Relationship-Based Care Models

You cannot make care plans person centred merely by writing them in the first person. While phrasing a care plan from the perspective of the individual (“I want…” or “My goals are…”) can make it seem more personal, true person-centred care requires deeper, more comprehensive approaches: 😊1. Holistic Understanding: A person-centred care plan should reflect a thorough understanding of the individual’s unique needs, preferences, values, and life experiences. This involves engaging in meaningful conversations with the person and possibly their family to learn about their background, interests, and what truly matters to them. 😊2. Collaboration and Partnership: Developing a person-centred care plan should be a collaborative process. The individual receiving care should be actively involved in all stages of planning and decision-making, alongside healthcare providers. This partnership ensures that the care plan is aligned with the individual’s desires and goals. 😊3. Flexibility and Adaptability: Person-centred care plans need to be dynamic, not static. They should be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect changes in the individual’s condition, preferences, or circumstances. Flexibility is crucial to ensure that care remains relevant and effective. 😊4. Empowerment and Respect: Respecting the autonomy and dignity of the individual is a cornerstone of person-centred care. This means acknowledging their right to make decisions about their own care and supporting them in taking an active role. Empowering individuals can involve providing education and resources to help them understand their options. 😊5. Interdisciplinary Approach: Effective person-centred care often requires an interdisciplinary approach, where professionals from various fields (nurses, doctors, social workers, therapists) work together to address the diverse needs of the individual. This ensures that all aspects of the person’s health and well-being are considered. 😊6. Cultural Competence: Being aware of and sensitive to the cultural background of the individual is essential. Person-centred care plans should respect and incorporate cultural, religious, and personal beliefs and practices. 😊7. Building Relationships: Developing trust and rapport between caregivers and the person receiving care is vital. Genuine relationships enhance communication, foster trust, and make it easier to understand and meet the individual’s needs. 😊8. Outcome-Focused: The focus of a person-centred care plan should be on achieving the best possible outcomes for the individual. This means setting realistic, meaningful goals and regularly assessing progress towards these goals. 😊9. Support Systems: Recognising the role of family, friends, and community in the individual’s life and incorporating these support systems into the care plan. This can help provide a more comprehensive support network and improve overall care quality.

We're racing to make healthcare more efficient - shorter visits, faster throughput, optimized schedules. The goals seem reasonable: serve more patients, reduce costs, improve access. But in this rush toward efficiency, we're inadvertently designing out the moments where healing actually happens. Those 'inefficient' moments - when a nurse lingers to hold a hand, when a doctor sits in silence while a patient processes news, when a family finds support in a quiet corner - aren't wasteful. They're essential. They're where trust builds, where understanding develops, where healing begins. After years studying healthcare delivery, the patterns are clear: The spaces between scheduled care often matter more than the care itself. The unplanned conversations frequently have more impact than the documented ones. The 'waste' in the system often serves a crucial human purpose. As we embrace AI and automation, this tension will only increase. Yet there's a way forward that balances efficiency with humanity. Here's what it looks like: Design for Time Richness Create systems that protect crucial moments - the quiet conversations, the careful explanations, the space for questions. Efficiency shouldn't mean rushing through human connections. Honor Natural Rhythms Healthcare has its own pace - of healing, of understanding, of building trust. Our systems should respect these rhythms rather than forcing everything into standardized timeframes. Enable Real Relationships Build processes that support relationship development between providers and patients. Sometimes continuity matters more than convenience. Support Informal Care Networks Make space for the unofficial support systems that develop naturally in healthcare settings. These aren't inefficiencies - they're essential support structures. Measure What Matters Beyond traditional metrics like throughput and wait times, track relationship strength, trust development, and healing support. What we measure shapes what we value. The implications extend beyond patient experience. Healthcare workers suffer too when forced to sacrifice human connection for efficiency. Burnout often stems not from working too much, but from being unable to care in the ways they know matter most. This isn't about rejecting efficiency altogether. It's about being thoughtful about where efficiency serves care and where it hinders it. Sometimes slower is better. Sometimes inefficiency is valuable. Sometimes the best healthcare experience isn't the most optimized one. As healthcare faces mounting pressure to do more with less, this balance becomes crucial. We can create systems that are both efficient and human. But it requires us to recognize that some of the most valuable moments in healthcare are the ones that don't show up on our metrics. The future of healthcare depends on getting this balance right. Our challenge isn't just to make healthcare more efficient - it's to make it more efficiently human.

𝐈𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥. Industries like retail, travel, and banking show how 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 transform loyalty and lifetime value: ·      Companies that excel at personalisation see 40% higher growth. ·      Real-time, contextual messaging lifts conversion by 20–25%. ·      In financial services, it cuts churn by 10–15% and boosts cross-sell by 30%. Applied responsibly in healthcare, these principles don’t just drive transactions — they drive outcomes. At Aster DM Healthcare, India , through the “𝑨𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒆” we are harnessing 𝘊𝘙𝘔, 𝘈𝘐, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 to: ·     Group patients into clinical cohorts (e.g., diabetes, lipid disorders, cardiac conditions). ·     Personalise engagement to their stage of illness. ·      Contextualise communication through preferred content formats, channels, and timing. Working closely with clinicians, early pilots at initiative at our flagship hospitals 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐌𝐈, 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 & ASTER MEDCITY show 80% 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 in lifestyle disease programs — proof that patients 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤. The benefits are clear: ·      𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲: Better adherence, closer monitoring, and stronger outcomes. ·      𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲: Deeper, long-term patient relationships and greater lifetime value — helping people stay healthier, longer, with 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩-𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 “𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞”,  𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭. Santosh Nalamothu, Aster Digital Health, India, Dr Nalanda Jayadev MD LLB, Dr.Prashanth N, Justine Jes Thomas, Vineeth Sukumaran, THB, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Operisoft Technologies Pvt Ltd, Ravi Kumar, Akhil Systems Pvt. Ltd., Jordan Canto, Priyadarshini N, Merin Palamattom, Syed Mohamed Baqar

Understanding where a client is connecting from is just as important as what they’re connecting to. In trauma-informed care, we often focus on regulation, attachment, or boundaries, but these don’t happen in isolation. They’re relational processes happening inside the nervous system. The Three Circles of Connection offer a clear, polyvagal-aligned framework: 🟤 IN –Internal awareness of thoughts, emotions, nervous system states, and parts 🟢 OUT – Relational cues: tone, expression, and boundaries—processed through neuroception ⚫ IN-BETWEEN – The space where inner experience meets another person: where self-regulation and co-regulation meet When clients struggle to regulate or connect, one of these circles is often overactive, collapsed, or bypassed. ➝ This model supports clinical attunement, nervous system mapping, and parts work—especially in work with complex trauma and disrupted attachment systems. Ask in session: — Which circle is most active right now? — Which one needs gentle strengthening or co-regulation? This model is influenced by principles from Polyvagal Institute, IFS, and attachment science, and is especially helpful for clinicians supporting relational healing in trauma survivors. Let’s move beyond insight—into embodied integration. - I’m Hanouf Alahmari, LMFT. I speak on topics like trauma, attachment, intergenerational healing, and the clinical needs of MENA and Muslim communities. If you're organizing a panel, workshop, or conference focused on culturally responsive mental health care, I’d be glad to connect. #PolyvagalTheory #TraumaInformedCare #IFS #RelationalNeuroscience #AttachmentHealing #NervousSystem #CulturallyResponsiveCare #TrueSelfSkills

Gig models sell speed and convenience. But caregiving needs trust and continuity! Building marketplaces for home care is like catalyzing a “race to the bottom” for home care workers. In case you missed this trend: there is a model of “express home care” services where clients are matched with whichever home care provider is available and closest. They are paid per visit/hour, with often no guaranteed hours, or benefits. This freelance model is often called “uberization” of providers. On face value, this model has merit. Caregivers are able to “order” respite care in a pinch. But the income is inherently unstable and tied to algorithmic demand. Because jobs are insecure, providers need to frequently leave, leaving families with little continuity in care. Agetech should much rather focus on capacity-building rather than a marketplace. There is an ample body of evidence to support the benefits: 🔸 CONTINUITY ENHANCES OUTCOMES: Fewer hospitalizations, fewer falls, stronger functional gains; language/culture concordance boosts trust. 🔸 WAGE FLOORS AND GUARANTEED HOURS → Wage policies lead to better quality and lower turnover (duh!!) and can raise pay without cutting hours, stabilizing the workforce. For sure, a lot of these changes would come from policymakers. But let’s not pretend that AgeTech does not play a role! Here is how we can productize capacity-building instead of a marketplace: 🔹 MATCH BY TRUST → Prioritize caregiver–client continuity and language/cultural fit as must-haves. Use proximity only as a secondary factor. 🔹 SCHEDULE FOR CONTINUITY → Apply proven scheduling models (e.g., rolling-horizon or team-based) that maintain caregiver continuity and allow for flexibility while keeping costs manageable. 🔹 BUILD CAREER PATHWAYS → Offer paid training and wage bumps for advancing from personal care aide → community health worker → care navigator. Marketplaces and uberization work for commodities. Let’s not treat care (and our care workers!!!) as such. Care is relational, emotional, and cumulative. Uberizing care erodes continuity, undermines trust, and accelerates a “race to the bottom” on wages and quality. I’d love to hear: am I overthinking this?! How would YOU redesign care beyond the gig model? 📌 This is the fifth edition of my 8-part Devil’s Advocate series here on LinkedIn — looking at popular trends in agetech through a critical lens. This does not mean I’m opposed to these solutions; but I believe that questioning their assumptions is how we design intentional, effective, and respectful solutions. #Agetech #DigitalHealth #ElderCare #HealthInnovation

The next healthcare divide may not be about technology, ownership, or even care models. It may be between organizations that redesign around relationship — and those that remain engineered for throughput. Primary care physicians are doing exactly what the system asks of them. The limitation is structural. Across the healthcare economy, incentives reward activity more than relationship: Visits. Procedures. Documentation. Checkpoints. All necessary. But prevention compounds through relationship. Relationship requires time. Time follows money. What looks like a care delivery constraint is increasingly becoming a capital allocation question. Organizations that learn how to finance longitudinal relationships may ultimately hold a structural cost advantage as affordability pressures intensify. Funded time for deep, longitudinal understanding is increasingly scarce — not because physicians don’t value it, but because the system isn’t built to support it at scale. Physicians manage thousands of patients. Visits compress. Documentation expands. Inbox volume never sleeps. Where does relationship fit? No time → no relationship. No relationship → no trust. No trust → transactional care. Transactional care will always skew short-term. We say we want prevention — but we largely finance interaction, not continuity. Trust is not a soft concept in healthcare. It is a time-dependent clinical asset. And like any asset, it requires investment. Early capital signals suggest growing curiosity about whether relationship-centered care models can produce durable cost advantages as affordability pressure reshapes the healthcare landscape. Over time, this dynamic will likely separate organizations that can compound trust from those forced to transact for access. Because prevention is not constrained by clinical knowledge. It is constrained by economic design. And economic design eventually reshapes markets. — Part of an ongoing series examining the structural redesign of healthcare financing and delivery.

Dr. Wayne Jonas—a retired Army Medical Corps lieutenant colonel and fourth-generation veteran—shares insights into the VA’s pioneering Whole Health model, a transformative approach to care rooted in his 40 years of experience treating veterans. Veterans often present with service-connected conditions, PTSD, and complex chronic illnesses that require a distinct model of care. Whole Health reframes the clinical visit to prioritize a veteran’s life goals, integrating behavioral, social, and emotional health with physical treatment plans. The VA’s shift to a team-based, relationship-centered model has transformed veteran care, focusing on meaning, purpose, and comprehensive healing rather than just disease treatment. Since 2018, this model has demonstrated powerful outcomes, with Whole Health services having increased patient satisfaction and cut costs by 20%, showcasing a model that prioritizes prevention, social support, and mental health and reducing costs by nearly $5,000 per person while increasing satisfaction. Discover more about the impact of Whole Health for veterans: https://bit.ly/3Z6NjZ1 #WholeHealth #VeteranCare #HealingWorksFoundation

Traditional Model: OTs wait for referrals and operate separately from primary care Value-Based Model: OTs are embedded in primary care teams, seeing patients immediately when needs arise Based on my work in value-based care, the second approach creates tremendous value... Traditional OT Approach: -Wait for physician referrals (often specialists) -See patients weeks or months after initial complaints -Work without access to full medical context -Practice in isolation from other providers -Focus primarily on ADLs and traditional OT domains Primary Care Integration: -Patient walks from physician's office directly to the OT -Immediate intervention when concerns first arise -Collaborate in person with physicians on complex cases -Address functional concerns during routine primary care visits -Bring OT lens to chronic condition management As I shared on the OT Potential podcast: "Imagine if the OT is in the practice right next door and the physician knows what they can do and just schedules them or walks them right next door and the OT sees them." This approach is already proven successful with behavioral health providers, who advocated for integration into primary care teams. What steps could you take to build deeper relationships with primary care practices in your community? #OccupationalTherapy #PrimaryCareOT #IntegratedCare #ValueBasedCare #OTInnovation

Street medicine uses a team-based model, which typically includes at least one medical provider paired with an outreach worker like a community health worker. Outreach workers establish relationships with people and connect them with resources to meet nonmedical needs, such as referrals to transitional housing or nutrition assistance programs. Relationship-building is central to success. That means delivering care where and when people feel comfortable, letting patients define their goals for care, and listening to their priorities.