The evolving transition towards a value-based approach to healthcare will largely involve what happens with patients after they leave the hospital or doctor’s office.
Is their care out of the clinician’s hands once a patient steps into their own home? Research is expounding a detailed and tactical argument that clinicians can be empowering patients, preventing rehospitalization, reinforcing treatment plans, and even saving their institution money by taking a handful of critical steps:
Recognize Health Illiteracy
As a 2008 study revealed, “limited health literacy is a hidden epidemic” and can severely affect poor health outcomes and at-home care. Surprisingly, close to 14% of U.S. adults cannot read, and 21% read below a 5th grade level. Some patients who have trouble reading may often acknowledge medical discharge or home care instructions but not truly understand what they say or what should be done. In addition, any printed literature about medicine regimens, side effects, appointment reminders, health education, even informed consent forms may also not be able to be read. Limited health literacy places both a financial burden on hospitals as well as a financial and health burden on patients.
The report recommends that clinicians should avoid medical jargon which can confuse members of the non-medical community, as well as encourage questions and offer printed instructions in short, bulleted and easier to read formats. Superfluous information should be avoided and clinicians should focus on what patients should do and even use analogies as necessary to better get their point across. Regular and varied communication is important as a patient with limited literacy may not offer up their struggles with understanding treatment materials.
Make Sure Medicines Are Taken Correctly
When it comes to the topic of medicine adherence, the numbers speak for themselves. According to a 2011 report, “Among patients with chronic illness, approximately 50% do not take medications as prescribed.” 50%! Why? Myriad factors funnel into this shocking revelation, including more and more complicated medical regimens which patients have to navigate, more and more drugs with similar sounding names and appearances, as well as family caregivers not being fully trained or communicated with to support their loved one’s regular and correct use of medicine.
The World Health Organization agrees with many clinicians and experts that increased medicine adherence could not only positively impact patient health and morbidity rates, but that is the responsibility of both the patient and their prescribing doctor. Medicine-taking behavior can be a complex process, so the report recommends clinicians aim for lower dosage frequency when possible, involving the patient in a better understanding of their disease and treatment plan, more readily explaining benefits and adverse effects of medicine, and integrating a family care support network into the conversation.
Recommend Avenues for Self-Monitoring
Empowering patients to take control of their health at home might be as simple as equipping them with the tools and know-how to monitor their own vitals, symptoms, and treatment. For example, educating a hypertensive patient about normal blood pressure range by age and recommending they get a digital blood pressure monitor for home use can give them the impetus to start logging daily BP readings, acknowledging abnormalities, and contacting your office with their concerns before a problem gets out of hand.
Training a patient with recurrent pneumonia (and their caregiver) to monitor O2 levels at home with a simple pulse Oximeter as well as temperature and respiration can give them quick and easy insight into potentially dangerous developments of an infection. Imagine if such a patient could call your office with semi-concerning vitals and ask for a mobile x-ray to be taken which you could read and prescribe medicine as needed. Not only has your patient stayed out of the hospital, but you have empowered them to take control of their health, they have avoided stressful urgent care lines and expensive E.R. bills, and you have helped them prevent a worsening of their conditioning.
Connect Caregivers with Resources
Interdisciplinary programs for family caregivers can play an important role in reinforcing proper home care techniques, strategies, and treatment, as well as in continuing the education and training for hospital staff to gain more insight into caregiving needs. A 2003 report detailing the success of 7 innovative hospital-based caregiver programs in the NYC area between 1998 and 2002 revealed that taking key steps to partnering and empowering caregivers had the potential to reshape the healthcare system and boost patient health.
By positioning family caregivers as an integral part and critical advisor to a patient’s wellbeing, as well as generating institutional support from the hospital and continuing ongoing staff education to provide more frontline support for patients and their caregivers, the grant-funded programs found great success. Naturally, resources are thin for many hospitals looking to institute targeted caregiver programs, and these programs typically will not fall into a blanketed revenue cycle; grant-funding is a must, but such programs could potentially help lower rehospitalization rates and Medicare penalties.
A common thread to these crucial ways clinicians can be benefitting patients and their caregivers once they have ‘left the office,’ is indeed time and money. Doctors taking more time to interview patients and communicate treatment plans and medicine regimens. Hospitals finding more funding for caregiver programs and updated discharge processes. Weaving together value-based care with modernized, digital solutions may be the answer to finding a strong investment towards post-treatment care that pays off in time and money savings down the line.
Author Bio:
Nathan Bradshaw is an expert marketer who specializes in promoting and growing physician practices. He currently works with UrgentWay to help improve their online footprint and garner interest in their Urgent Care, Occupational Health and Health Services. You can contact at nathan.bradshaw@curemd.com.
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