As a healthcare provider or practitioner, your goal in healthcare is to improve your patient's health and quality of life. Improving patient engagement is one way to accomplish this, and active patient involvement in treatment can help improve health outcomes. For this reason, healthcare institutions employ improved practices of engaging patients.
Despite this, according to a survey conducted by the NEJM Catalyst Insights Council, only 34 percent of healthcare providers believe their patients are highly engaged.
Developing patient activation will be important for ensuring positive care outcomes and patient self-management
Essential Patient Engagement Strategies
Several strategies have proven effective in involving patients in their care. This article will look at several of these strategies and help you create an efficient patient engagement strategy.
1. Determine each patient's activation level
The National Institutes of Health classifies patient activation into four stages. The first step is for the patient to realize their role is essential, then gain the knowledge and confidence to act accordingly, improve their health gradually, and finally stay the course, even under duress from the disease. The process may require more planning and time when applied to population health.
After identifying each patient's level of activation and openness to engagement, you'll be able to personalize interventions and evaluate developments as you implement your patient engagement strategy at their pace and strength.
2. Find out what information patients need
The patients with less activation may need more support in education and motivation and have a more challenging time adopting new tools. The team plans to implement more technology training and shorter, simpler outreach on condition education to improve patient outcomes.
When patients can learn and use technologies, such as platforms for patient engagement, applications, wearables, and automation, they are more likely to learn about their symptoms and conditions, medication options, and support groups.
3. Engage your patients through the proper channels
Every patient is different, and your communications with them should be as well. Sending patients the right message on the right platform at the right time is critical to attracting and retaining them. Your practice needs to have a memorable personality and constantly reassure them of the human-centric nature of your care.
Engaging patients through a targeted approach will result in loyalty. To address patient needs via their preferred channel, you must understand what motivates them. For instance, if your patients are more tech-savvy, mobile messaging is the best way to reach them.
4. Provide educative content
Use simple terms when describing something if there's a more straightforward way to do so. Clinicians and care managers should describe conditions and treatments at the sixth-grade level to ensure that patients of all education levels and attention will benefit from their treatment. You will need to prepare it in a skimmable format that contains cites of research studies if the patient comprehends the material and craves more.
Likewise, health care providers frequently recommend what patients should do to improve their health but don't explain how they should achieve it. You need to provide them with a step-by-step guide to help them transform their lifestyles, habits, and mindsets, rather than just telling them to stop smoking, lose weight, or exercise. Patients must receive simple information that can be shared either face-to-face, by phone, or online.
Additionally, healthcare professionals and their patients often misunderstand because they incorrectly assume they are on the same page. A question like whether a patient exercises or eats a healthy diet can be misconstrued. To adhere to the care plan you agreed upon, ensure you understand how they define "healthy" and "exercise." Inquire further if you don't know why their perceptions might need to be altered.
Lastly, having a deadline, a goal, and meaningful accountability will help motivate participation in a care plan. Individually or among peers with common goals, giving patients the ability to track progress and receive regular reminders will help - especially for patients who begin to hesitate.
5. Involve them in the decision-making process
The concept of shared decision-making respects the right of patients to make their own decisions about their care. Before beginning this vital part of your patient engagement strategy, you need to understand what a patient needs from a decision-making standpoint fully. Before deciding together, listen to their ideas, explain the clinical evidence supporting their choices, and discuss each treatment option's possible short- and long-term side effects.
6. After they leave your office, ensure they have support
By empowering patients to take control of their health, Care Management platforms can enable your care team to focus more time on care delivery. There are, however, differences across health technology.
You should select a platform that allows for effective communication with patients. Multiple communication techniques will be utilized in the management of treatment.
Utilize technology that automates intelligent workflows to automate communication with large populations. Leverage the strength of your care team, allowing them to deliver care without being burdened. By developing a patient engagement strategy that enables a seamless transition between phases in the care journey, you can engage patients throughout their journey. Additionally, it should be able to build lists for creating email campaigns aimed at nurturing patients.
Step Up Your Patient Engagement Strategy With FloatCare
A patient engagement strategy can help you manage your patients' care more effectively, improve the overall experience, and reduce costs. Integrate FloatCare into your existing platform to achieve better outcomes. Get in touch with us to help make your goals a reality.
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