Choice, participation and accountability: assessing the potential impact of legislation promoting patient and public involvement in health in the UK

Recent legislation enabling increased patient and public involvement in health decision-making will increasingly interact with the maturing independent patient movement to open up accountability systems across healthcare. Lay people will develop new roles, building on learning from the independent advocacy sector, self management, and wider active participation. Inevitably, this means a profound cultural challenge for healthcare organizations, and for citizens, as they begin to understand the implications of the new policies, including patient choice.