In more than one-third of the cases, clinical services do not result in patients’ better health or quality of life. As a national priority, ineffective patient care needs curtailing. The healthcare system, specialty clinics, and outpatient programs cannot fulfill this priority without holistic care. Once you engage patients in their own care and partner with their families and communities, it becomes much easier to improve their outcomes.
To improve patient care, we have put together a list of steps they can take right now.
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How To Take Better Care Of Patients
Studies have shown that patient-centered care reduces pain and discomfort, speeds up physical and emotional recovery, and optimizes outcomes. If you work in healthcare and want a more positive patient experience and better health outcomes, follow these principles:
1. Continue Learning
Higher education in nursing can unlock many doors for nurses, including access to information and facilities that improve patient outcomes, especially if one has managed to secure a doctorate. Getting to that level is a lengthy and rigorous process but truly worth it. However, there are two levels of a doctorate in nursing, each focusing on different career goals. So before you decide to enroll in university for your doctorate program, learn which one is best for you.
Take the time to learn about the degrees. If you wish to differentiate between two doctorate degrees properly, read up online on what a Ph.D. (A Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing) is and what is a DNP (A Doctorate of Nursing Practice).
2. Maintain Respect
Like you, your patients’ needs and desires affect the results they obtain. Their experiences vary according to their educational background, financial situation, transportation accessibility, and access to care.
Taking care of patients’ concerns shows them that you see them as human beings with unique needs. Providing this kind of care may also motivate them to follow their treatment plan and respect their health journey.
3. Be Grateful
Ideal care meets the basic needs of an individual. Your goal should be to obtain the preferences and expectations of each patient and their family. If they trust you as a healthcare provider, they will likely remain loyal.
When patients refer family or friends to spread the word about your services, reward them with milestone or holiday treats or gift certificates. Showing appreciation consistently will result in an economic benefit: increased referrals.
4. Ensure Access To Health Care
Factors such as education, social position, income, and living conditions that affect patient care, prevent disease or reduce its effects play a significant role. Nurses can improve patients’ outcomes by addressing these detriments.
5. Engage The Family And Friends Of The Patients
Competent patients and their caregivers can make healthcare decisions with the help of family-centered medical professionals. Patient-centered care focuses on the wide range of situations, events, and circumstances that can create illness or facilitate healing.
Increasingly, doctors are better at communicating patient-centered care as care plans become more collaborative. It is becoming more and more common for providers to implement listening techniques, facilitate choices, foster trust, and ensure compliance — which enables them to utilize their time and energy more effectively. A provider builds trust with the patient’s family by explaining the medications’ potential benefits and side effects.
6. Care Coordination With Other Healthcare Providers
All successful patient-centered care is based on the same core principles, regardless of where it is delivered. By addressing nutrition, physical well-being, housing, travel, and emotional health, medical professionals in primary care, urgent care, long-term care, and specialty care provide comprehensive care.
It makes sense for those who directly affect patient care to collaborate to provide patients and their families with more holistic care. To do so effectively, they need health care communication platforms that enable them to communicate across settings.
7. Support The Emotional Needs Of Others
Even in the most difficult situations, medical professionals provide emotional support to patients to improve their patient experience. The right kind of patient care involves a bit of psychology; it’s about picking up on cues to see how open each patient is to different types of support.
The art and science of taking care of patients are intertwined. In the end, connecting with the patient will enhance your workflow rather than disrupt it. Essentially, you’ll feel appreciated, trusted, and needed. You can build loyalty through your profession while reaping the rewards of your efforts.
8. Provide Patients With The Opportunity To Get Involved In Their Care Plan
Listening to patients and encouraging questions will foster effective communication and put patients’ families at ease. They will appreciate and be willing to collaborate with you when you inform them about their condition and treatment options. Educate them about the types of outcomes they strive for by showing charts and diagrams, referring them to websites and videos, and sharing case studies.
Engage with patients in another way by requesting feedback. Whether through phone surveys or setting up a patient advisory board, listening to their feedback will benefit each care team member.
9. Provide Physical Care For Your Patients
Patients appreciate guidance, reminders, and motivation, whether it’s a pain management or physical activity. It is imperative to keep physical needs and comforts in mind when providing optimal patient care, regardless of the care facility.
Staying active, well-rested, and well-fed may allow them to channel more energy into compliance with their care plan.
Healthcare professionals must provide emotional support to their patients. The physical demands of elderly patients may limit their ability to comply. Thus, personalized care plans are necessary to cater to each patient’s basic physical needs.
In addition to the patient, the family should be involved in care planning.
Related: 7 Benefits to Quitting Drugs and Alcohol
10. Provide Mental Health Support To Your Patients
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, physical trauma and chronic health conditions can lead to depression and anxiety.
These conditions can also result from medication side effects that disrupt brain chemistry.
For example, stress stimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, responsible for mood, digestion, immune system responses, and energy expenditure. Symptoms similar to depression often occur in patients with Parkinson’s disease, thyroid disorders, or side effects of beta-blockers. In addition, antidepressants can also elevate anxiety levels.
If you want to build rapport with your patients, pay attention to warning signs. Until you can consult an expert in mental health, you should provide patient-centered care.
11. Provide High-Quality Patient Care
It is essential to consider all patient touchpoints to improve the user experience. Assure them they receive quick, compassionate treatment along the way and pleasant interactions with healthcare professionals. In today’s healthcare environment, value-based care models rely heavily on patient interactions, culture, and perceptions about the continuum of care.
12. Providing Holistic Care
Outpatient integrative clinics, hospitals, and medical centers provide whole-person care to address dysfunction and pain. Increasingly, conventional medicine is adopting this model to combat chronic pain, obesity, diabetes, and the opioid epidemic.
Chronic condition management and pain management that considers physical, emotional, spiritual, and environmental factors contributing to dysfunction are effective. In treating these common dysfunctions, whole-person care clinics offer many examples of patient-centered care that works.
Conclusion
Through patient-centered care, not only has the well-being of patients improved but professions in all specialties have as well. In the future, emphasizing a more humanistic approach to communication, listening to every patient’s perspective, and acknowledging every patient’s perspective will lead to more effective care for patient populations that have proven difficult to treat. Additionally, it will improve the job satisfaction of your staff.
