The Fundamentals of Partnering with Consumers

What is partnering with consumers?

Partnering with consumers in healthcare means working collaboratively with individuals—whether they are consumers, patients, customers, carers, or family members—to design and deliver safe, high-quality health services. This approach is built on mutual respect, open communication, and shared decision-making between healthcare providers and those they serve.

By embracing a partner partnering with consumers approach, healthcare providers create an environment where people feel valued, informed, and actively involved in their care. When done effectively, people are treated with dignity and respect, vital information is easily understood, and consumers are encouraged to participate in every stage of healthcare—from individual treatment decisions to the broader design and evaluation of services. These principles are clearly outlined in the Partnering with Consumers Standard, as described in the National Safety and Quality Primary and Community Healthcare Standards.

Why partner with consumers?

Adopting an active partnering with consumers approach leads to better health outcomes, safer care, and increased patient satisfaction. Services that embrace the Partnering with Consumers Standard tend to be more responsive to real-world needs, ensuring that all individuals—whether they identify as consumers, patients, customers or carers—are engaged and informed throughout their care journey.

Key Benefits of partnering with consumers:

• Improved Safety and Quality: Consumer input helps identify and mitigate risks and improve safety measures, leading to more reliable care
• Better Health Outcomes: Actively partnering with consumers supports adherence to treatment plans, which improves long-term health outcomes
• Enhanced Patient Experience: When people are heard and respected, and their opinions are valued, satisfaction with their care increases
• Stronger Community Engagement: Integrating consumer feedback ensures services meet diverse needs, fostering more inclusive and equitable care.

What is the Partnering with Consumers Standard?

The Partnering with Consumers Standard is a core component of the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards. It provides a structured framework for healthcare services to establish and maintain meaningful consumer partnerships. This standard ensures consumers are involved not just in their personal health decisions but also in shaping policies, planning, design, monitoring and evaluation of health services. Specifically, Standard 2: Partnering with Consumers focuses on:

1. Clinical Governance and Quality Improvement Systems: Embedding consumer participation into safety and quality systems.
2. Partnering in Individual Care: Supporting shared decision-making between consumers and healthcare providers.
3. Health Literacy: Delivering information in accessible formats so all consumers can understand and act on their health decisions.
4. Service Design: Actively involving consumers in the design and continuous improvement of healthcare services

Is partnering with consumers mandatory?

Yes! Under the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights, every consumer has the right to be an active partner in their own care. This right is not optional—healthcare providers must facilitate genuine consumer involvement. Standard 2: Partnering with Consumers exists to ensure that this right is fully respected by embedding consumer participation into every aspect of healthcare delivery.

While the Partnering with Consumers Standard was initially voluntary, many healthcare sectors now require compliance. This shift reflects the critical role of consumer partnerships in achieving safer, high quality care, and more person-centred outcomes. In essence, partnering with consumers is now a fundamental requirement in line with the healthcare charter of rights and the evolving regulatory landscape. So, if your practice or organisation hasn't yet established consumer partnerships, it is time to act! Embedding these principles is not only best practice but an essential regulatory requirement.

How do you effectively partner with consumers?

Creating meaningful consumer partnerships requires robust engagement strategies that work at both the individual and organisational levels. At the individual level, this means ensuring each patient has a voice in their care and is empowered to participate in care decisions through effective communication and shared decision-making. At the organisational level, it involves embedding consumer insights into policies, service design and quality improvement initiatives. On an individual level, it means 

Here are some practical ways to embed the Partnering with Consumers Standard into your practice or organisation:

• Enhance shared decision-making: Encourage open conversations between patients and healthcare providers, ensuring they fully understand options, risks, and benefits during consultations so they have the necessary information to make informed choices.
• Improve health literacy: Provide clear, accessible materials in multiple formats and languages and access to interpreters and visual aids so that all patients, customers, and carers can understand their healthcare options.
• Gather and use consumer feedback: Implement regular feedback loops—such as surveys and focus groups—to capture consumer insights and drive service improvements.
• Involve consumers in service design: Actively engage consumers in developing new programs, policies, and service models to ensure they are practical, relevant and effective.

• Support diverse and inclusive participation: Ensuring that the Partnering with Consumers approach includes people from different backgrounds, cultures, abilities and health conditions to create a more equitable healthcare system.

If you want to explore consumer engagement further, check out our blog on the six stages of patient engagement. Each stage represents a progressive increase in the maturity of consumer involvement. This model highlights that the more consumers are empowered and engaged in their care journey, the more profound the positive impact on their health outcomes and the broader healthcare landscape.

Examples of consumer health partnerships.

For inspiration on partnering with consumers in your healthcare organisation, check out our Consumer Health Partnerships podcast, where we share inspiring stories and practical strategies from healthcare leaders and the consumers they partner with, showcasing how collaborative approaches lead to more compassionate, effective and innovative healthcare delivery.

Embracing a partnering with consumers approach is essential for delivering high-quality, person-centered healthcare. By adopting the Partnering with Consumers Standard and implementing partnering practices, healthcare providers can create safer, more effective, and more responsive care environments. This collaborative approach builds trust, improves clinical outcomes, and ensures that healthcare services are designed to meet the diverse needs of the communities they serve.

Further Learning:

To learn more about the different stages of patient engagement and how to start moving towards a partnering with consumers approach, check out our Fundamentals of PX introductory course.

For a deeper understanding of how partnering with consumers can transform your practice towards a patient-focused, value-based care delivery model, consider our Developing Your PX Strategy program.  Click to learn more.

Further Reading:

For more insights, check out related blogs:

Blog: The Six Stages of Patient Engagement in Healthcare.

Blog: The Fundamentals of Lived Experience.

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare: Partnering with Consumers Standard

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare: The National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare: Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights