You know the old saying that Technology and Medical never mix. You can see where that adage came from. Technology is scary with its blinking screens, flashing lights and step by step procedures. Medical is so simple- you talk to the patient, examine their test results and treat. However, more and more, medical practices are becoming high tech. EMRs, billing software, vitals being measured through iPads, new state of the art MRIs, x-rays, etc. are now all part of your daily routine. In your personal life, you cannot live without your smartphone, laptop, tablet, YouTube, Facebook, and more. If you work in healthcare, you are now surrounded. But there is area where you have not caught up-
“How well are you following your treatment plan?” is definitely one of the most frustrating things a provider asks in a given day. It should be asked “How little of the treatment plan did you follow?”. You take the time to help your patient, diagnose their issues and customize a plan for them to get back on the right track, only to have them let you down by either not taking your plan seriously or by blatantly ignoring it. It becomes very frustrating for you because readmissions are a huge mark against you, their extra visits may or may not be covered, and they put a huge drain on the healthcare system in terms of resources. Your staff dreads seeing your patients that don’t adhere to your
Patient Knowledge Deficit is a very important measure used in a standard care plan. It recognizes the patient’s knowledge base on important parts of their treatment including nutritional needs, side effects, and disease prevention and fills in the gaps to help the patient live healthier. Most of the time, patient education is minimized. Usually a patient receives a pamphlet or is told to watch a video. The environment for learning is also tough for the patient, they are nervous, sleep deprived, in pain and distracted. Even if they watch the video or read the pamphlet, they are not absorbing the information. However, there are ways to ensure that your patients receive the education they n
That statistic came from a presentation at 32nd Annual Congress, European Hernia Society, Istanbul, Turkey by Mohammed Uzzaman and his team regarding side effects of hernia surgery. How scary! Patients do not understand the risks associated with their OWN surgery. Patient understanding is a key component in a patient’s health. If they do not understand the risks associated with their behaviors, then they are never going to change. If they do not understand the side effects of their procedures, how will they know if they are progressing properly? The two main issues with the lack of patient understanding are: The delivery of the message The timing of the message Medical professionals in g
