2. Turn clinician barriers into opportunities
Addressing barriers your staff encounter will be critical to program success.
A group of seven studies of hospital service improvement assessed barriers to patient engagement. Of 10 barriers identified, the majority were attributable to providers. These included:
- Health professionals lacking knowledge on how to engage with patients who were empowered and asked questions
- A lack of guidance around the role of patients and their involvement
- Beliefs about the representativeness and relevance of individual patient experience
- Professional perceptions about patient capacity to contribute
- Feelings that patients were hostile and ungrateful and that patient feedback was complaining
- Disagreement on the role of patients
Listen to clinician satisfaction and feedback to gauge the severity of provider-centered barriers and identify options in mitigating issues.
3. Consider AI’s impact on a patient engagement program
Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds significant potential for patient engagement, but there are multiple factors to consider.
From automated patient outreach calls and virtual agents to symptom-checking solutions, AI has been useful in educating patients and priming them before they reach out to providers. A study by Becker’s Healthcare and Zoom found that seven out of 10 healthcare leaders report their staff had adopted AI solutions, including wellness and health education, appointment check-in, and patient engagement marketing campaigns. Hesitations around patient satisfaction, bias/hallucinations/malfunctions, and cybersecurity persisted.
Balancing these concerns will require a measured approach to implementing the technology that considers both patient and clinician influence.
4. Work at the health system level
Health system-level patient engagement can be incredibly fruitful, especially as the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic play out in chronic conditions that affect acute care organizations. A full 87% of healthcare leaders responding to a Wolters Kluwer survey reported that patient engagement is “very important to their organization.”
This Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality review of patient and family engagement for managing chronic conditions covers the use of patient advisory councils and patients serving on committees, including a neighborhood clinician partnership in the Navajo Nation focused on improving care for patients with diabetes. Benefits emerged in healthcare processes, development of organizational policies and plans, and tools and education.
Better fiscal outcomes start with a patient activation plan that considers patient engagement at the enterprise level.
5. Study your peers
Patient engagement is specific to your organization, but you’ll find potential for learning by observing other healthcare leaders and institutions. Almost one out of every two healthcare leaders report that they have clear plans to invest in patient engagement within the next 18 months.
A 2023 KLAS survey of almost 100 healthcare executives’ top patient engagement priorities illuminated a range of options for patient engagement in the coming years, including:
- The digital front door experience
- Patient journey optimization
- Physician efficiencies and communications
- Patient education
Approach these perennial opportunities with a goal of activating a better patient experience and enabling your patients as partners in their health outcomes.
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