title: Informatics Systems and Tools to Facilitate Patient-centered Care Coordination.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is a growing international focus on patient- centered care. A model designed to facilitate this type of care in the primary care setting is the patient-centered medical home. This model of care strives to be patient-focused, comprehensive, team-based, coordinated, accessible, and focused on quality and safety of care.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this paper is to identify the current status and future trends of patient-centered care and the role of informatics systems and tools in facilitating this model of care.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this paper we review recent scientific literature of the past four years to identify trends and state of current evidence when it comes to patient-centered care overall, and more specifically medical homes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There are several studies that indicate growth and development in seven informatics areas within patient-centered care, namely clinical decision support, registries, team care, care transitions, personal health records, telehealth, and measurement. In some cases we are still lacking large randomized clinical trials and the evidence base is not always solid, but findings strongly indicate the potential of informatics to support patient-centered care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Current evidence indicates that advancements have been made in implementing and evaluating patient-centered care models. Technical, legal, and practical challenges still remain. Further examination of the impact of patient-centered informatics tools and systems on clinical outcomes is needed.
authors: George Demiris PhD, FACMI, University of Washington, BNHS Box 357266, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA, Tel: +1 206 221 3866, Fax: +1 206 543 4771, E-mail: gdemiris@uw.edu.
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Demiris
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Kneale
mesh_terms: D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D055991:Health Records, Personal; D006801:Humans; D008490:Medical Informatics; D010346:Patient Care Management; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends; D017216:Telemedicine
keywords: Patient-centered care; clinical; decision support systems; personal health records; registries; telehealth