5 ways to make patient empowerment a priority in your medical practice

Jul 11

When Elise Sweeney Anthony, executive director of policy at the Office of the National Coordinator was diagnosed with breast cancer, she immediately felt empowered by being able to access biopsy results through her patient portal before speaking with her doctor. “This gave me the time to take it all in and do some research on the type of cancer I appeared to have,” she wrote in a HealthIT.gov blog post last year.

edgeMED | ways to make patient empowerment a priority in your medical practice

Patient empowerment. It’s about helping people gain greater control over decisions and actions that affect their health. There are many benefits of patient empowerment. For instance, empowered patients are more involved in their own healthcare. They’re proactive and ready to ask questions about their care. They’re confident in their ability to manage their conditions. They often have better outcomes as well. Finally, patient empowerment may improve the overall patient experience. This can help with patient attraction and retention.

Not sure how to empower patients? Consider the following five strategies to improve patient empowerment in healthcare:

1. Assess for health literacy.
Health literacy refers to the degree to which people can obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services so they can make appropriate health decisions. For example, if a patient doesn’t understand why medication is needed, they may not take it. If they don’t know why they have an appointment with a specialist, they may not go to the appointment. There are plenty of resources available to help medical practices understand each patient’s health literacy so they can better explain medical conditions, medications, and more.

2. Inquire about digital literacy.
Digital literacy refers to the ability to find, evaluate, use, share, and create content using information technology and the Internet. As medical information increasingly becomes electronic, being able to access and use that information is critical. This includes being able to access health records through a portal, collecting biometric and other health data electronically via apps and wearables, being able to engage in telehealth appointments, and more. In addition, digital literacy enables patients to connect with other patients online whether it be through online forums, social media groups or other avenues. Being part of a community is an important step on the journey toward patient empowerment in healthcare.

Assessing for digital literacy means asking patients how comfortable they are using technology to manage their health and providing education when necessary. For example, it might mean asking a medical assistant to demonstrate how to log onto the portal or connect to a telehealth visit. Improving patients’ digital literacy means practices can also better leverage personalized technologies like symptom checkers and wellness apps.

3. Promote patient education.
When thinking about how to empower patients, consider partnering with a vendor that provides patient-centered resources, such as access through the EHR portal to health information provided by Medline, the U.S. National Library of Medicine® premier bibliographic database. Armed with this information, patients can answer medical questions, research medications and diagnoses, and learn about ways to improve their overall health and wellness.

4. Leverage the ‘open notes’ mandate.
The OpenNotes initiative began in 2010 as a year-long demonstration project. Now, as of April 5, 2021, providers must give patients immediate access to their heath data free of charge. This includes consultation notes, discharge summary notes, history and physical, imaging narratives, lab report narratives, pathology report narratives, procedure notes, and progress notes. It’s all thanks to the Final Interoperability Rule released by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. The rule, which is part of the 21st Century Cures Act, prohibits information blocking, including blocking access to patient data. Practices that embrace the mandate and encourage patients to review their information, ask questions, and become more active in their care will undoubtedly improve patient empowerment.

5. Embrace shared decision making.
Shared decision making occurs when a clinician provides current, evidence-based information about treatment options, including risks and benefits, and patients express their preferences and values. It’s a collaborative approach that empowers patients to ultimately pursue what feels right for them. For example, it might be a decision to have surgery, take a certain medication, or undergo a screening test. It promotes information sharing so doctors and patients can learn from one another. When patients are more involved in their care, and feel as though their voice is heard, they often experience better outcomes. When thinking about how to empower patients, shared medical decision making should be at the top of the list.

Conclusion
Patient empowerment is a journey — not a destination, and it’s important to find the right vendor that can support you during this process. Patient empowerment is also a non-linear process, and patients’ needs may change over time. However, the benefits of patient empowerment remain consistent over time. Medical practices that embrace patient empowerment as a priority and approach it with curiosity and a willingness to help patients succeed will be most prosperous in the long run. Learn how edgeMED can help.