The United States ranks 26th in terms of life expectancy and poorly on other patient care criteria, according to the AMA Journal of Ethics. More than a third of doctors’ healthcare services do not improve patients’ health or quality of life. The reduction of needless aggressive care has become a national priority.
To achieve this priority, healthcare professionals must use a more holistic approach to Care Management that extends beyond outpatient facilities and healthcare systems. Once you’ve engaged patients and worked with their families and communities, taking better care of them and enhancing their outcomes becomes considerably easier.
Best Practices for Caring for Patients in a more Effective Manner
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), patient-centered care has been linked with less pain and discomfort, faster physical and emotional recovery, as well as better outcomes and quality of life.
The following are principles that may help your team provide excellent patient care and have better health outcomes:
- Treat Patients with Respect
Your patients share many of the same needs and desires, just like you. Their medical education level, financial constraints, transportation options, and care accessibility influence their decisions and patient outcomes.
Patient issues should not go unaddressed. This demonstrates that you see people as individuals with unique requirements. This type of patient care might also encourage them to value their health journey and adhere to their treatment plan.
- Convey Gratitude
You’re happy to have a career that allows you to care for people and help them reach their health goals. Every opportunity you get, tell them how grateful you are. A little bit of eye contact and the patient’s name go a long way towards demonstrating thanks, especially when delivered with small gestures such as smiling or nodding. According to the Clinical Advisor, medical personnel that has mastered these fundamental social skills have considerably higher patient happiness levels.
- Enable Access to Medical Care
To provide better treatment for patients of all backgrounds and social classes, medical providers have expanded the boundaries of the conventional medical environment to address the social determinants of health.
Education, social position, income, and living environment are all key factors that influence a patient’s treatment and disease development. These (often subtle) variables must be addressed to improve patient outcomes. Care team members must understand a patient’s medical history and utilize technology to assist with errors to address these determinants.
It’s critical to make appointment scheduling quick and painless. A future patient should never be left waiting on hold or having to click five times on your website to contact you or schedule an appointment.
- Involve the Patient’s Family and Friends
The AMA Journal of Ethics states that providing care for patients necessitates embracing the support and contributions of all patient’s families and loved ones.
Family-centered medical practitioners embrace well-informed individuals about their wellness and ability to make informed healthcare choices. The idea of patient-centered care emphasizes the influence of a patient’s social context and broader life experiences on their health.
Medical practitioners are becoming more skilled in providing patient-centered care communication as care plans become more collaborative. Providers in all specialties are learning to listen, help patients select options, exchange knowledge, create trust, and encourage compliance allowing them to spend more time focusing on the task at hand.
- Coordinate Patient Care with other Professionals
Your patient care coordination platform will be tailored to your healthcare environment, but effective patient-centered care follows the same basic principles. Patient data and communication are shared at all levels of the organization. When medical practitioners in primary care, urgent care, long-term care, and specialty care address food, pain management, housing, transportation, as well as
It makes sense for them to collaborate to provide more holistic care for patients and their families because primary care planners, nursing homes, hospitals, social services agencies, and religious institutions have an enormous impact on patient treatment. They’ll require Care Management systems that allow for healthcare facility communication to do so effectively.
- Provide Emotional Support
Medical professionals in all specialties give emotional support to patients, even in the most trying circumstances, to help them feel better. It’s essential to use psychology when providing excellent patient care; it entails detecting signals indicating whether clients are receptive to other forms of assistance.
Taking care of patients is both a science and an art. Allow your instincts and experience to lead you. You’ll notice that interacting with the patient won’t disrupt your workflow. It will make you feel respected, trusted, and important. There’s no better approach to get customers for life while also gaining personal satisfaction from what you do best.
Edward James Letko is a medical entrepreneur with many years of experience in the medical field. As a medical entrepreneur, patient care and satisfaction are very important to developing medical solutions for both patients and medical practitioners. For tips on this and much more, visit our blog pages on our website today!