Successful Patient Empowerment and Meaningful Use Stage 2

Successful Patient Empowerment and Meaningful Use Stage 2 Mar 22 2013

Patient empowerment is quickly becoming an important tool in treating most healthcare concerns. The VA showed the importance in its Coordinated Care Program by: – Reduced hospital stays by up to 20% – Reduced bed days by up to 26% – $1,600 average annual cost for those enrolled in the program versus $13,121 for those not. – 20 to 60% drop in treatments for chronic illness such as COPD and diabetes. The results of this study were surprising and caught the attention of healthcare centers that were riding the fence about whether this type of patient engagement would actually have an impact. The numbers, although surprising, certainly paved the way for more centers to employ the IPC method, with equal success. It’s certainly not a whimsical power-of-suggestion technique since it requires real investment of patient time and active involvement in treatment goal-setting and choice. It seems that the more IPC method is used, the more impressive the numbers get. It’s garnered enough interest to become the mainstay for many healthcare facilities already. The trend is growing every day. It will soon be the new normal in mainstream healthcare practice. The Importance of Patient Focus When a patient is hospitalized, there will be a serious of caretakers roll through and provide the needed services. This showed that the real need was to focus more on the constant, which is the patient. The use of interactive tools, such as the Savance Health Bedside Butler; make educating the patient regarding illness treatment, medication usage and pain management so much simpler. The Savance Health Bedside Butler seems like an entertainment tool at first glance, which it is, but it’s also an avenue of access to the patients care and treatment. When a patient feels like they are included in treatment plans, coordination and options, they fare remarkably better than those that are not included. The old adage “knowledge is power” has never been more evident that the empowerment techniques that IPC technology provides. The successful numbers already show that when a patient is properly informed on what to expect as far as pain, recuperation time and treatment continuation, that there is measured increase in positive outcomes. There are a lot of things that can be debated, but numbers don’t lie. There is a very real cause and effect in the IPC method. Whether a patient has undergone a traumatic, one-time medical emergency, or is dealing with a chronic condition, there is healing power in accurate knowledge. Unless you’ve previously undergone heart surgery, or kidney dialysis, how would you know what to expect? Empowering the patient to take control and ownership of their healing provides some incredible results. Brushing away the mystery of illness reduces fear and worry. Technology Supports Patient Empowerment IPC care is effective in that it can be geared to educate a patient on a chronic illness at their speed and level of understanding. Rather than tossing a lot of information at a patient on discharge day, they can slowly learn the things they need to do and be aware of to manage their condition. It is positive and encourages patients to ask the necessary questions they may not have otherwise. If a patient has had to undergo major surgery, then there will be a few days of bed-rest required before they can leave the facility. During that time the patient can begin watching video tutorials on how to care for themselves once they go home. It can bridge the knowledge gap and ease both stress and worry from the patient and family members alike. This has a definite impact on healing time and successful recovery. It also serves to reduce the stress off the doctors and nurses by not being hit with myriads of questions at the end of the hospital stay, or worrying that they’ll forget to impart very important information to the patient due to time constraints. It quickly becomes a normal routine and are able to have more productive interactions with their patients.