Why is Patient Engagement is Important for Medical Practices?

Patient engagement in the healthcare system has become increasingly active due to the popularization and use of communication technologies. Relationships between physician and patient have gone from being an act in which the physician decided what he/she considered best for the patient to a collaborative relationship between the two.

Shared decision-making seeks to establish a form of clinical decision-making that lies between paternalism (“the doctor knows best”) and the provision of technical information to patients to allow them to decide for themselves (“patient sovereignty”).

Patient sovereignty provides benefits to both parties. They are increasing the number of informed patients by involving them in their healthcare. Additionally, it increases adherence to treatment, reduces excessive and unjustified care and expenses, and has a positive impact on patient’s quality of life. The “shared decision-making” model safeguards and promotes the fundamental rights of patients and reflects the commitment of the professional.

Doctor patient communication

What is Patient Participation in Healthcare?

It refers to those concerned about their health, getting involved in the evolution of their disease. By acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to take responsibility for their health and, together with their physicians, to define therapeutic objectives, they make shared decisions that allow them to assume these objectives.

Shared decision-making has been defined as “an approach in which physicians and patients share the best available evidence when faced with the task of making decisions, and where patients are supported in considering options, to achieve informed preferences.”

Why is patient participation in healthcare important?

Historically, the relationship between patients and healthcare professionals was based on a paternalistic model, in which patients assume a passive role throughout their healing process. Nowadays, however, healthcare has given patients an active role, both individually and collectively, whereby participating in the decision-making process, they can exercise their fundamental rights and demand quality services, in turn contributing to the improvement of the healthcare system in general.

How does patient participation benefit patients?

The inclusion of patients in decision-making positively influences patient satisfaction

• Patient safety
• Quality of care
• Patient psychological well-being, and
• Clinical outcomes

How does it help medical professionals?

Sharing decisions, as opposed to physicians making decisions on behalf of patients, strengthens the physician-patient relationship. Therefore, it helps healthcare professionals improve their understanding of patient health problems, improve the management of the consultation process, help them gain patient’s trust and deliver the desired healthcare services.

In addition, in situations of uncertainty, medical decisions will be made, ensuring a complete understanding of the risk.

Image — patientengagementhit.com

The Current State of Health IT and Challenges in Patient Engagement

Health information technology (IT) has been defined as “the application of information processing involving both hardware and software.” This technology presents numerous opportunities to improve and transform healthcare by reducing human error.

It is used throughout healthcare for clinical documentation, to streamline clinical workflows, improve quality of care, enhance patient safety, facilitate communication and support clinical decision-making, providing enormous possibilities for disseminating health information and promoting health rights.

Despite the advances in IT, challenges remain, mainly in low educated and older population groups. People with fewer economic resources or who live in isolated or rural locations may have limited or no access to the Internet, and older people may be unfamiliar with the use of modern electronic devices.

The Future of Patient Participation

Understanding the Future of Patient Engagement Technologies

Health care is a challenge for today’s society since the figure of a new patient model is being incorporated in addition to the demand for technically updated services. Adopting a more active role in the search for health information. The patient’s profile of the future is one of an increasingly well-educated person who will have adequate health information that will contribute to participation and shared decision-making together with the professional.

Image — www.sequencehealth.com

People with more health knowledge will be more empowered, as they will have the capacity to exercise greater control over the decisions; however, it is essential to mention that not all the information on the Internet is from a reliable source, so it is necessary to consider quality criteria when evaluating the information available.

In this era of relentless technological growth, a mechanism for patient empowerment can be provided employing useful information through health portals, which can be very efficiently incorporated into electronic medical records. Patient portals have been shown to enable the discovery of medical errors, improve medication adherence and facilitate patient-provider communication as they can access their electronic medical records (EMR).

Conclusion

Electronic resources play an essential role in providing the population with rapid access to information and promoting informed decision-making.

Health professionals should provide adequate, complete, timely, and truthful information to the population, with respect and kindness, about their rights, conditions, and characteristics of health services and health professionals who attend them. On the other hand, facilities must have the necessary and sufficient means and procedures to guarantee the information to users.

You can reach out to us by clicking on this link if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas about telehealth and EHR.

Originally published at https://www.emrexperts.com.