What is PCC in healthcare? Understanding the patient-centered approach

September 29, 2025 •

4 min read

According to the Institute of Medicine, patient-centered care is one of the six key determinants of high-quality care. Understanding what is PCC in healthcare? is vital for both patients and providers seeking to improve health outcomes and transform the patient experience.

Quick Summary

PCC in healthcare stands for Person-Centered Care or Patient-Centered Care, a collaborative model that respects a patient’s unique needs and values to guide all treatment decisions and improve outcomes.

Key Points

Definition: PCC stands for Person-Centered Care or Patient-Centered Care, a healthcare model that puts the individual's needs and values first.
Holistic Approach: Unlike the traditional medical model, PCC considers the whole person, including their emotional, social, and physical needs, not just their disease or symptoms.
Key Benefits: Implementing PCC leads to improved patient outcomes, increased satisfaction, reduced costs, and a stronger patient-provider relationship.
Collaborative Decisions: A core principle of PCC is shared decision-making, where the patient and their family are active partners in creating the care plan.
Implementation Challenges: Barriers to adopting PCC include time constraints, lack of training, and resistance to changing from a traditional, provider-centric mindset.
Cultural Shift: Successfully implementing PCC requires a significant cultural transformation within a healthcare organization, from leadership to frontline staff.

Understanding the Core Concepts of PCC

What is PCC in healthcare? In its simplest form, PCC is a healthcare philosophy that places the patient or person at the center of their own care. This approach goes far beyond simply treating a diagnosis or a set of symptoms. It involves a deep partnership between the patient, their families, and healthcare providers to create a comprehensive and individualized care plan.

While the terms patient-centered care and person-centered care are often used interchangeably, they can have slightly different emphases. Patient-centered care typically refers to the collaborative process during a medical encounter, focusing on shared decision-making related to treatment. Person-centered care is a broader, more holistic approach that considers the individual's entire lived experience, including social, emotional, and spiritual needs. Both aim to empower individuals, but the 'person-centered' approach considers the 'big picture' of one's life.

The Eight Principles of Patient-Centered Care

The Picker Institute established eight core principles to define and guide the implementation of patient-centered care. These principles ensure that every patient’s encounter with the healthcare system is centered on their unique needs:

Respect for patient preferences: Honoring individual values and preferences and involving patients in all decisions.
Coordination and integration of care: Ensuring all aspects of care are coordinated to create a seamless patient experience.
Information and education: Providing clear, timely, and accessible information so patients can make informed decisions.
Physical comfort: Addressing a patient's pain management and physical needs to promote healing.
Emotional support: Acknowledging the emotional impact of illness and providing empathetic and compassionate support.
Involvement of family and friends: Welcoming and supporting the involvement of a patient's loved ones in their care.
Continuity and transition: Ensuring smooth and seamless transitions between different care settings.
Access to care: Providing timely and reliable access to the necessary care and services.

PCC vs. The Traditional Medical Model

The shift to PCC represents a fundamental departure from the traditional medical model. The traditional approach, often described as paternalistic, places the provider in the sole position of authority, with the patient in a passive role. PCC flips this dynamic, establishing a partnership built on mutual respect and shared responsibility. The differences are best highlighted through a direct comparison:


Feature	Person/Patient-Centered Care	Traditional Medical Model
Decision Making	Collaborative; shared decisions with patient and family input.	Paternalistic; provider-driven decisions.
Focus	The whole person: values, preferences, and holistic well-being.	The disease, diagnosis, and medical symptoms.
Patient Role	Active partner and integral part of the care team.	Passive recipient of instructions and treatment.
Treatment Plan	Tailored to the individual's unique circumstances.	Standardized; one-size-fits-all approach.
Time/Schedule	Flexible routines based on patient preferences and needs.	Rigid schedules based on facility and staff convenience.

The Benefits of Patient-Centered Care

Adopting a PCC model offers numerous advantages for all stakeholders involved, including patients, providers, and the healthcare system as a whole.

Improved Health Outcomes: Patients who are actively involved in their care are more likely to adhere to treatment plans, leading to better results. This empowerment can lead to more effective treatments and healthier lifestyle changes.
Enhanced Patient Satisfaction: When patients feel heard, respected, and involved, their overall satisfaction with their care experience increases significantly. This builds trust and strengthens the patient-provider relationship.
Reduced Healthcare Costs: By tailoring care to a patient's specific needs, PCC can help reduce unnecessary tests, treatments, and hospital readmissions, leading to more efficient resource allocation.
Increased Quality of Care: Providers who practice PCC can create more effective and appropriate treatment plans by considering the patient's unique circumstances and not just their medical condition.
Greater Patient Empowerment: Patients feel a sense of control and empowerment over their health journey, which fosters a feeling of well-being and can lead to more proactive health management.

Implementing PCC: Strategies and Challenges

Implementing a patient-centered model requires a concerted effort from all levels of a healthcare organization. It's a cultural shift that goes beyond simply changing policies.

Strategies for Successful Implementation

Foster Open Communication: Encourage patients to ask questions, voice concerns, and provide feedback. Healthcare staff should use active listening and plain language to ensure information is clear and understandable.
Establish a Patient-Centered Culture: Train staff on PCC principles and reinforce these values through leadership and organizational policies. Reward staff who demonstrate exceptional patient-centered behavior.
Personalize Care Plans: Move away from standardized approaches. Care plans should be tailored to the patient's individual values, lifestyle, and goals, addressing both physical and mental well-being.
Coordinate Care Effectively: Ensure seamless communication and information sharing between different providers and departments. This is especially crucial for patients with complex or chronic conditions.
Utilize Technology: Leverage telemedicine, patient portals, and health apps to improve patient access, communication, and engagement in their care.

Overcoming Implementation Challenges

Despite the clear benefits, implementing PCC is not without its hurdles. Common challenges include time constraints, where providers feel rushed and unable to engage in in-depth patient discussions. Lack of sufficient training on PCC principles can also create uncertainty among staff. Furthermore, resistance to change, especially from those accustomed to the traditional, paternalistic model, can hinder progress. Addressing these issues requires strong leadership, ongoing education, and a commitment to transforming the organizational culture.

Conclusion: The Future of PCC in Healthcare

The move toward PCC is a transformative shift in the healthcare landscape. It signals a recognition that effective care is not just about treating a medical condition but about treating the whole person. By prioritizing respect, collaboration, and individual needs, PCC creates a more empathetic and effective healthcare system for everyone involved. The benefits—including better health outcomes, higher satisfaction, and greater efficiency—make the adoption of PCC a worthwhile investment for the future of medicine. More information on health policy and patient-centered outcomes can be found via the National Institutes of Health.

Frequently Asked Questions

While often used synonymously, Person-Centered Care generally encompasses a broader, more holistic view of the individual, including their lifestyle and emotional well-being. Patient-Centered Care tends to focus more on the medical encounter and treatment decisions.

PCC is important because it leads to better health outcomes, higher patient satisfaction, and a more collaborative relationship between patients and providers. It ensures that care is tailored to the individual, rather than being a one-size-fits-all approach.

Examples include customizing a patient's pain medication based on their needs, involving family members in care discussions, and allowing patients more flexibility in their hospital schedules to align with their routines and preferences.

PCC benefits providers by allowing them to spend more quality time with patients, leading to more individualized and effective care plans. This can improve job satisfaction and reduce burnout.

Patients can become more active partners by asking questions, providing feedback on their preferences and values, and engaging in open, honest communication with their care team. It involves treating the relationship as a partnership.

Organizations may face challenges such as tight schedules and heavy workloads for staff, resistance to change from established practices, and a lack of proper training on PCC principles.

Yes, by focusing on more effective and personalized treatment, PCC can reduce unnecessary tests, procedures, and hospital readmissions, which helps to lower overall healthcare costs.