Patient empowerment is essential to keep patients engaged throughout their care journey. Hospitals in the US are offering tools and programs that boost patient engagement. The various patient engagement tools can help care teams deliver high-quality patient care and even enhance patient outcome levels. The right patient engagement solutions can lay the concrete foundation for lasting partnerships and healthier patient populations.

Benefits of patient engagement

Advancing healthcare technology has made it possible for providers to engage with their patients and boost patient satisfaction scores. The personalized approach of connecting with patients leads to positive patient engagement which reaps the following benefits,

  • Empowered patients can make good health decisions in their lives. Positive patient engagement strategies make patients have a better comprehension of their conditions and engaged patients are more likely to self-manage their symptoms.
  • When patients are highly engaged this improves health outcome levels which is the ultimate goal of healthcare.
  • Engaged patients leave the practice satisfied and, hence, write a positive review that reinforces the provider’s reputation. Patients read online reviews before visiting a practitioner; if they see positive reviews, they will book that doctor for their treatment and care.
  • Effective patient engagement tools like telemedicine software sessions and remote patient monitoring can reduce costs.

5 patient engagement solutions every care team needs

  1. Virtual visits – Telemedicine EMR Software solutions connect the provider and patient via video sessions. Patients can seamlessly interact with all types of specialists from the comfort of their homes. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic stressed the importance of telemedicine software as it has been a critical tool to offer care remotely and safely. Virtual visits have increased patient access to clinicians and improved patient satisfaction for millions of patients.
  2. Online scheduling – According to a  Patient Pop survey, 68% of patients are more prone to choose a healthcare provider that offers the convenience of online booking and even changing appointments online. Many hospitals have leveraged patient scheduling EMR software to give choices to patients to select the scheduling method that works for them. An online scheduling facility is powerful enough to help clinic staff increase patient satisfaction even before the patient visit.
  3. Appointment reminders – The appointment reminder alerts feature of an appointment reminder software helps to combat the issue of patient no-shows and also opens up space in a schedule.
  4. Patient Portal EHR Software – Patient portal platforms have been utilized by hospitals to keep patients engaged and empowered along their healthcare journey. Through a patient portal EMR system, patients can send messages to their providers, check lab results, view health records, make payments, and complete online intake forms. Patients feel in control when they can easily use the platform to do tasks related to their health.
  5. Remote patient monitoring – RPM helps manage chronic conditions via patient engagement tools that patients can use in their homes and work. Remote patient monitoring tools include BP cuffs, oximeters, glucose meters, and heart rate monitors.

The right patient engagement tools and solutions can help clinicians streamline the care delivery process and keep patients satisfied.