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Beyond the Medical Chart

Healthcare for People Who Live in the Real World

University of Pittsburgh | 5-Session Professional Seminar on Person-Centered Care

View the seminar on the University of Pittsburgh Events Calendar → (opens in a new tab)

Person-centered care requires healthcare to account for both a person’s medical needs and the realities of their life. This five-session series explores how patients’ lives, clinical expertise, and healthcare systems shape care, and how providers can use this understanding to develop care that is both clinically appropriate and workable in the real world.

Presented by Cynthia Overton, PhD
Center for Person-Centered Care

Course Resources

This page is your home for resources, tools, and activities that support what we are exploring throughout the five-session series. New materials will be added as we move through the course.

Session 1

Every Patient Has a Story

Why a Patient’s Life Is Clinical Information

Healthcare providers have clinical expertise. Patients have expertise about their own lives. In this session, we explore what becomes possible when healthcare accounts for both.

Resources from This Session

  • The Eight Principles of Person-Centered Care

    The Picker Principles provide one framework for examining whether healthcare is responsive to the needs of the person receiving care.

    Source: Picker

    View the Picker Principles (Picker website, opens in a new tab)
  • Context Wheel

    A tool for thinking beyond the medical chart and considering the circumstances that can shape healthcare decisions, experiences, and outcomes.

    A Center for Person-Centered Care resource

    View the Context Wheel

Real-World Application

Between sessions, revisit the Picker Principles (Picker website, opens in a new tab) and the Context Wheel and consider the following:

Picker Principles

Identify the one Picker Principle that resonates with you most. Consider:

  • Why it resonates with you
  • Where you see it reflected in care
  • Where you’d like to see it reflected more
Context Wheel

Consider:

  • Three factors in the Context Wheel you typically take into account
  • Three factors in the Context Wheel you typically overlook
  • Three factors not on the wheel that you may want to consider

Continue Learning

Explore additional Center for Person-Centered Care resources related to the ideas from this session.

Upcoming Sessions

  1. Session 2

    Coming soon

    Why Person-Centered Care?

    Making Clinical Expertise Work Better in the Real World

  2. Session 3

    Coming soon

    From Understanding to Action

    Turning Patient and Provider Expertise into Person-Centered Care

  3. Session 4

    Coming soon

    Systems Influence Care

    When Complicated Systems Disrupt Person-Centered Care Plans

  4. Session 5

    Coming soon

    Practicing Person-Centered Care

    Planning Care for People Who Live in the Real World, Not in a Medical Chart

Explore the Center for Person-Centered Care

Person-centered care doesn't end when class does. Explore practical resources designed to help patients, providers, and others think about healthcare in the context of people's real lives.

Explore Resources