence-based strategies that align with the unique needs of their patients and systems. Time poor health professionals cannot be expected to know how to integrate the hundreds of psychological and behaviour change theories and models seamlessly into time-limited consultations. Without sustained implementation support, PCC risks becoming a buzzword, far removed from the reality of ''usual'' practice in many healthcare settings.

Challenges and opportunities:

1. Time Constraints

   Healthcare professionals often cite a lack of time as a barrier to implementing person-centred care. With packed schedules and competing priorities, building trust, understanding patient preferences, and co-creating care plans can be the casualties in a time-pressured environment. However, is time the real issue?

   Many professionals have consultation times of 30 minutes or more and are surprised to discover how effective they can be when they are shown how to be person-centred as they perform their existing clinical tasks.

2. Training Methods

   Training courses on PCC often focus on the underpinning concepts, for example treating people with respect and dignity. Clinicians are then left to work out how to apply these concepts to their practice and provided with little opportunity to discuss, practice or receive feedback on what to say in their consultations that demonstrates they are acting in accordance with these values. Without a person-centre practice implementation methodology that more clearly defines and measures application, professional development topics and case discussions revert to focusing on a the more concrete clinical issues. Consequently, this hampers growth in organisational culture and practice change.

3. Service re-design

   Embedding PCC requires a shift in mindset and practice across all levels of an organisation. Many services are unaware of how their existing processes make it challenging for staff to use the skills they have or have just acquired. Managers cannot be expected to be experts in implementation science. They need support and guidance to identify where service workflows fail to support person-centred practice – and be aware of simple, pragmatic solutions to start to address those gaps.

3 Tips to Bridge the Implementation Gap:

1. Invest in Practical Training and Practice Change

   Implementation is not a one-off event—it is an ongoing process. Approaches like HealthChange® Methodology provide structured frameworks and tools that help healthcare providers operationalize person-centred care in real-world settings. Leaders can leverage the use of existing structures for case discussion and supervision to support skills development and confidence among staff.

   Watch: Re-imagining professional training and implementation of Person-Centred Care (12 min)
2. Fail to plan, plan to fail!

   Senior leaders must consider accountability drivers for both frontline workers and managers. Successful outcomes require time, effort and resources. Workplace cultures change when mandatory training is linked to reflective practice activities and teams are provided with clear communication and feedback on expectations and progress. Creating an expert group dedicated to supporting staff post-training and liaising between staff and senior managers is a key factor related to implementation success.⁴

3. Foster a Culture of Collaboration

   Implementation succeeds when healthcare teams work together over time to embed person-centred practice into their daily routines. Ultilise your networks and knowledge hubs to find simple tools to help you consider what to implement. See https://ahha.asn.au/support-for-vbhc-implementation/

Join us to improve practice!

Are you ready to bridge the gap in person-centred care implementation? Explore HealthChange® Methodology training options to gain actionable strategies and tools for embedding PCC into your practice or organisation. Together, we can transform healthcare delivery and improve outcomes for everyone.

References:

1. McCormack B (2024) Developing Person-centred Cultures in Healthcare Education and Practice: An Essential Guide. London: Wiley Blackwell. (p3)
2. Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. Creating Safer, Better Health Care – The impact of the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards. Sydney. ACSQHC, 2018. P19 https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/publications-and-resources/resource-library/creating-safer-better-health-care-impact-national-safety-and-quality-health-service-standards
3. Lawford, B.J., Delany, C., Bennell, K.L., Bills, C., Gale, J. and Hinman, R.S. (2018), Training Physical Therapists in Person-Centered Practice for People With Osteoarthritis: A Qualitative Case Study. Arthritis Care Res, 70: 558-570. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.23314
4. McGlynn, A; O'Callaghan, C; McDougall, B; Osbourne, L;Harris-Roxas, B. Translating Health Coaching Training into Clinical Practice. Int J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 16075. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192316075