seems ubiquitous these days.
Meaningful use Stage 2 requires it,
bloggers tout it and there's even a
growing body of academic research
about its benefits. Most of the
discourse focuses on how patient
engagement impacts patient health or
overall costs to the US health system.
about tangible benefits for medical
practices. So, I talked to doctors
who have mastered the patient
relationship to learn more about what
it is and how it can benefit doctors. It
turns out that getting your patients
engaged could make you more money,
make your patients happier and boost
your job satisfaction to boot.
engagement benefits your practice,
it's important to understand what it is
and how it works. A key thing to note
is that `engagement' itself isn't the
end goal. Instead, it can be thought of
as a tool for transforming the doctor-
patient relationship.
University of Oregon, Clinical
Health and Preventive Medicine
at the Oregon Health and Sciences
University, and recognised expert
on consumerism in healthcare that
transformation takes the form of
"patient activation". She describes
activated patients as those who have
"the knowledge, skill and confidence
to manage their healthcare".
a 100-point scale used to assess a
patient's level of activation. The score
is based on such determinations as
whether patients can demonstrate an
understanding of why they're taking
a particular medication, or whether
patients feel comfortable voicing
concerns even when the doctor does
not ask about their concerns.
for reaching it.
Harvard Medical School. He's also
a practicing physician and patient
evangelist who, during his tenure at
Beth Israel Deaconess, developed one
of the nation's first patient portals.
He echoes the idea that patient
engagement isn't the be-all and
"participatory medicine". Not unlike
patient activation, participatory
medicine has to do with changing
the care ecosystem to get patients
interested in maintaining their health
outside of clinical office visits.
of partnership between doctors and
patients. The physician brings necessary
medical expertise. The patient brings
the knowledge of his or her own
symptoms and experiences, and the
ability to act on a treatment plan.
of appointments
to create this `partnership' with your
patients are virtually limitless, but my
conversations unearthed a couple of
recurring themes. Broadly, the idea is
to get your patients thinking about
their health even when they're not in
your office.
patients engaged is knowledge. He
recommends encouraging patients
to seek out information about their
conditions themselves, rather than
relying solely on you.