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As National Patient Safety Awareness Week Begins - AMA, AARP Offer Tips, Resources on Maximizing Patient-Physician Relationship

Posted on: Tuesday, 6 March 2007, 12:01 CST

WASHINGTON, March 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To help patients and physicians maximize their time together, the American Medical Association (AMA) and AARP have joined forces to release a shared responsibilities and health and safety resource guide. "The patient-physician relationship: a partnership for better health care and safer outcomes" will be available on both the AMA and AARP Web sites, free to the public.

"To provide the best possible care and help patients stay healthy, we must develop a two-way dialogue in the doctor's office," said AMA Board Member Peter Carmel, M.D. "The average primary care office visit lasts a little under 16 minutes, and covers six different topics, so it's important that patients and physicians know how to optimize their time together so patients can get the most benefit from their health care."

"In the past, many people simply relied on their doctors to tell them what to do. Times have changed. Nowadays patients want to, and deserve to be an active partner in their health care decisions," said AARP Board Member William Hall, M.D. "AARP's 38 million members look to us as a trusted source of health care information. We are pleased to collaborate with the AMA to help patients and doctors make the most out of their time together."

The pamphlet outlines three core areas where patients and physicians can work together: communication, shared decision-making and the patient- physician partnership; and is being released during National Patient Safety Awareness Week (NPSAW). The theme of this year's NPSAW is "Patient Safety: A Road Taken Together." The week was started by the National Patient Safety Foundation, an independent patient safety organization founded by the AMA in 1996.

"Patients may be shy about sharing personal information, and doctors may assume a patient understands what's going on if they don't ask questions," said Dr. Carmel. "By putting the shared responsibilities in one easily accessible document, we hope it encourages patients to play a more active role in their health care."

For more information on the AMA's patient safety work, visit http://www.ama-assn.org/go/patientsafety

About the American Medical Association

The American Medical Association helps doctors help patients by uniting physicians nationwide to work on the most important professional and public health issues. Working together, the AMA's quarter of a million physician and medical student members are playing an active role in shaping the future of medicine. For more information on the AMA, please visit http://www.ama-assn.org/.

About AARP

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. We produce AARP The Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, our monthly newspaper; AARP Segunda Juventud, our bimonthly magazine in Spanish and English; NRTA Live & Learn, our quarterly newsletter for 50+ educators; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Contact: Katherine M. Hatwell Senior Public Information Officer AMA Media Relations 202-789-7419 Drew Nannis or Cecelia Prewett AARP Media Relations 202-434-2560

American Medical Association

CONTACT: Katherine M. Hatwell, Senior Public Information Officer of theAmerican Medical Association, +1-202-789-7419; Drew Nannis or Cecelia Prewettof AARP, +1-202-434-2560

Web site: http://www.ama-assn.org/http://www.aarp.org/

Source: PRNewswire-USNewswire

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