Patient's Empowerment and Behaviour Change: Complementary Approaches in EU Projects PALANTE and PEGASO

Patient empowerment is widely considered a key component of an effective Health-care system. Empowerment, by effective communication, information and education and thanks to innovative ICT solutions, enables patients to be more active players in their own health, improving the quality of patient/physician relationship and, as a consequence, helping the physician to be more effective as well. However, a patient cannot be properly empowered unless he wants to. He has to be an active part of the empowerment process. Hence, we can say that empowerment requires the patient to have the right attitude, which, often and for various reasons, it is not the case. Proactive initiatives need to be undertaken to develop the correct attitude towards patient empowerment.