Although patient-centered care is not new, increasing emphasis on quality measurement as part of health care reform has led to a renewed focus on it. The path to achieving patient-centered care is not always clear, even to those who believe in its importance. This paper informs a discussion of federal policies affecting patient-centered care. The authors recommend that (1) federal efforts toward patient-centered care be catalogued and scrutinized, (2) better measures and information on effective implementation are used, and (3) this intervention’s ability to enhance the doctor-patient bond is emphasized.