Patient engagement in health care. New perspectives in oncology. [La partecipazione della persona al percorso di cura. Nuove prospettive in oncologia]

During the last decade, an increasing number of studies has been focused on patient engagement programs through which patients can be effective and informed managers of their health and health care. Based on our recent review, studies examining the nature of patient participation in service planning have found that most activities are limited to various forms of consultation, rather than the interactive partnerships advocated for treatment decision-making. Despite this clear evidence, many people want to play an active role in their own healthcare. They want to know how to protect and improve their health when they are well; and when they are ill, they want information about treatment options and likely outcomes. Consistent with these considerations, this paper intends to underline the importance to engage patients, to describe some different interventions to make patient effective informed; and, finally, to show some pilot projects from around the world, with a special focus on cancer care service of Ontario.