Putting Patients First®

As the health care delivery system continues its complex metamorphosis, providers, health plans, payers, and policymakers debate the merits of one approach over another, but patients are left entirely out of the equation. With the Council's Putting Patients First® program, the Council is committed to providing a solution to the dilemma today's patients face. If they receive helpful, supportive, and motivating information, consumers and patients will be better able to communicate with their providers and with health plan administrators, and thus will play a more effective, positive role in their own care. They also will be more able and more inspired to influence the continuing evolution of the nation's health care system.

Putting Patients First® is developing communication tools that can be used by consumers, patients, voluntary health agencies, and health care providers to promote dialogue that respects the unique perspectives of each. The program offers a variety of messages and materials, all developed using state-of-the-art knowledge in behavior change communications. The materials will be widely disseminated through various media, and through the many voluntary health agencies and other organizations that are members of the National Health Council. The program will focus on efforts to help patients communicate with their providers, health plan administrators, and decision makers openly, in a constructive, non-adversarial way, to become a positive force for change.