It’s Time to Make Patient Engagement Solutions a Part of Healthcare

Patient engagement is widely being touted as an integral aspect of healthcare. So much so that numerous companies have begun pouring money and resources into innovating ways of boosting it. But what is patient engagement?

Patient engagement involves all the activities that increase the interaction between doctors and their patients to enable patients to manage their own health better. In other words, there is greater engagement between doctors and patients which goes a long way in educating patients about making the best decisions to improve their own health. Several studies and research have concluded that patient engagement does improve the overall clinical outcomes.

In light of this, many health tech companies have developed patient engagement system for hospitals in an effort to help boost doctor-patient interaction. Care begins when patients leave the clinic. The actual process of care happens in-between clinical visits. During a consultation, the doctors speak and patients listen and sometimes ask a few questions. But this interaction is mostly one-way. The goal of a good patient engagement platform is to make it more bidirectional and impactful.

The concept of engaging with patients on a regular basis is especially helpful for people suffering from chronic diseases. These illnesses cannot be treated with a single course of medication or a one-time treatment. Over 40% of American adults suffer from at least one chronic disease. The most common examples include diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. People suffering from any of these need continuing treatment coupled with regular visits and follow-ups.

Innovations in patient engagement systems technology are especially beneficial to people with chronic conditions. The very nature of these diseases requires strict adherence to medication, a healthy lifestyle, diet, and regular tracking of health. The things to be done or avoided, the type of foods to have or avoid, the kind of lifestyle choices to make, and changes to medication based on progress are factors that determine the medical outcome for chronic conditions. Needless to say, a one-time instruction from a doctor during a consultation is not enough to completely educate patients to manage their health adequately.

A patient engagement system is one of the best ways of improving the interaction between doctors and patients. It is a web-based application where people can view their own medical information such as test results, scans, diagnosis, medication, vitals, and so forth. Based on this, they can post queries to their doctors about their own condition, following which the doctors post relevant answers.

Furthermore, patient engagement software solutions also include mobile applications for telehealth as well as chatbots. Both of these solutions help patients connect with their doctors to get their queries resolved and make informed decisions about healthier lifestyles. The small decisions regarding diet, physical activity, and daily routine compounded over a long time ultimately result in improved medical outcomes and reduced healthcare costs.

Patient engagement solutions might not seem like much for people who don’t suffer from serious illnesses or those who are educated about healthcare. But for the vast majority of others, it makes a huge difference in long-term health and quality of life.

Hospitals and other healthcare organizations will rethink how they view patients, and building a holistic profile would help achieve this. It would provide a 360-view of patients, enabling healthcare organizations to understand patients better. Healthcare networks would be more aware of when patients would need care and how they can improve patient satisfaction. A holistic view of patients would support addressing health risks and broader challenges.

Patient engagement platforms need to establish open and effective communication with patients. 2022 will witness more such forms of direct communication between patients and providers. Healthcare institutions will be seen sending emails, notifications, reminders, and voice calls a few hours before appointments. This would help providers become actively involved in patients’ health schedules.