A recent press release from eClinicalWorks discusses their best practices on patient engagement.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on eClinicalWork's website.
Why do medical practices reach out to their patients? The answer seems obvious — because patients who are engaged in their own care tend to be healthier, which makes the job of the physician easier and helps control costs.
But if the answer is so obvious, why don’t more practices have effective Patient Engagement?
A 2016 NEJM Catalyst survey, for example, found that 70% of respondents said that fewer than half of their patients are highly engaged in their own health. And just 9% of the practices surveyed reported that they had more than three-quarters of their patients well engaged in their own care.
Part of the problem is understanding what exactly is meant by Patient Engagement. It means a lot more than getting patients to the office and greeting them by name. It requires getting to know them well, and understanding as much as possible about them, including personal health history, family background, social support networks, and personal interests. Click to continue>>
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