Many healthcare leaders espouse the importance of patient engagement initiatives, but not all patients engagement efforts are created equal.
Jennifer Bolduc, MD, director of client loyalty at Allscripts, took the time to speak with Becker's Hospital Review about some of the biggest issues facing providers as they attempt to engage patients and how Allscripts platforms may be able to help.
Editor's note: Answers have been edited slightly for length and clarity
Question: As care continues to move to outpatient sites, how can Allscripts support providers?
Jennifer Bolduc: Allscripts supports and will continue supporting providers as care delivery moves to outpatient sites. We partner with healthcare organizations to help them choose the right-sized solutions for their new care models and help them leverage the flexibility and breadth of our solutions and services. It's critical we help connect care across entire organizations — regardless of the EHRs involved. Along these lines, it is also important to mention our efforts to support clinician wellness. Within Allscripts, the focus on user-centered design principles and an EHR-as-a-helper philosophy are driving forces behind our commitment to improving the usability of our solutions.
Q: What is the biggest driver of patient nonadherence?
JB: There are many reasons why a patient may not completely follow the recommended treatment plan, which is what is meant by patient nonadherence. Common drivers of patient nonadherence include denial of the problem being treated, cost of treatment, difficulty in understanding or executing the treatment plan, unpleasant or intolerable side effects of medications, lack of trust in medical professionals, general apathy toward treatment and a previous unsuccessful treatment experience, to name a few. The biggest driver of patient nonadherence depends on the individual and their experiences.
Q: What is the greatest effect of nonadherence on patients and providers?
JB: The greatest effect of nonadherence on patients is the risk of worsening illness, that is subsequently more difficult or impossible to treat. In my opinion as a pediatrician, while frustrating at times for clinicians, the scariest part of working with patients who don't or can't follow treatment plans is that they may be much sicker or even too sick to treat the next time they present for care. For all of us in a connected community of care, there is also a significant financial impact to consider when sicker patients require higher levels of care.
Q: Many organizations have dedicated resources to improving patient transportation; would you say this is the right approach to addressing no-show patients?
JB: I would say that improving patient transportation is one approach to addressing no-show patients and would be helpful when transportation issues are a known barrier for a particular patient, but there are many other causes for no-show appointments. There is no easy answer to keeping a clinician's schedule fully utilized, since the reasons for no-show appointments are highly variable, even for an individual patient.