Facts about Patient Education
shared by anthonycasimano112 on Aug 31
11
views
0
faves
0
comments
Patients and health consumers nowadays fall into two extremes. There’s the information junkie, armed with a bunch of articles and studies found online, not to mention the well-meaning advice they ge...
t from friends and relatives about their medical condition. But who’s to say if the self-diagnosis they did online was correct? Was the source of their information even reliable? Then there’s the little informed, possibly, devil-may-care patient with zero information —and possibly zero interest —about his health and medical records. Until something happens, that is. Despite the difference between patients, it’s clear that patient education should be viewed as an important part of providing quality health care. After all, there’s more to patient education than understanding the prescription, or cause of an illness.
1. Prevention is better than Cure
Educating patients can help them manage diseases, or prevent them from occurring in the first place. For instance, by informing a rather unhealthy family about the drastic repercussions of processed and sugary foods, you can help save them from obesity. Inform them how difficult it is to live obese, and the host of medical problems they’ll have to deal with once there. Many patients report that they would’ve tried harder to maintain a healthy weight, if they were fully aware its unwanted effects.
2. Increase Compliance with Doctor’s Orders and Avoid Complications
What happens if a patient doesn’t follow their prescription? For the common cold, they’re just not going to get better anytime soon. But what if a patient has a chronic condition that requires rigid maintenance, such as hypertension or diabetes?Patients with illnesses requiring multiple medications, lifestyle modifications, and constant monitoring (i.e. blood pressure, glucose level), need more help on the education front.In most cases, it’s not enough to explain all this verbally. The healthcare provider will need to provide educational aids, such as pamphlets and online resources, to ensure compliance and help them accept the diagnosis.
3. Educated Patients Leads to Better Treatment Results and More Savings
Researchers from Ohio found that one to two physical therapy sessions before a total hip or knee replacement reduced the need for postoperative care by 29%after reviewing 4,733 Medicare cases.Of course, people assumed that the cause for improvement is the physical therapy sessions. But two sessions isn’t enough to trigger that much improvement. The reason for the development was that the physical therapy sessions helped surgery patients understand the procedure and recovery process before going under the knife. The therapy sessions helped them feel in control of the situation, instead of feeling scared and vulnerable.
4. Increase Patient Satisfaction and Reduce Re-admission
A Gallup study showed the relation between patient preparedness before a surgery and patient satisfaction with the results. When a patient ‘strongly agreed’ about knowing what to expect after surgery, 72% are more likely to be satisfied with the surgery results.The study also shows that reports of problems or complications following an operation dropped to 8% if the patient knew what to expect.
Patient education is not just information-sharing, and websites are not a panacea. Physicians are not alone in educating patients, and should provide leadership in this area of practice.
Source
http://www.f...ewapp.com/Category
HealthGet a Quote