“If patient engagement were a drug, it would be the blockbuster drug of the century and malpractice not to use it.”
— Leonard Kish, Health IT strategy consultant and Principal and Co-Founder, VivaPhi

“Collaboration between patients and families and the people who treat them will enable us to really improve the quality and safety of health care.”
— Maureen O’Neil, President, Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement

“The NHS is going through a period of unprecedented change. Demands on the system mean that improvements need to be made to the quality of care and the capacity of provision, in parallel with a reduction in costs. Two key strategies for achieving this include increasing the role of patients in managing their own care and improving the efficiency of service delivery. Using the patient activation measure (PAM) to establish the capacity of individuals to manage their health – and using that information to optimize the delivery of care – provides a simple and evidence-based mechanism for tackling both these issues.” (See more on patient activation)
— Judith Hibbard, Supporting people to manage their health: An introduction to patient activation, King’s Fund, 2014

“The first lesson from the submitted examples is the benefits of harnessing resources beyond the formal care system. This means seeing patients and their carers not only as a source of need but also assets that can be used for direct care of themselves and others; providers of information and motivation for their community; and change-makers within health services themselves.” (See a summary of the group’s recommendations)
— A review of global patient empowerment initiatives by six All Party Parliamentary Groups in the UK, 2014

 “We need to change the mentality in the healthcare sector rapidly. Six out of 10 GPs using eHealth shows that doctors are taking its temperature, but it’s time for fever pitch! And only 9% of hospitals allow patients access to their own digital records? Come on! I want governments, high tech innovators, insurance companies, pharmaceuticals and hospitals to join forces and create an innovative and cost-efficient healthcare system  — with more control and transparency for the patient.”
— Neelie Kroes, Vice President, European Commission