TY - JOUR T1 - Atoms JF - Archives of Disease in Childhood JO - Arch Dis Child SP - 1 LP - 1 VL - 89 IS - 1 AU - Howard Bauchner Y1 - 2004/01/01 UR - http://adc.bmj.com/content/89/1/1.2.abstract N2 - Few peer review journals include articles written by patients (or in our case, parents). Some do have ‘patient columns’, but those articles are usually written by physicians, reflecting their experiences as patients, rather than by patients without training in healthcare. In an attempt to provide patients and parents with a ‘voice’ in ADC we are pleased to introduce our patient column – BackChat. Harvey Marcovitch, former Editor in Chief of ADC, is actively soliciting the articles. The intent of the column is not to criticise individual physicians or hospitals, but rather to make ADC more patient centred. What is patient centred care? Although numerous groups have offered formal definitions, and Moira Stewart1 has eloquently discussed the issue of an international definition, from my standpoint, patient centred care represents the ‘art of medicine’. It involves listening intently to patients in an attempt to understand what they want from providers and the healthcare system. For some patients this may be just information, for others they may want help interpreting facts, and finally for a small group, it … ER -