Finally, here is a tool that allows for patients to give feedback to their physician/learner directly in line with the principles of Patient-Centered medicine. While Patient-Centered Care encompasses many issues at the system level and the doctor-patient relationship level, this App will focus on Effective Communication and the Shared Decision-Making Process. The recruitment of the patient through their participation in this feedback survey is consistent with the "patient at the center" principle. However, this technique is also, according to one author, more successful at measuring "patient-centeredness" than either direct observation of the encounter or physician self-assessment.
In this revolutionary app, the option also exists for other assessors such as a peer or a preceptor to give direct feedback to the learner. This cumulative profile of all observers will belong to the learner as a tool for longitudinal critical self-reflection.
This formative teaching app is also an outcome assessment. It drives the student’s learning objectives and assists a teacher/preceptor or mentor to focus assistance on any deficiencies in bedside manner and improve physician-patient communication skills. Additionally, by bringing this technology/app wherever they travel, medical students/residents will bridge the gap between academic and community-based medical teaching sites.