IAPO: Patient Involvement in Health Policy, Systems and Delivery | A global voice for patients

Why is Patient Involvement in Health Policy Important? Healthcare policy decisions, at whatever level they are made, will ultimately affect patients' lives. Therefore patients have a moral and ethical right to play a meaningful role in developing healthcare policies. Engaging patients in health policy decision-making helps to ensure that policies reflect patient and caregiver needs, preferences and capabilities, making it an appropriate and cost-effective way to address the needs of the growing number of people with chronic conditions. There is growing evidence that patient-centred healthcare promotes greater patient responsibility and optimal usage which ultimately leads to improved health outcomes, quality of life and patient satisfaction. What are the Barriers to Meaningful Patient Involvement? The influence of patient involvement and the impact of the patients' voice on policy-making can be restricted by numerous factors including practical and financial structures, differing knowledge bases, cultural barriers and personal attitudes.

How can Patient Involvement in Health Policy be improved?
IAPO has developed a Policy Statement on patient involvement, which calls for all stakeholders involved in healthcare to:
Acknowledge the importance of the involvement of patients and patients' organizations in all decision-making that will impact on patients lives
Review existing healthcare mechanisms for patient involvement, considering Guidelines like IAPO's and talking to patients and patients' organizations.
Revise patient involvement initiatives to follow patient involvement guidelines such as IAPO's which incorporate the following:

• Robust and transparent mechanisms and that patient views are acted upon, not just recorded
• Inclusion at all stages- initiation, design, implementation, communication and evaluation of initiatives
• Support including practical, psychological, financial and educational, as appropriate
• Varied methods to reach underrepresented groups and to gather a diversity of views

Our Policy Statement can be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF file for you to save, print or distribute.

Our Guidelines can be used as a checklist by international, regional, national and local organizations to involve and engage patients and patients' organizations in health-related decision-making processes in a comprehensive, appropriate and meaningful way. The Guidelines can be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF file.
They were published in May 2005 following a process of consultation with IAPO's global network of patients' organizations and health-related organizations to reflect the needs and preferences of patients and patients' organizations.