Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jul 16:5:110-119.
doi: 10.15256/joc.2015.5.35. eCollection 2015.

The Patient Centered Assessment Method (PCAM): integrating the social dimensions of health into primary care

Rebekah Pratt  1 , Carina Hibberd  2 , Isobel M Cameron  3 , Margaret Maxwell  2
Affiliations

The Patient Centered Assessment Method (PCAM): integrating the social dimensions of health into primary care

Rebekah Pratt et al. J Comorb. .

Abstract

Background: Social dimensions of health are known to contribute to what is often termed "patient complexity," which is particularly common among patients with multimorbidity. Health-care professionals require tools to help them identify and manage these aspects of patient needs.

Objectives: To examine: (i) the Patient Centered Assessment Method (PCAM), a tool for assessing patient complexity in ways that are sensitive to the biopsychosocial dimensions of health, in primary care settings in Scotland; (ii) the impact of the PCAM on referral patterns and its perceived value; and (iii) the PCAM's perceived applicability for use in a complex patient population.

Design: Two studies are described: (i) a mixed-methods prospective cohort study of the implementation of the PCAM in primary care clinics; and (ii) a qualitative exploratory study that evaluated the value of the PCAM in a complex patient population.

Results: Use of the PCAM did not impact patient satisfaction or perception of practitioners' empathy, but it did increase both the number of onward referrals per referred patient (9-12%) and the proportion of referrals to non-medical services addressing psychological, social, and lifestyle needs. Nurses valued the PCAM, particularly its ability to help them address psychological and social domains of patients' lives, and found it to be highly relevant for use in populations with known high complexity.

Conclusions: The PCAM represents a feasible approach for assessing patient needs with consideration to the social dimensions of health, and allows practitioners to refer patients to a broader range of services to address patient complexity.

Keywords: Patient Centered Assessment Method (PCAM); comorbidity; multimorbidity; patient complexity; prevention; social dimensions of health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

References

    1. Parekh AK, Goodman RA, Gordon C, Koh HK. Managing multiple chronic conditions: a strategic framework for improving health outcomes and quality of life. Public Health Rep. 2011;126:460–71. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wagner EH. Chronic pain management: what will it take to improve care for chronic illness. Eff Clin Pract. 1998;1(1):2–4. - PubMed
    1. Abrams LS, Dornig K, Curran L. Barriers to service use for postpartum depression symptoms among low-income ethnic minority mothers in the United States. Qual Health Res. 2009;19(4):535–51. View Item. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Glasgow RE, Orleans CT, Wagner EH. Does the chronic care model serve also as a template for improving prevention. Milbank Q. 2001;79(4):579–612. View Item. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mercer SW, Smith SM, Wyke S, O’Dowd T, Watt GCM. Multimorbidity in primary care: developing the research agenda. Fam Pract. 2009;26:79–80. View Item. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources