I came across this great whitepaper that looks at 8 Elements of Total Patient Engagement. I love that someone dug into the topic of patient engagement like they did in this whitepaper. It’s not a comprehensive look at patient engagement, but it sure provides a great starting point for organizations that want to become more patient centered. Take a look at the first 4 elements to get a taste of what I mean:
1. Understand how to synthesize and deliver actionable information to patients
2. Facilitate engagement in all settings across the continuum of care
3. Activate patients at their convenience
4. Integrate seamlessly into IT systems and workflow
I love number 3 and 4 on this list. Far too often we translate patient engagement into more work for doctors and patients. These points indicate that we need to make patient engagement an integral part of what we’re already doing. Plus, patients need to be able to engage at their convenience or the reality is that they won’t engage.
The reality is that if an organization doesn’t start engaging patients more, they’re going to miss out on so many opportunities. These 8 elements are a great place for any healthcare organization to start evaluating their patient engagement strategy.