Healthcare organizations across the country are struggling to meet patient expectations and deliver high-quality care at lower cost.
The average length of hospital stays continues to increase, and patients are demanding greater access to information and communication tools.
Engaging patients in their care is becoming an increasing challenge, but one that can have significant impacts on care and outcomes.
Patients want to be actively engaged in their care. They want to be informed, empowered, and supported during every step of their journey.
Providers must provide effective ways for patients to communicate with each other, share experiences, and collaborate with their peers – and we have put together some top tips to help you engage your patients, and improve overall health results.
What Is Patient Engagement?
Patient engagement is a term used to describe how well patients feel they are involved in their own healthcare. It includes all aspects of a patient’s experience from initial contact through discharge or transfer.
As a result, it encompasses many different activities, including:
- Communication between providers and patients
- Information sharing by patients about their condition, treatment options, and progress
- Collaboration among patients and providers
- Participation in decision-making
- Self-management support
The goal of engaging patients in their care is to ensure that they understand what is happening throughout their entire care process and that they are able to take part in decisions regarding their care.
This will lead to better outcomes and more satisfied patients.
The most important thing about engaging patients is that it should not be seen as something new or separate from what providers do already.
Rather, it is simply another way to work together to ensure that patients get better health results.
What Are The Benefits Of Patient Engagement?
Patient engagement helps doctors provide better care. When patients are involved in their own care, they are more likely to:
- Be more informed about their condition and treatment options
- Feel more comfortable talking to their doctor
- Have fewer concerns about their health
- Make better decisions about their care
- Understand the risks and benefits of different treatments
- Take responsibility for their own health
Engaging patients can also help doctors develop better relationships with them. This improves the quality of care provided, as well as helps patients feel more confident about their doctor.
How Can You Engage Patients More Effectively?
Engaging patients means providing them with the right information, empowering them to make decisions, supporting them throughout their treatment, and helping them connect with others who may be going through similar challenges.
- Providing Information
The first step toward engaging patients is to understand where they are coming from. What are their needs? How can you best serve them? This information will ensure that you are giving them the support, data, and advice that is most relevant and actively engaging them in their own care.
It is important to know what information patients need to stay healthy and manage their conditions effectively.
For example, if you are treating diabetes, you might ask patients whether they have any questions about managing their blood sugar levels. Or if you are caring for someone with heart disease, you might ask them about their understanding of medications and lifestyle changes.
This highlights gaps that you need to fill and ensures that your patients are fully informed.
You can also use surveys to gather feedback from patients. These can include questions such as “what would you like to see improved in our services?” or “how could we improve your experience here?”
- Sharing Experiences
Once you have gathered this information, you can start to share it with patients.
Sharing stories and experiences is an excellent way to encourage patients to talk about their concerns and feelings, and this kind of communication can help patients feel less isolated.
It also gives doctors insights into the emotional impact of their illness and provides them with ideas for improving the quality of life for both themselves and their patients.
By encouraging patients to share experiences, you are giving them a voice in their illness and treatment, and this can go a long way towards increasing engagement.
- Supporting Decisions
Patients often struggle with making decisions about their health. They may worry about the risks associated with certain tests or procedures, or about the long-term effects of taking medication.
This is why it is so important to provide patients with clear and accurate information about their condition, and to empower them to take control over their own care.
Doctors should explain the benefits and harms of different options, and give patients time to consider their choices. If necessary, they should discuss the pros and cons of each option with them.
They should also be aware of the potential side effects of medications and explain how to recognize and deal with them.
Doctors should also offer patients access to resources that can help them make better decisions, such as online tools that can help them identify which treatments are appropriate for them.
- Encouraging Connections
When patients are engaged in their care, they tend to feel connected to other people – including their healthcare professionals – and this makes them more likely to seek out assistance and support when needed.
This means that engagement can also lead to positive outcomes for patients. For example, research has shown that patients who are actively involved in their care are more satisfied with their doctor than those who aren’t.
It is therefore essential to ensure that patients are given opportunities to express their views and opinions.
This can be done by asking them directly about their preferences, or by listening carefully to their responses.
If possible, doctors should try to involve patients in decision-making processes, and let them choose the best course of action for them – this allows open, clear connections to be formed, and increases the level of trust between patient and doctor.
Involving patients in their care can also help doctors develop new skills. By being able to listen to patients’ needs and concerns, doctors learn valuable lessons about patient behavior and expectations.
The Importance Of Communication
Communication between healthcare professionals and patients is vital to ensure effective care (see also ‘How Do You Effectively Communicate With Patients And Families? 5 Great Tips‘).
However, many doctors find it difficult to communicate effectively with patients because they don’t know what questions to ask, or how to respond to patients’ concerns.
To address these problems, doctors and nurses need to improve their ability to communicate with patients. This includes learning how to listen to patients and understanding their language and culture.
Healthcare professionals should also become familiar with the latest evidence on communicating with patients and use this knowledge to guide their practice.
Patients should also be encouraged to speak up if they have any concerns about their treatment. It is important to remember that communication isn’t just a one-way street.
Patients should be asked about their experiences and feelings and encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas.
Final Thoughts
Patient engagement leads to improved health results.
Research shows that patients who are actively engaged in their care are more likely to follow medical advice, take prescribed medications correctly (see also ‘Can A Registered Nurse Prescribe Medication?‘), and make lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking.
They are also less likely to suffer from complications after surgery, and patients who are engaged with their care experience better outcomes when admitted to the hospital.
This is a skill that all healthcare professionals should prioritize, and one that can make a significant difference to both patient and doctor, as well as the overall outcome and quality of care.