Many patients expect to play an active role in managing their own health care. A growing body of evidence shows that people who are actively involved in protecting their health and managing their healthcare have better health outcomes. In order to be fully engaged patients require help from clinicians who recognise and actively support their contribution and are willing to work with them as healthcare partners. However evidence from patient surveys suggests that appropriate support from clinicians is not always forthcoming particularly in the UK.
There is a need to develop and test new creative educational initiatives designed specifically to teach the core competences required for supporting patient engagement in healthcare. Greater use should be made of patients as teachers.
