How To Improve Patient Engagement In Health Care
Maintaining patient engagement in terms of their health care is vital for them to grasp the clinician’s opinions about their health and what a patient should do to recover. Patient engagement includes being aware of their medications, triggers, and symptoms and being open to things happening to them that might cause future complications.
Some patients have a hard time keeping their engagement in this kind of thing for some reason. This can be because they’re slowly giving up, or some think they’re just burdening the people around them. Unbeknownst, being engaged in their health care has advantages that can be very helpful, like having better patient outcomes, and their healthcare expenses can be minimized.
With that said, patient engagement can be done either physically or virtually. According to research, 50% of patients aged 54 and above preferred digital tools for their healthcare updates and appointments. Aside from that, an estimated 47% maximize the usage of technology and use it for communicating with their healthcare providers about their appointments and post-care. Even software is invented for this purpose and how clinicians uphold the patient engagement best practices.
To further deepen people’s knowledge about this, consider looking at how healthcare practitioners can improve patient engagement in their healthcare.
- Treat Patients With Utmost Care And Compassion
How healthcare professionals treat their patients significantly affects how they respond and react around them. Clinicians can start by creating a friendly and inclusive environment for the patients. This makes communicating with the patients manageable. Clinicians should also ensure they know how to show their care professionally. When patients know that they’re not alone and someone still cares about them, this gives them a positive reaction and a stronger desire to help themselves get through what they’re experiencing.
Compassion also paves the way to better patient engagement. Showing kindness and compassionate care can help in lowering the rate of burnout and improve well-being. A clinician can show compassion by using non-verbal cues, listening to the patients, keeping eye contact, and summarizing what the patients say for better understanding. This will make the patient feel heard and understood at the same time. Also, this can help in boosting their desire to live through.
- Maximize Resources
Technology is one of the medical field’s most valuable allies. As mentioned earlier, patient engagement can also be done virtually, meaning that technology would be the primary way to communicate with them. Incorporating technology with patient engagement is a smart move since it will help in saving both the patient’s and doctor’s time, reduce errors and other technical inaccuracies, provide better diagnosis, and dispense more accurate access to patient records.
Aside from that, everyone already has access to technology. The statistics given earlier show how patients prefer using digital tools to keep themselves updated prior to the information they ought to know. Also, using technology can be more efficient for them since it’s flexible and handy.
- Be Consistent
Being consistent means being able to give continuous care to the patients. This should be one of every healthcare professional’s top priorities. Interacting and creating connections with the patients do not happen in a short time; even engaging with them does not happen once a year. Being consistent includes updating the patients from time to time about their appointments and post-ops, reminding them about how necessary the process of their treatment is for them to recover, encouraging them, and of course, taking accountability when things might not be good or the process is affecting their health negatively.
Through this, patients would feel that they are receiving enough care and feel important and satisfied. When patients are satisfied with the aftercare they receive, there’s a high chance of fewer hospital admissions and more preventative care practices. Additionally, patients with good healthcare experience are more likely to follow their treatment regimens resulting in improving the patient life and health.
- Guide And Educate Patients About Healthcare
There are some instances where patients are adamant about following their healthcare plans. It’s advantageous for patients to comprehend their diagnoses and their treatment options. Patients are more likely to think the efforts and outcomes are worthwhile when they trust and comprehend the prescribed instructions. Aside from that, knowing the risks, they might experience if they miss their healthcare regime will help the patient become diligent and compliant.
Aside from that, sometimes patients cannot fully comprehend the terms their doctors are stating to them, resulting in confusion and the inability to fully grasp what’s happening and what consequences they might encounter. Healthcare professionals must keep in mind how they can educate their patients on a better understanding of the symptoms, risks, triggers, and medications they need to take to have clear communication between both ends.
Studies also show that an estimated 50% of patients diagnosed with chronic diseases do not benefit clinically from treatment due to poor compliance. Poor clinical results, more hospital stays, and reduced quality of life are all linked to non-adherence. Patients are more motivated to follow and participate in their care when they understand how it is managed.
- Let Patients Be Part Of The Decision-Making.
Being open with one another is a great way for a patient and clinician to build trust and connection. One way to establish this is to let the patient become part of the decision-making. This includes what treatments, tests, and health care plans are best for the patients.
Also, patients tend to be more apt to comply with a treatment they had a hand in developing. Of course, making plans and communicating must involve the patients’ involvement as well as that of their care team. To promote patients’ participation in their healthcare plans, the healthcare professional must educate patients along the way and assist them in making educated decisions to avoid discrepancies.
After all, clinicians have studied and assisted patients for a long time, so they know what kind of treatment is best for them. But of course, clinicians cannot just dismiss what the patient thinks is more appropriate for their recovery, they know their body, and they are the ones who will be experiencing every process that needs to be done. That’s why communicating the decision-making process is essential to making a plausible care plan that is both appropriate and cohesive.
Conclusion
The patient’s engagement is crucial in any form of recovery. Active engagement and participation may lead to better patient outcomes and longer lives. Of course, every patient is different, so it would be challenging for professional health care to find ways to keep their patients within their reach and still interested in continuing the care plan they prepared. This will help the people involved decide and make a connection that can lead to a better disposition of the patient’s life. After all, patient engagement is encouraged to extend care and provide every patient with the care and good health they deserve.
