Krames StayWell Blog

Set your sights on eye care patient education

  

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Summer is finally here... time for cookouts, family vacations and fun in the sun! It's also the perfect time to think about eye health and safety.

According to a 2009 survey by the American Optometric Association, one in three adults is unaware of the eye health risks of spending too much time in the sun, and only 29% of parents indicated that they make sure children wear sunglasses when exposed to sunlight.

July is UV Safety Month, and August is Children's Eye Health and Safety Month. These national health observances are key reminders about the importance of eye health and safety during the summer months and throughout the year.

Join us in helping spread the word about these issues and educating people on ways they can protect their eyesight. 

The video clip below is taken from a patient education resource that can help in your efforts. It equips parents with the knowledge and skills to identify symptoms of vision performance and encourages professional evaluation.

W1182-W Child's Vision Performance

You can also take advantage of other Krames StayWell patient education products that cover a wide variety of eye care topics including cataracts, retina, conditions, treatments along with general vision problems and correction.

View and share this video clip along with your other education resources to help ensure a healthy and safe summer!

Addressing Fragmentation with Patient Education

  

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Many pundits agree that the root of the problem in our health care system is the fragmentation of services and communication.  The problems of our fragmented health care system include:

• Avoidable readmissions as a result of incomplete or uncoordinated care transitions
• Duplication of medical tests which unnecessarily drives up costs
• Adverse drug reactions due to prescribing without a clear picture of current medications which is a huge safety issue.

In a nutshell, we see fragmentation as a root cause of quality and safety concerns and high costs of healthcare in the US.   Hold a gun to my head (another safety issue) and ask me for a one word to explain why the high cost of care in the US does not correspond to the best outcomes in the developed world, my answer: fragmentation. 

So, in order to address fragmentation, there are a lot of solutions that are on the table.  And they are good ones (conceptually). And they are by no means mutually exclusive.  If fact, some of them are codependent.   Topping the hit parade are:

Health IT– Many refer to this as “foundational.”  It makes sense.  If we put in a solid, interoperable infrastructure that puts complete data at providers’ fingertips, will this not serve to avoid ordering duplicate tests and prescribing medications that will cause adverse interactions?   I’m on board with this.

Accountable Care Organizations – This is a payment reform routed in coordinated care amongst providers.   If the legal requirements are met (no small task) and the entities agree on how to share the savings, would an ACO also work to ensure that quality care is delivered in a coordinated, evidence-based fashion avoiding unnecessary costs.  Theoretically, I have no arguments with this.

Carrots and Sticks – Pay4Performance from what I can see, is basically a carrot – follow guidelines and receive incentives. It’s based on the database of evidence and best practices not necessarily individual outcomes.   The threatened withholding of reimbursements for readmissions within 30 days of discharge for specified conditions is a stick, but a disincentive that may work.   These carrot and stick type programs can also have a positive impact.

I wouldn’t necessarily dismiss any of these approaches.

But, something fundamental to the equation is missing – THE PATIENT.

Sure EMRs may have patient portals and there are requirements for electronic delivery of discharge instructions and suggested patient education resources, but these are provider tools. 

A big gap in the current accountable care proposal is that the patient can opt out of participating.

The carrots and sticks cannot work unless the patient is engaged in their care.   Doing the A1C tests at the prescribed intervals isn’t going to help if the patient doesn’t understand how to manage his diabetes.   Readmissions will not be avoided if a patient does not understand his self-care responsibilities.

The best strategies for combating fragmentation cannot work unless proper attention is given to patient engagement and activation.  This cannot be done without effective patient education; patient education that takes into account a full suite of health literacy design principles; patient education that is understandable and actionable; patient education that improves self-efficacy and drives shared decision making and health self-management.

I would suggest that patient education might prove to be one of the most cost-effective and impactful, foundational strategies, that can be employed to transform our fragmented healthcare system by bringing the KEY stakeholder into the equation.  Because, when you think about it, the patient is the constant, ever present player in the system.   The patient is the glue.  Strengthen the adhesive and we’ll be that much closer to combating fragmentation.

What role do you see Patient Education playing in the healthcare reform debate currently underway?  Please share your thoughts below.