Patient engagement in aftercare with Ninsaúde Apolo Clinics

Patient engagement with the health clinic was recently called "the hit drug of the century" by the journal Health Affairs and indicates a growing trend that engagement is an essential element in healthcare. An international study in 11 countries showed that patients with higher levels of engagement claimed to have a higher quality of care, fewer medical errors, and higher levels of satisfaction than countries with less engaged patients. And Ninsáude Apolo software for clinics is perfect for improving the engagement of your patients.

Patient engagement shows a situation where the patient and their physicians are active members of the healthcare team. Communicating regularly with their doctors during treatment and care gives patients greater control over their health, and with Ninsaúde Apolo health clinics and offices can not only send satisfaction surveys but as well as tracking the results of each member who participates in the patient journey.

Before we continue, we need to ask: Do you already know our system Ninsaúde Apolo for health clinics? The health software Ninsaúde Apolo has an agile and complete schedule, personalized electronic medical records for each specialty, and with legal validity, teleconsultation, financial control, and much more. Schedule a demo or try the Ninsaúde Apolo clinic's software right now!

Patients education

When patients are regularly communicating with the medical team treating them, they gain more knowledge about their health, and about all possibilities for treatments and outcomes. But it's not just communication that makes engagement effective, although with communication comes greater understanding, comprehension, and pursuit of health-related information.

Considering how complex health treatments can be, communication is extremely important to facilitate patients' understanding of even basic information. Even when patients receive detailed information from their doctors, it can end up overwhelming the patient, or make them feel insecure about the treatment method chosen. In addition, many patients did not have an efficient school education, which makes the process of understanding the instructions given by the health professional even more difficult.

Educating the patient is essential to generate engagement for tasks such as managing health pre- and post-procedures, managing chronic diseases, and increasing patient access to preventive treatments and exams:

Post-procedures - it is necessary to educate the patient about the care he should have during the post-procedure he performed. This makes the patient consciously engage and reduces the problems that the patient may have during the return home and their normal routine, directly impacting hospital readmissions for problems caused during this recovery period.
Pre-procedures - informs the patient how to properly prepare before starting a procedure or health treatment, which prevents problems during its execution.
Chronic diseases - here, the well-informed and engaged patient can identify the worsening of symptoms and then communicate them to his health professional, as well as being able to manage himself for better results.

Informing and educating the patient about their health condition is essential to keep them engaged, as these patients obtain better results.

Patient autonomy, self-care, and self-determination

With engagement, the patient also becomes more self-reliant and more determined to follow through with possible treatments. In part, this occurs because, with a more engaged patient, there is a greater tendency to have a partnership between the patient and the health professionals who care for him, which results in better-informed decision-making by the patient, bringing better results. This makes patients become active participants in the decision-making process, taking into account not only the treatments but also their wishes, values, and clinical information.

To increase engagement is also to increase the patient's self-determination, or the ability to make choices regarding their health without being hasty or compulsive, choosing healthier behavior changes. With patients more informed about health issues, this naturally brings benefits to their overall health. When patients understand the rationale behind treatment plans and receive feedback on the progress they are making, feel more motivated to follow the treatment plan more correctly. And they become responsible together with the team of health professionals, which helps to make healthier decisions daily.

Freepik

Highly engaged patients are more likely to:

Maintain health treatment plans correctly;
Monitor their health;
And frequently asked questions to your healthcare professionals.

This behavior helps to prevent the already sick patient from becoming even more debilitated and worsening their condition, thus causing them to spend more resources and have to perform more invasive procedures.

Access to medical records

One of the ways to help patient engagement is to give them access to their chart. This can be done in a portal to the patient, or simpler ways, simply sending it to the patient. Remember that a medical record consists of test results, health care professional notes, medical history, and immunization history, as well as hospital discharge summaries.

Research shows that when patients have access to their medical records, he feels more encouraged to stay healthy and actively take care of their health. Access to medical records, either through portals or through simple sharing by the physician, helps to share all the steps of the treatment with the patient, and it is also possible to use this contact with the patient to disseminate educational materials. With Ninsaúde Apolo for medical clinics, doctors can even create digital campaigns by email, sending information to their patients.

This regular communication and engagement also helps healthcare professionals better care for and monitor their patients, since it facilitates the change of medications and dosages if necessary in an almost immediate way, without making the patient have to wait for the next appointment to make these changes. It also helps the doctor give encouragement, reminders, and other forms of support to their patient, ensuring they are comfortable in the period between visits. This increased communication between patient and health professional, also makes the patient feel more valued and as a result, there is an increase in patient loyalty.

Ninsaúde Apolo has several tools to monitor and retain its patients, such as:

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