Krames StayWell Blog

3 Reasons Patient Education Should be Part of Your Satisfaction Strategy

  

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With CMS announcing that up to 30% of Medicare Reimbursements can be tied to patient experience as reflected in HCAHPS scores beginning in October 2012, there is increased focus on efforts to ensure high satisfaction scores.    Yes, a lot goes into the patient experience that will impact satisfaction scores.  However, there is a really great place to start – and that is providing good patient education materials**.  Here are 3 Reasons Why:

1. It’s Easy:  I know, “nothing is easy.”  While effort and distinct skills are necessary for  effective patient education encounters, simply providing patient-centric education materials is a great place to start.  When the initial HCAHPS results were released, quality of discharge instructions was one of 2 areas where hospitals routinely received lower scores.   And,   if you want to implement excellent patient education practices, a great place to start the process is by using superior patient education materials.   Just think about it.  If you were to change nothing in your practice EXCEPT for providing clear, easily understandable patient education, doesn’t it make sense those materials in and of themselves would lend themselves to improved satisfaction scores.   We are in the information age  with people managing their  travel, finances, and in some cases healthcare online.  One of my key business providers is totally self-service.  Provide people the information they need that is accessible to them, and you will be making them happy.    Again, education materials are not the be-all, end-all.  As a big proponent of shared decision making , I understand the limitations of relying on decision aids alone.   The people and the process are of the ultimate importance to providing maximum impact with patient education.   It requires hard work, skill-building and it takes time.  And it should be done.   But, to get the ball rolling to and see some initial small victories, begin by using good patient education materials.  It’s easy.
2. It’s Cheap (relatively):  When you consider the expense involved in implementing  an EHR and improving both IT infrastucture and the physical plant to meet evolving patient/consumer experience expectations, the costs associated with patient education materials is miniscule.  It’s less than a rounding error – regardless of whether your patient education materials are text based, video, interactive and/or mobile.    Yet, when you choose quality content – available in all formats/delivery modalities – you can have positive impact not only in outcomes but in satisfaction.   The electronic discharge instructions and patient specific education requirements of meaningful use may actually mean the costs associated with the content will be reimibursed.   However, I would challenge you to consider the costs against the potential benefits and look beyond simply checking a box but toward providing the tools that will elevate quality of care which, you will find, will improve satisfaction scores as well.
3. It Works:   This is the only reason you need.    Fortunately, there is research that proves the point.   One such published study utilized our content . Here is a link to the study that was published in the Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing.    In the study, providing diagnosis-specific education materials improved satisfaction scores in 8 of 9 measures.   The article also sites many published articles that were part of a literature review that also shows the positive impact of patient education materials on satisfaction scores.

A Must See Video for Health Literacy Month

  

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A colleague recently shared this video with me.  Kudos to the American College of Physicians Foundation who produced this video - a must see as far as I'm concerned - that briefly and clearly illustrates the health literacy challenges that ALL OF US face.  This is well worth the 6:26 of your time.

Please share . . . this is important.

And Happy Health Literacy Month -  may it extend throughout the years.

A week-by-week patient education guide for American Diabetes Month

  

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With a full month and a wide array of important topics, it can be challenging to plan for American Diabetes Month. To help decide where and when to direct your patient education focus, the American Diabetes Association has developed a 2011 fact sheet. This convenient reference outlines specific goals and themes for each week designed to stop diabetes every day.

Take action and utilize patient education to enhance your programs and raise awareness efforts in each of these areas:

Week 1: Fighting for the Future – Giving a voice to those denied their rights because of diabetes and fighting for diabetes funding.

The keys to meeting these objectives are helping people understand how diabetes can be managed and the warning of the dangers of long-term complications. Products such as Living Well with Diabetes: A Self-Care Workbook, Living Well with Diabetes FastGuides® brochure, Pre-Diabetes DVD and Long-Term Complications of Diabetes offer this content in a variety of formats.

Week 2: Impacting Communities – Building relationships around the country to empower people to take control of their health.

Empowerment is what Krames patient education is all about. Engage people in their care with patient-centered education that provides actionable, accessible information to help manage their condition, at any particular point along the continuum of care. Titles such as Type 1 Diabetes booklet and DVD, Type 2 Diabetes booklet and DVD, Diabetes in Children and Teens DVD, Diabetes and Foot Care booklet and Foot Care for People with Diabetes DVD provide guidance and understanding to help make informed decisions for a better outcome.

Week 3: Celebrating Health – Recognizing courageous people who have overcome the obstacles of living with diabetes and the places that have helped them.

Patient education is the perfect complement to an inspiring story. Resources such as Eating Well with Diabetes, Meal Planning with Diabetes and Get Walking give motivated people the easy-to-understand how-to advice they need to continually overcome the specific diabetes challenges they face every day.

Weeks 4 & 5: Commitment to a Cure – Spotlighting the important research taking place that will lead us toward an eventual cure.

Often times, research on new treatments starts with the current standards of care. And until a cure is found, managing the disease is vital to keeping patients healthy. That’s why Controlling Diabetes and Heart Disease and Blood Sugar Testing DVD are valuable educational resources for this last stage of American Diabetes Month.

Krames StayWell offers a large selection of diabetes patient education in multiple formats, from booklets and brochures to videos on DVD, and even a unique multimedia online workbook that combines text, audio, video and animations. To view the entire Krames StayWell Diabetes line, visit www.krames.com.

Are you planning an event around any of these weeks? Or getting involved in another way? I’d love to hear from you.