Patient Engagement: Benefits, Challenges, and Strategies

Posted in Companion App

Patient engagement in healthcare is at the forefront of healthcare integration services crucial for driving better outcomes and enhancing the patient experience. By actively involving patients in their care, healthcare providers can foster a collaborative environment that empowers individuals to take charge of their health. This engagement leads to improved adherence to treatment plans, increased satisfaction, and, ultimately, better health results.

However, implementing effective patient engagement strategies presents several challenges. Providers must navigate barriers such as varying levels of health literacy, technological disparities, and resistance to change among patients and staff. This blog explores the benefits of patient engagement solutions, identifies common obstacles, how to increase patient engagement, and offers actionable strategies to enhance participation and collaboration in healthcare settings.

What is Patient Engagement?

Before we begin, you must understand patient engagement and why benefits of patient engagement are worth investing in.

Understanding Patient Engagement

Patient engagement is the process of patients being involved in their healthcare. This extends beyond following the doctors’ advice, with patients taking an active role to be informed, empowered, and motivated in their treatment plans. 

The main elements of a patient engagement solution include:

• Patients can access relevant and accurate health information, including health conditions, treatment plans and options, medication lists and their side effects, etc.
• The patient is actively involved in their healthcare decision-making, including their medications, treatments, and suggested lifestyle changes. 
• The patient is encouraged to take responsibility for their health management by regularly monitoring their symptoms, adhering to their treatment, and seeking necessary support. Actively participating in your healthcare has shown promise in terms of health outcomes according to research. 
• Establishing a clear line of communication between doctors and patients to build trust, and understanding. This encourages patients to follow their treatment plans.

Differentiating Patient Engagement and Patient Activation

The two terms might sound the same, but they have subtle differences. These differences include:

• Digital health patient engagement includes various aspects of patient involvement, including decision-making, information, self-management, and doctor-patient communication. 
• Patient activation includes the patient’s ability to navigate the intricacies of the healthcare system, make informed treatment decisions, and access essential resources. Patient activation is measured using the patient activation measure (PAM).

A patient engagement system focuses on helping patients take an active role in their treatment, while patient activation measures the patient’s ability to participate in their treatment. Understanding this is essential to know how these benefits of patient engagement programs include:

• Better patient outcomes result from patients being more likely to listen to their doctor’s recommendations, follow treatment plans, effectively manage their illnesses, and encourage better health outcomes.
• Patients actively involved in their treatment are more likely to feel satisfied with it because they have a better understanding of how it is helping them.
• Better health management translates to fewer health issues, reducing healthcare costs and saving patients money in the short and long term.]

The Importance of Patient Engagement

The patient engagement solutions market focuses on helping patients take an active role in their treatment, while patient activation measures their ability to participate. Understanding this is essential to know how these benefits of patient engagement software include:

• Better patient outcomes result from patients being more likely to listen to their doctor’s recommendations, follow treatment plans, effectively manage their illnesses, and encourage better health outcomes.
• Patients actively involved in their treatment are more likely to feel satisfied with it because they better understand how it is helping them.
• Better health management translates to fewer health issues, reducing healthcare costs and saving patients money in the short and long term.]

The Benefits of an Effective Patient Engagement Strategy

Patient engagement doesn’t only benefit the patient; it also has far-reaching benefits for providers and hospitals. This section explores the benefits of an effective patient engagement strategy for all three:

Benefits for Patients

• Engaged patients are more likely to manage their conditions effectively, adhere to treatment plans, and achieve better health outcomes.
• Patients who are involved in healthcare decisions are more likely to be satisfied with their care than those who are in the dark.
• Patient engagement software solutions can enhance quality of life by empowering individuals to take control of their health.
• Feeling involved in healthcare decisions results in reduced anxiety and stress related to health conditions.

Benefits for Healthcare Providers 

• Having engaged patients results in stronger relationships with their healthcare providers. This doctor-patient relationship translates to communication and trust between both parties. 
• An effective patient engagement platform streamlines the healthcare process by reducing the need for unnecessary appointments and follow-ups, resulting in Increased Efficiency.
• Healthcare providers who know they positively impact their patients’ lives are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs and enjoy enhanced job satisfaction.
• By fostering a positive and collaborative environment, healthcare patient engagement can help reduce provider burnout. Doctor burnout is a significant problem that prevents healthcare providers from treating patients to the best of their abilities. 

Benefits for Healthcare Systems 

• An effective patient engagement strategy leads to better patient health outcomes, improving healthcare systems’ reputations.
• Engaged patients are more likely to follow treatment plans and manage their conditions effectively, which can reduce personal healthcare costs.
• Satisfied patients are more likely to remain with a healthcare system, return if they have a medical situation, and recommend the hospital to others.  
• Patient engagement can help identify gaps in care and improve the overall quality of healthcare services.
• A healthcare system prioritizing patient engagement can build a positive reputation and attract more patients organically.

Developing a Robust Patient Engagement Strategy

To improve patient engagement, building a patient engagement strategy considers multiple facets to ensure its effectiveness. This section explains what factors to consider when developing a patient engagement strategy. 

Identifying Target Patient Populations

Firstly, healthcare organizations must determine the patient groups that stand to benefit from patient engagement efforts. These patient groups include those with complex medical needs, chronic medical conditions, or those with socioeconomic challenges. 

Patients must be segmented based on demographics, ages, disease progression and severity, and treatment preferences. Considering the essentials allows healthcare providers to personalize patient engagement strategies healthcare based on what the patient wants. 

Setting Clear Goals and Objectives

The engagement strategy must specify the essential details. Doctors must create measurable goals to improve patient health outcomes and satisfaction. These goals must also be cost-effective for the patient, who shouldn’t have to deal with large medical bills for something that could’ve been treated at a fraction of the cost. Patient engagement strategies must put the customer at the center to be successful.

The healthcare organization must ensure the engagement strategy aligns with its mission and values. It also wants to ensure that all stakeholders are satisfied with the direction the hospital is taking, whether it is for the patients or the organization itself. This allows everyone involved to get what they deserve—a major win-win for modern healthcare. 

Leveraging Technology for Engagement

We’re fortunate to have so much innovation around us to simplify complex, tedious processes. Developing a patient engagement strategy is no different, and the three ways that technology improves patient engagement include:

Patient Portals and Apps

A patient engagement portal or companion application gives patients secure access to medical records, the ability to schedule doctors’ appointments, and a clear line of communication with their doctor. Patient engagement technology relies on them remaining involved and informed regarding their treatment, and a patient portal is the best way to make this happen.

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)

Patients with chronic illnesses can be remotely monitored by their healthcare providers. This allows doctors to intervene immediately when patient health levels reach concerning levels. Doctors can also use remote patient monitoring to plan in-house visits in case patients need regular screenings for their conditions.

Mobile Health (mHealth)

Mobile health applications (mHealth) can be developed to share personal health information, send medication reminders, and offer patient support. With so many mobile users, mHealth is a powerful tool to build patient engagement.

Building Strong Patient-Provider Relationships

Patient-provider relationships play a significant role in patient treatment. The patient visits the doctor with a health concern they want to treat, presumably in pain and stress. The doctor should make them feel safe and treat them to the best of their ability. Open and honest communication between the doctor and patient should encourage understanding and trust between both parties. 

Patients who trust their healthcare providers are likely to follow treatment plans and take medication correctly, improving the probability of favorable health outcomes. Clear communication will inform doctors about patient nuances and other factors influencing their condition, allowing them to tailor treatment plans based on the specifics. 

Empowering Patients to Take Ownership of Their Health

Patient empowerment is a significant engagement component, putting power back in the patient’s hands. Healthcare providers can share accurate and relevant health information to educate them on their condition, various treatment options, and what self-management strategies they can pick. 

Patients can receive the tools and resources needed to manage their health effectively, such as access to coaching services, support groups, and various educational materials. Additionally, patients should be encouraged to participate in decision-making and care planning, which lets them foster a sense of responsibility for their treatment. 

Measuring and Evaluating Engagement Efforts

Based on this data, patient engagement efforts can be measured and amended. Healthcare providers can monitor patient satisfaction scores, treatment plan adherence, health outcome performance, and cost savings. 

These metrics can be combined with patient and healthcare provider feedback to gauge the measures’ performance. Measuring and evaluating patient engagement efforts can identify room for improvement and help make essential amendments. Patient engagement strategies aren’t set in stone and can be changed over time to accommodate the patient and their condition. 

The Shift to Digital Patient Engagement

Healthcare, like countless other fields, benefits from innovation, cloud computing, and AI, among other technologies. We’ve seen the meteoric rise of patient-centered care, and when combined with digital patient engagement platforms, we have the perfect combination. 

Digital patient management is essential for improving patient experience, healthcare access, and treatment outcomes. The three main components of a digital patient engagement platform include:

Enhancing Patient Experience and Satisfaction

• Digital tools’ convenience and accessibility help patients access healthcare services, reducing the need for in-person visits and waiting times.
• Digital platforms help with personalized care by assisting doctors in designing care plans tailored to individual patient needs and preferences.
• Using digital communication channels facilitates communication between patients and healthcare providers, enhancing their understanding of treatment and satisfaction.
• Digital engagement empowers patients to take an active role in their care by granting access to essential information and tools.

Improving Patient Access

• Digital patient engagement tools reduce several barriers to healthcare access, such as geographic location, transportation limitations, and limited appointment availability.
• Digital platforms expand the reach of healthcare services to underserved populations, mostly in rural areas with limited resources. The internet plays a significant role in this. 
• Digital tools can ensure continuity of care, even when patients move or change providers. Electronic health records make patient information accessible to every healthcare provider a patient visits for treatment. 

Adoption of Technology in Patient Engagement

• Online portals help patients access medical records, schedule appointments, and communicate with their doctors.
• Mobile apps offer personalized health information, reminders, and patient-tracking tools.
• Video conferencing technology enables remote consultations between patients and healthcare providers. With the remote patient monitoring cost coming down, more hospitals will use this.
• EHRs help with electronic sharing and patient health information management.
• Wearable devices that track patient health data provide essential insights into their health.

Steps to Implement Patient Engagement in Your Practice

Implementing practical patient engagement tools in your practice takes time, trial and error, and a conscious effort to be patient-centric. The four steps to increase patient engagement in your practice include the following:

Step 1: Identify a Patient Group

Find out which patient groups stand to benefit from new patient engagement systems. The main factors to measure include patients who suffer from chronic illnesses have complex medical needs and preferences, and those with socioeconomic disparities. 

Patient groups must be segmented into groups based on their demographics, age, disease progression, and medical preferences. These considerations help tailor engagement strategies to treat the patient in a way that is not burdensome for them. 

Step 2: Form a Care Team

A multidisciplinary team with doctors, nurses, social workers, and all relevant staff members. Building a care team is essential when implementing patient engagement in the best possible way.

Every team member must have their roles and responsibilities outlined and delegated to them. Clarity on what is expected of them helps team members deliver better results. If team members lack in certain areas, patient engagement training to bring them up to speed with practices and technology can iron out any issues. 

Step 3: Provide Access to User-Friendly Communication Software

Patient engagement solutions for hospitals need to be easy to use and accessible for providers and patients. The platform must also be secure to ensure private conversations and data aren’t being eavesdropped. Finally, your preferred platform should be integrated with hospital EHRs to help streamline workflows. 

Step 4: Iterate the Process for Continuous Improvement

The three key ways to ensure processes are increasing patient engagement include:

• Collecting patient and healthcare providers’ feedback to find areas for improvement.
• Track key metrics such as patient satisfaction, adherence to treatment plans, and health outcomes to measure the outcomes of the efforts made. 
• Refine your patient engagement strategies based on feedback and data analysis to ensure ongoing effectiveness.

Challenges in Patient Engagement

Communication Barriers

Language differences can make communication between patients and healthcare providers challenging. Cultural differences impact communication styles and understanding of health information because low health literacy makes patients struggle to understand medical information.

Health Literacy Issues

A lack of understanding in patients prevents them from understanding medical terminology, treatment options, or self-management strategies. Fear of asking questions prevents patients from asking questions or expressing concerns due to fear of embarrassment—additionally, limited access to information results in patients being unable to access reliable and understandable health information.

Social Determinants of Health

Common economic factors such as poverty, lack of insurance, and limited access to healthcare resources often hinder effective patient engagement strategies. Patients also suffer from social isolation, discrimination, and a lack of transportation, which negatively impacts patient engagement. When you account for environmental factors such as poor housing conditions, environmental hazards, and limited access to healthy food, health outcomes, and engagement are severely impacted. 

Patient Trust and Privacy Concerns

A rampant mistrust of healthcare providers due to past experiences or negative stereotypes surrounding them. Their privacy concerns make patients concerned about the privacy and security of their personal health information. Additionally, a lack of transparency compels patients to feel that healthcare providers are not transparent about treatment options, costs, or risks.

The Future of Patient Engagement in Healthcare

Emerging Trends in Patient Engagement

• Advancements in technology and data analytics are enabling personalized medicine to create personalized care plans tailored to each patients’ lifestyle, genetic makeup, and preferences.
• Wearable devices have become increasingly sophisticated and allow patients to track and share  their health data with healthcare providers for better decision-making.
• Telehealth and virtual care services continuously expand their access to patient care, especially for patients in remote areas.
• Social media platforms that connect patients with healthcare providers, support groups, and health information.
• Gamification to include game-like elements into healthcare, making it more engaging for patients.

The Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• AI-powered chatbots can improve the patient experience by providing personalized support and answers to patients.
• AI algorithms can analyze vast amounts of patient data to enhance decision-making and identify patterns.
• AI can optimize care delivery by streamlining administrative tasks and improving care coordination.

Build and Improve Patient Engagement Systems with Folio3 Digital Health

If you’re part of a patient engagement software companies or run a hospital that is considering improving patient engagement, or want to develop patient engagement software solutions, the Folio3 Digital Health team can help you.

Folio3 Digital Health has been in medical software development for a long time, with designers, developers, and marketers to help you. Every Folio3 Digital Health product is HIPAA-certified and uses the latest HL7 and FHIR interoperability standards.

Conclusion

Enhancing patient engagement is a vital component of effective healthcare delivery. By prioritizing active participation, healthcare providers can significantly improve patient outcomes, satisfaction, and health literacy. Fostering a collaborative relationship between patients and providers is clear, leading to a more informed and empowered patient population.

Despite the challenges that arise, implementing targeted strategies can facilitate meaningful engagement. By addressing barriers and leveraging technology, healthcare organizations can create an environment encouraging patients to take an active role in their care. Embracing these strategies strengthens the patient-provider relationship and paves the way for a healthier future for all.

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