Patient engagement benefits healthcare providers and patients alike. The more engaged patients are in their healthcare, the better educated they are about their health moving forward. It doesn’t matter whether patients are registered with a solo practitioner, a large facility, or a hospital system; they need to be engaged to feel empowered about their health. It’s well known that patient engagement is the most effective way to deliver better healthcare. Without the right engagement, healthcare facilities cannot improve their outcomes or offer better care.
Technology is still at the top of the charts when it comes to patient engagement ideas and strategies. There are, however, still facility managers asking the question: why is patient engagement important. Healthcare facilities must employ more than one of many patient engagement ideas in their efforts to build better patient engagement. This way, community engagement can increase, and so can the focus on personalized medicine. Below, take a look at our list of patient engagement ideas that could work for any facility to improve patient care and, subsequently, help their outcomes.
Using Email
Communication is so essential for improving patient engagement. There are plenty of studies out there, such as this one by Mobi Health, that show that over 90% of patients prefer clinics that offer email communication. Engaging people in email allows healthcare facilities to personalize their communication and provide more to their patients. People prefer the personal touch, and when a healthcare facility puts that effort in and utilizes the technology at their disposal, patients are happier.
AC HEALTH
Speaking of technology to be utilized when connecting to patients, AC Health could be everything that a healthcare facility needs when it comes to their patient engagement.
AC Health is a patient engagement platform that healthcare providers can use to assign personalized instructions for patients to take home via the mobile app. If a hospital is using technology to assign personalized instructions, it’s making life easier for patients who need the right information at the right time. People are more interested in their smartphones than anything else; so an app is the perfect tool to get patients listening.
Business Website
Healthcare practices and clinics are still businesses, which means a website is a must. Ensuring that a website is optimized for mobile use as well as being interesting, engaging, and simple is very important. Patients spend a lot of time on their smartphones, both at home and on the go. If a business website is compatible with smartphones, patients can scroll while they’re on the move – making a business far more accessible.
App Recommendations
As well as the AC Health app that gives personalized information to individual patients, it’s smart for any healthcare team to recommend apps allowing patients to monitor their health. Smartphones are built with health apps that track steps, heart rate, and other essential health details. When healthcare businesses encourage this, it’s encouraging patients to take control of their own health. This is vital for future engagement, especially if the app recommendations come from their doctor or medical care team.
Offer More Resources
Access to resources is vital for patient engagement. Patients need to feel like they are able to get the information regarding their condition without needing to make appointments. If a healthcare clinic has open access to medical and health resources, from therapy types to medications, patients are going to feel empowered to do their own research. When patients are empowered, they will continue to come back to the same healthcare professionals again and again, which improves outcomes for the business as well as for the patient.
Online Visibility
From a patient’s point of view, they want their healthcare team to be accessible, not difficult to find. By launching social media initiatives to encourage patients, a healthcare business can draw them in and get them to share their stories and photos about their experiences. This leads to exceptional patient feedback, secure and loyal patient customers, and it means that those living with pain can feel like they have somewhere to connect with others.
Rewards & Promotions
If a healthcare facility is located alongside a local gym, then offering rewards and promotions and linking with said gym is going to be exciting for patients. Partnering with local fitness facilities improves your patient engagement for existing patients while also encouraging new patients to come through the doors. Alongside this, providing discounts and tickets for patients who meet health outcomes that are set can be encouraging.
Support Groups
If a healthcare clinic is asking why is patient engagement important, they need to look at support groups and why they work. People need support, whether they are dealing with a condition themselves or they care for someone who does. The need for someone to lean on is vital for individual health. By providing support groups and therapy groups, healthcare facilities can offer patients a lifeline. When patients feel supported, they will feel more engaged with their healthcare provider. Patient engagement ideas are all about the patient and their needs; this is important for them, so it should be necessary for the healthcare provider.
Family Engagement
As important as patient engagement is, family engagement is equally important. When families are engaged, patients get the right support to keep their care as personalized as possible. Family support is essential for improved patient outcomes. If healthcare facilities can engage their support system as well as the patient, there are better outcomes all round.
Patient Personalization
As with the patient engagement that is given with AC Health, healthcare facilities can engage with their patients and offer better personalization when they get a thorough patient history. This history can help them to provide a better healthcare experience in the future. The smallest thing, such as tailored menus in hospital, can make a big difference to patient experiences. In addition, rehab and/or discharge instructions are personalized for each patient so the plan of care and technology should be personalized as well.
There are many ways for a healthcare facility to engage patients. The more providers pay attention to how customers like to be approached, the better the outcomes will be. Taking time to learn what works well for patients will pay off in the long run. Each facility is different and needs to understand its patient population in order to deliver the best care. Take advantage of personalized care delivery and improving patient engagement by signing up for our patient engagement platform.
