We at Televed are obsessed with Patient Engagement.
What does Patient Engagement essentially mean and why should it be practiced?
When you look at the process of receiving or giving care, guess who has the highest vested interest in the healthcare outcome?
Yes, it is the patient.
If the patient does not participate in their care process, the outcomes are going to be suboptimal. Patient engagement is not calendar appointments and anniversary messages.
What usually happens after the patient steps out of the doctor’s clinic:
- Patient self educates themselves with market driven information which may or may not apply to them.
- Follow ups fall off the cracks or are not done when it matters
- Regimens are not followed and eventually the outcomes are not what they ought to be.
These gaps in the care process have the biggest impact on chronic care, continuous care, mental health and preventive care.
Patient engagement starts right as the patient steps out of their consultation. It is the follow-ups that are tracked and brought to closure, close loop referrals, reminders and notifications for behavioral changes, medications, exercise regimens etc. Simple things like sharing curated content about the conditions and treatment, reminders, progress tracking (e.g. with wearable devices and diagnostics) to name a few have a huge impact on health outcomes.
Well as with any behavioral change there are a few major impediments and roadblocks with driving patient engagement. They can only be overcome with motivation. So as a care provider if you are able to
- Motivate your patients.
- Empower them with knowledge and control of their health.
- Embed engagement into the care process.
And, things will fall in place for you to deliver desired health outcomes to your patients.
What is the ROI for the practice?
Industries that have adopted engagement, whether it is retail, airlines or sports, have all seen huge returns. You will have loyalty, referrals and retention which means consistent revenue and low uncertainties which enables you to focus more on quality of care and patient satisfaction. By industry standards the cost of acquiring a new patient is 5 times higher than an existing one.
PS: Televed also provides Practice Management, TeleMedicine and integration with other patient acquisition systems and payment gateways. All of this without disrupting your existing processes and flows.