Patient-Centered Care Planning Flashcards

A community paramedic is caring for a patient who has decision-making capacity but makes choices that seem harmful. The ethical principle guiding respect for these choices is:

Answer: Autonomy

Autonomy is the ethical principle that competent patients have the right to make their own healthcare decisions, even ones clinicians disagree with.

When a community paramedic identifies that a patient's home environment poses fall risks, the care plan should include:

Answer: Environmental modification recommendations and referral to occupational therapy or home safety resources

Addressing environmental barriers through modifications and appropriate referrals is a key function of patient-centered care planning.

A patient newly enrolled in a community paramedic program has uncontrolled hypertension, depression, and housing instability. Using a patient-centered approach, which should the paramedic address FIRST?

Answer: The patient's own identified primary concern, while ensuring acute safety needs are met

Patient-centered care begins with understanding what the patient identifies as most important, while ensuring immediate safety.

Teach-back method is incorporated into care planning to:

Answer: Confirm the patient has understood instructions by asking them to explain or demonstrate the information in their own words

Teach-back confirms comprehension and identifies gaps in understanding, improving patient ability to follow the care plan.

A community paramedic program requires care plans to be communicated to the patient's primary care provider within 24 hours of creation. This practice primarily supports:

Answer: Care coordination and continuity across the healthcare team

Timely communication with primary care providers ensures coordinated, non-duplicative care and keeps the whole team aligned on the patient's plan.

A community paramedic is creating a care plan for a patient with severe health literacy limitations. The BEST approach to written care plan materials is:

Answer: Use plain language at a 5th to 6th grade reading level with visual aids and simple action steps

Low health literacy requires plain-language, visually supported materials that patients can realistically use to guide their own self-care.

A patient's care plan identifies that she needs transportation to dialysis three times per week. The community paramedic's role is to:

Answer: Connect the patient to appropriate community transportation resources and document this referral in the care plan

Community paramedics bridge gaps by identifying and connecting patients to community resources, including transportation services.