Reconsidering the Term “Patient” in Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Settings

Language plays a central role in shaping healthcare culture, relationships, and expectations. Within alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment, the term patient remains widely used, including within patient-reported outcome and experience measures (PROMs and PREMs). Yet in a treatment context that increasingly emphasizes collaboration, autonomy, and recovery-oriented care, the continued use of the patient deserves closer scrutiny. This commentary argues that the patient is not a neutral descriptor in AOD settings. The term may shape how people experience services, how they understand their role in treatment, and their willingness to engage with care. Where it is experienced as passive, hierarchical, or inconsistent with the relational and collaborative nature of AOD treatment, it may undermine engagement and potentially influence outcomes. Terminology may also influence how clinicians perceive and interact with the people they support. These concerns are especially relevant in PROMs and PREMs, where patient-based language sits uneasily alongside the person-centered values these measures are intended to reflect and promote. Reframing these tools as person-reported outcome and experience measures would represent a simple and practical step toward greater alignment. This commentary was further informed through consultation with a Consumer Advisory Group, whose lived and living experience perspectives highlighted the importance of language that conveys dignity, agency, and respect within treatment settings. Their input reinforced the need for terminology that reflects collaborative and recovery-oriented models of care. Although current evidence is insufficient to justify a single universally preferred alternative, and further research is needed to better understand how terminology influences engagement and experiences of care, more person-centered language practices are both possible and necessary. These include referring to individuals by name and directly asking how they wish to be addressed. Greater attention to language offers a practical opportunity to better align AOD services with the collaborative and recovery-oriented values they increasingly seek to embody.