Of late, patient engagement has earned more significance than ever before. Many reasons could be cited for this but the most important would probably be a more informed patient\u2019s demand for better care. A good patient engagement is also important to setting the grounds for establishing trust.<\/p>\n
Indeed, quality patient engagement can be considered as a crucial quality measure in your practice.<\/p>\n
However, it shouldn\u2019t be assumed that patient engagement is something that\u2019s only the doctor\u2019s domain. The first contact for a patient almost invariably is the receptionist who answers the phone. So,a positive engagement could begin there. In the hospital, the check-in process and the physician examining the patient should all have quality of engagement as inherent.<\/p>\n
Some effective measures to this end are given here:<\/p>\n
Assess, and re-assess the system<\/strong><\/p>\n Periodic tests of the systems and processes are called for if you are to keep them attuned to the patient\u2019s liking. Assessments should give you a good idea of the patient\u2019s experience with different facets such as booking an appointment, time spent at the waiting room or talking with the office staff. If you cannot get the feedback directly from the patients, family of friends who accompany them may be able to fill you in. Any weakness in the system could be thus noted and you can take the necessary remedial measures.<\/p>\n Use surveys to get feedback<\/strong><\/p>\n As much as possible, use specific surveys aimed at the patients so that they can provide the feedback regarding their experience, possibly even marking their satisfaction level.<\/p>\n Always have an open channel for communication<\/strong><\/p>\n While it\u2019s fine and dandy if patients can give their feedback using surveys etc., that by no means should be the only way for them to voice opinion. From the early stages of your relation with the patient, stress the point that s\/he is always welcome to give opinions regarding the treatment or your practice etc. Even if it\u2019s a complaint they want to make, give them the leeway.<\/p>\n Train the staff members<\/strong><\/p>\n While the doctor forms the core of the experience for the patient, the role the other staff members play shouldn\u2019t be overlooked. The overall experience for the patient could be enhanced or degraded depending on how the staff engage them. The staff members should be trained based on the feedback you received from the patients.<\/p>\n Make use of the tech<\/strong><\/p>\n Technology offers heretofore unimaginable ways to engage the patients, and that way also improve the quality of practice. Here are some ideas:<\/p>\n Bring down number of no-shows<\/em>: By implementing an appointment reminder software, you will have a better chance of reducing no-show appointments. Most such software could get in touch with the patients via text, email or voice and also automatically update the scheduling system based on the patient\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n For engaging elderly patients and families<\/em>: For elderly patients, travelling all the way to the hospital to have a query addressed may be a tough deal. To this end, you can create a simple micro-portal in which queries can be posted securely. This has the added advantage that even if the patient is hard of hearing, s\/he can effectively communicate with the doctor. You can even include their care-givers in the communication so that they are in the know regarding the patient\u2019s health.<\/p>\n Create online communities:<\/em> A doctor-especially a specialist is someone to whom many patients with similar problems would visit. In many cases, a point of solace for the patients and their care-givers will be a community of people who share the same issues. In such cases, a doctor can take initiatives to create online communities for them. Aside from patients sharing their experiences among each other, you may also use it to give out important medical information.<\/p>\n Making these ideas part of your strategy to improve your practice will surely yield results. In other words, get to it asap!<\/p>\n Image credits: Google Plus<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Of late, patient engagement has earned more significance than ever before. Many reasons could be cited for this but the most important would probably be a more informed patient\u2019s demand for better care. A good patient engagement is also important to setting the grounds for establishing trust. Indeed, quality patient engagement can be considered as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":3371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n