Peripheral Matters: Reader Discussion. The health system has made a natural shift from a more patient-centric health care system to a customer-centric well-being system. This change means our focus is no longer just on disease and treatment, but mostly on prevention and wellness. We have the ability to address the needs of patients even before they become sick. This process helps with forming a lifelong partnership between the patient and their health care provider. Patient expectations.
In , it should come as no surprise that a vast majority of consumers use technology as an important tool for the management of their health. Many surveys have shown that consumers are more likely to select a provider who allows them to conduct health care interactions online through patient engagement technology. I encourage my patients to use this technology to have direct access to test results, information on health conditions and timely communication with my staff or me. Patient engagement technology.
This app reviews common cardiac problems and treatment options, as well as provides patients with several decision aids for specific conditions. Other possible engagement technology tools include the use of personalized patient portals through the electronic health records, which enable direct and timely communication with providers, display test results and health summaries, list medications, facilitate prescription refills, schedule appointments, and record patient-generated health data such as in-home medical devices or wearable devices.
These patient-generated health data devices help our patients to take control of certain health conditions and even find them before symptoms may arise. Health education. Health education is likely the most valuable in allowing full patient engagement. It helps bridge any potential communication gaps, activates patients and targets those less likely to openly be engaged.
Health education programs are most effective when aimed at reaching people outside of the traditional health care setting, like schools, centers of faith, worksites or local community businesses such as barbershops or salons.
Even the use of social media has proven to be a new way of communicating with and educating patients. Lastly, the use of an impactful patient voice is key, and it is the most important form of health education. Regular feedback is vital for health care practitioners to understand the perception of both patients and their family members.
It may facilitate them to serve the patients by analyzing their demands and requirements. The healthcare professionals can place a complaint box at the hospital premises to gather the complaints from the family members. This would also help them to figure out the area where they need improvement.
The healthcare practitioner can hire inspectors to review their organizational policies and procedures. It would help them to implement the strategy following the comments of the inspector. The authority of the entire health and social care sector must execute an information retrieval system to seek the information of a particular patient.
It may also strengthen their administrative policies. There are several conflicting factors which the entire health and social care sector is currently facing while maximizing the right of patients. These are also creating problems for patients, and they are facing the loss of independence. This changing need of customers is making difficulties for the care workers in terms of providing a high quality of services.
The director of healthcare organizations needs to install a particular technology by which the family members of the patients can seek important service-related information from the hospitals.
Another major activity of the manager of healthcare organizations is to empower the patients so that they can participate in the decision-making process.
This empowerment would help them to select the most effective services as per their health needs. It would also help the care workers to serve actual service, which is required by a patient. Disclaimer: Content Produced by LinkOceans. Bad bet or value buy? Shilpa Medicare investors eye Laurus-like returns, but past capex yet to fire. There is a base, Gati hasn't destroyed itself. But there is a lot of work to be done: CEO. Choose your reason below and click on the Report button.
The empowerment process is about sharing both knowledge and experience to set new goals and learn with and from each other. For people with chronic conditions, effective communication, continuity of care and establishing a relationship of trust is very important.
The problem is being heard. Patient and community advocate, Triona Murphy Murpht01 advises doctors to get to know your patients as individuals. No one recognises me on that level. They see me as an underdog. This partnership approach allows for Shared Decision-Making SDM — the conversation that happens between a patient and clinician to reach a healthcare choice together.
Examples include decisions about surgery, medications, self-management, and screening and diagnostic tests. There is ample research which suggests that health outcomes are better in patients who are more involved in decisions about their treatment.
In the SDM model, the clinician provides current, evidence-based information about treatment options, describing their risks and benefits, and the patient expresses his or her preferences and values.
Matthew Loxton points to how seldom we have metrics to track whether patient goals are being met. Many patients would like to take more responsibility for their own health and care, given the opportunities and support to do so.
Empowerment does not happen in a vacuum: it is a two-way process. Kayoko Ky Corbet states she became an independent patient advocate when she realized most doctors simply do not have the time and often skills to take this facilitating role and promote shared decision-making that patients desperately need. Patients are automatically empowered when they are respected as being people who are entitled to understand and know about their care.
Neither is patient empowerment about the patient taking full control or shifting responsibility to the patient. Patient empowerment should never be an excuse for abandoning or burdening the patient.
It is up to the patients themselves to choose their own level of engagement. Or they want to be guided on the journey and have trust in their healthcare providers. But, there is still some way to go and we, as professionals, can play a vital role in helping to progress self care and make it a success for everyone.
A range of useful links and references are included. Dr Pete Smith OBE has been a GP for over 20 years in Kingston upon Thames and in he retired from the practice he set up which has been exemplary in addressing health inequalities in a deprived area. Peter was previously Vice Chair of the Association of Independent Multifunds, helped set up one of the first multifunds and with other colleagues set up Thamesdoc, the first night rota co-operative in the London area.
He was co-chair of the Self Care Forum between when he stepped down for health reasons although he remains on the board. Topics Self care. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.
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