Patient-focused care and the future of radiography

Reforming the U.S. health care system to make medical services affordable and accessible to all Americans will require dramatic change. In fact, many of the reform strategies that have been proposed would revolutionize the way medical care is delivered in this country. One such proposal is the patient-focused care model. As its name implies, PFCM would redesign hospital operations to place patients at the center of all activity. Thus, PFCM has ramifications not only on bottom-line medical costs, but also on organizational structure, the efficiency and quality of service, employee relations, educational standards, professionalism and job satisfaction. This article describes PFCM and its potential positive and negative effects on health care delivery in the United States, with particular emphasis on its impact on radiologic technologists.