In a patient engagement healthcare model, people receiving medical care—the patients—are informed about their diagnoses. They’re also given quality information about potential treatments from medications to physical therapy to surgeries.
By not only providing patients with information about their condition or diagnosis and explaining their options, but also create an environment where the patient can ask questions and have a meaningful dialogue with the doctor will enhance the patient experience and boost their levels of satisfaction. When contrasting this approach to the more traditional health care delivery model—where medical professionals speak and then patients listen and follow directions—it’s become clear that the engagement model has plenty of benefits.
Physicians often struggle to spend enough time with patients already, which can mean that embracing the patient engagement model may at first seem too challenging. Fortunately, healthcare facilities can successfully educate, inform, and involve patients in personalized ways, thanks to today’s patient education technology.
Easily Accessible Patient Engagement Solutions
When you place patients at the heart of their own healthcare, this placement empowers them (as well as their families) and allows them to make meaningfully informed decisions. Then, just like in other facets of life, when someone becomes involved in creating a plan and devising solutions, they’ll naturally become more committed to following through.
When it comes to patient engagement in healthcare, that follow through can present itself in the these three ways, among others:
- Increased commitment to safely taking medications, as prescribed
- Self-managing of activities and practices that can contribute to the success of the healthcare plan
- Proactively reporting problems outside of the norm so that complications can be more quickly addressed
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), when healthcare facilities involve patients in making their own health care decisions, this is a “sign of valuing humanity and individuality”—which is something that virtually all patients and their families will appreciate. Plus, this process serves as the “international gold standard for healthcare systems.” As part of this gold star process, NIH shares, patients should participate in the “planning, performance, and evaluation of healthcare” decisions.
Valuing people in this way can also improve health-related outcomes and how effectively they’re delivered. As The Journal of Family Medicine notes, patient-centered communications that result in common ground “improved health status and increased the efficiency of care by reducing diagnostic tests and referrals.”
Importance of Patient Satisfaction Surveys
Another NIH study notes how patient surveys are important to measure how well information is communicated and how well care is delivered. Healthcare organizations can leverage them to identify gaps in service and review quality initiatives.
Despite how results can help medical facilities to improve healthcare plans and despite how they serve as a “significant quality improvement tool,” they’re “not being systematically and extensively utilized for developing improvement initiatives.”
This, all by itself, represents an opportunity for healthcare facilities who do glean insights from patient surveys and use them to improve. To seamlessly administer them, consider how you can integrate them into your overall patient engagement solutions.
Benefits of Patient Engagement in Healthcare for Organizations
Yet another NIH study describes how hospitals and other healthcare organizations benefit when satisfying patients. First, this leads to customer loyalty with the term “customer” used because patients make choices in which healthcare systems to use. This boosts patient retention, as well, with one satisfied patient sharing information with four others; an unhappy one spreads the news to ten others—or even more if the “problem is serious.”
Satisfied patients are also “less vulnerable to price wars.” In other words, healthcare organizations that earn high levels of loyalty can even “command a higher price without losing their profit or market share” with that profitability remaining consistent.
This situation boosts staff morale; reduces turnover while increasing productivity; lowers risks of malpractice suits; assists in maintaining accreditation; and boosts the personal satisfaction of medical professionals.
Patient Engagement Technology and Satisfaction
When patients can have insights into their medical recommendations and can play a role in creating a care plan with their healthcare team, this can contribute to their satisfaction levels all by itself. Factor in the improved health status that can come from this patient care model and satisfaction will increase even more.
To further boost their satisfaction levels, your organization can leverage efficient technology with the patient portal serving as a prime example. This portal allows patients to get up to date information about their healthcare and to connect with their providers in a way that doesn’t involve frustrating delays.
With patients receiving this technology-driven information, they will be more prepared to have productive conversations with their medical team—with this prep work freeing up physicians and other medical professionals to focus on providing even more quality care.
Patient Engagement Software: Journey PX
MDM’s Journey PX is a patient engagement solution that educates and informs people through the use of in-room hospital television sets or through text messaging or emails. Patients and their families can view this customized information in the medical setting or at home.
This allows healthcare facilities like yours to consistently and effectively educate patients; include relevant materials in patient health records; send follow up information, post release; and much more.
Plus, Journey PX allows you to seamlessly deliver patient satisfaction surveys to assess the care experience from the perspective of the patient and to leverage this information to further improve upon patient healthcare.
Additional features of this patient engagement software include:
- An up-to-date education library that’s available to your staff; this can be used to help develop treatment recommendations
- Soothing relaxation content for patients to assist with pain management and address noise concerns
- Marketing information for facility guests to enlighten them about your offerings and events
Journey PX seamlessly interfaces with EMR/EHR and ADT systems, which facilitates your ability to continue to use the software as patients transfer from one department to another. Because it’s cloud based, this powerful patient education software can help you to efficiently and cost effectively meet or exceed organizational initiatives.