Inclusiveness and accountability from the patient’s side are two aspects that offer remarkable benefits to clinical outcomes. Gone are the days when healthcare practitioners rattled the treatment plan and, in some cases, were even curt with patients interested in the nuances of their treatment plan.
Current physicians believe in positive reinforcement and patient engagement methods in treating their patients. The derived results have shown considerable improvement in treatment response and reduced readmission episodes into a hospital.
Importance of patient engagement
- Information and patient perspective
There is a change in the pattern of how patients perceive their health. In this information age, everyone understands that prevention is better than cure. However, they have been fed a lot of myths and fads about complex diets that may only work for some. As people evolved with the help of the internet and medical blogs, people understood the importance of qualified opinions to managing health is as important as when dealing with a health calamity.
- Inclusive culture
When an employee or student is given a set of instructions for a task, they complete it half-heartedly. Some may not even bother to attempt. Akin to this behaviour is that of most patients.
If plain instructions to take a specific med at a particular time are prescribed, they may or may not follow instructions. But when patients are connected to their treatment plan by a physician or a nurse practitioner, explain the context of their health status without any sugar coating and comprehend the importance of prescribed activities and medicines. Patients understand the importance of health management practices. They are more involved with their health and practice a good lifestyle.
- Cost-effective model
With improved outcomes and patients and their family members acknowledging a better experience, patient engagement is an approach that is also building a sustainable model to contain costs.
When patients understand their health condition and the importance of clinical measures in their treatment plan, the strategy helps in a better response rate. With continued support from healthcare practitioners through emails, phone, and video calls to check on the progress and monitor through RPM devices, telehealth strategies help bring healthcare costs down in the long run.
The risk of insuring large population pools without mitigating it can lead to a financial apocalypse if there is a spread of contagious diseases, one after the other. A diaspora of patients can be managed when they understand the importance of managing their health so that their treatment plan is purposeful.
Steps to overcome barriers to patient engagement
There are many strategies to devise and improvise the final delivery of patient engagement. Nevertheless, the two points that stand as barriers and can also can as mediums for patient engagement are
- Patient literacy
- Technology
Patient literacy
Patient literacy is independent of their level of education and ability to read, write and speak in the local language. Comprehension of clinical conditions is often beyond the realms of regular courses, as human anatomy is complex. And even well-educated physicians often fail to explain the contents in easy-to-understand terminology.
More often, there is no easy terminology, and the patient either learns the complicated terms or assumes they suffer from a dreaded disease with no cure. In reality, the patient may need to focus on health management practices to avoid complications in the future. Medicare Advantage plans 2024 is good for you.
However, the lack of basic patient literacy must be overcome strategically through easy-to-understand pictures or self-explanatory doodles. Communication in a clear and crisp tone explaining in a language that can be understood by an eight-year-old, will help the cause.
Technology
RPM and telehealth are proving to be cost-cutting tools and use patient engagement techniques to aid care delivery. Technology in this area can be improvised to serve better causes in the healthcare industry.
Conclusion:
Patients are more aware and like a process-driven approach than an outcome-driven one. They understand that the value-addition of patient inclusiveness and grasping their treatment plan will help them be more accountable for their health conditions.
Knowing that a particular food item can interact with their medication, they will take precautions to avoid it. When instructions are followed after understanding their importance, patient outcomes improve.
