On June 9, PatientEngagementHIT reported that providers should identify barriers keeping their patients from achieving their wellness goals and work collaboratively with them to overcome these obstacles. Understanding what makes a patient willing to respond to interventions and what may be preventing them from improving their health is at the root of successful chronic disease management.
“Patients who are not following their treatment plan oftentimes get labeled as non-compliant,” said Lisa Roome-Rago, Director of Enterprise Outpatient Care Management at Advocate Health Care. “Our job is to better understand that.”
Patients who are unable to stick to their care management plans may not be the stubborn contrarians they are sometimes labeled as, but may have other mitigating factors that cause their non-compliance. “People don’t wake up in the morning and think ‘I’m not going to follow what my doctor told me to do today,’” Roome-Rago said. Methods physicians can use to help patients be more compliant with their health care plan include:
- Keep a list of generic medications and where patients can get them. Rising drug prices can contribute to patients not taking medications simply because they may not be able to afford them.
- Integrate health information technology into the care plan of patients who are willing to use it. “Technology connects patients to their disease processes,” Roome-Rago said.
- Create a strong relationship with patients to create better engagement. A personal relationship on an individual level can be critical in improving a patient’s health
The ultimate goal is ensuring the right care for each individual every time. As the chronic disease management patient population continues to grow, healthcare organizations will need to develop a stronger action plan to serve these patients in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible.
“Patients don’t usually tell you about the barriers they are facing in following their treatment plans due to embarrassment; providers need to ask questions and routinely provide resources, helping to make quality care obtainable by everyone, stated Dee Kaser, Great Plains QIN Quality Improvement Advisor and Certified Diabetes Educator.