Introduction
Stakeholders on both sides of the divide continue to have concerns about the efficacy of the healthcare sector.
On the one hand, doctors and healthcare providers express fears that an inadequate healthcare experience may lead to negative outcomes, ranging from poor patient satisfaction to a misunderstanding of healthcare treatments and low patient engagement. 2022 data from the Physicians Foundation indicates that most doctors don’t have enough time to get to the crux of the matter with their patients, including the social determinants of health, and health-related social needs. Other providers have complained of an inability to engage in shared decision-making with their patients, as they simply don’t have enough time.
At the patient end of the spectrum, consumers complain of feeling marginalized or alienated, in their dealings with healthcare professionals. A 2022 report from Ipsos and The Beryl Institute reveals that six in ten patients wish to know that their healthcare needs are being taken seriously, while 52% have said that it’s important to be treated with dignity and respect. Around half (46%) emphasized that they wish to be treated as human beings, rather than a set of symptoms or a diagnosis.
Clearly, there’s a communications gap between patients and healthcare providers, which compounds the operational difficulties that healthcare professionals and institutions also need to contend with.
Why Effective Communication is Essential to Good Healthcare
If patients lack the information and resources they need to understand their illness or condition, they will naturally feel a disconnect to their healthcare. A major contributing factor to this is a lack of engagement between the patient and their healthcare providers. If patient disengagement is sufficiently severe, this can lead to negative consequences such as delayed care, and a failure to receive the medications, treatment, and resources they need.
With an effective and omnichannel communications strategy, healthcare providers can address these issues, and increase their levels of patient engagement. In fact, patient engagement needs to be a top priority for any healthcare provider.
Patients who achieve a high level of engagement with their healthcare providers are more likely to understand their own physical or mental condition, proactively seek healthcare, and follow the recommendations that healthcare professionals give them for improving their health and overall state of well-being.
With easy connections and contact with their providers, and with the proper encouragement and advice from healthcare professionals, patients can become more actively engaged with their treatment and therapy.
Given access to the information and resources they need, patients become active participants in their own healthcare. They will be better equipped to manage their conditions without daily care or the need for lengthy hospitalization, and know the professionals or institutions they’ll need to connect with when they require assistance. As active participants, patients will ultimately enjoy better health outcomes, and a lower cost of healthcare.
An omnichannel messaging and business communications platform like IDT Express can provide healthcare stakeholders with the resources and tools they need to achieve this ideal state. IDT Express Omnichannel ensures seamless messaging across diverse channels, and empowers healthcare professionals and institutions to keep their patients informed with general and specific information that matters. With IDT express, patients can easily receive real-time notifications and alerts on their preferred channels of communication, to ensure that they never miss important dates, appointments, and updates.
Best Practices for Healthcare Communication
Putting the highest priority on communication in healthcare is essential for improving patient engagement, and the overall quality of care. With clear, empathetic, and open communication, healthcare providers can promote engagement and foster trust in their patients, while promoting adherence to treatment plans, and empowering patients to take an active role in their own care.
There are several strategies that you can pursue as a healthcare provider, to make the most of your communications. They include the following:
1. Provide Information and Resources to Increase Patient Health Literacy
We can consider patient health literacy to be the extent to which patients understand and can use the healthcare information and resources available to them.
According to Healthy People 2030, this includes organizational health literacy, which is the level of access that healthcare professionals and institutions provide their patients with information and services they can use to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others. Personal health literacy is the degree to which individuals are able to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions.
The Department of Health and Human Services reckons that only 12% of Americans have sufficiently high health literacy levels.
Healthcare providers can take a more proactive role in boosting levels of patient health literacy – and reducing the tendency for consumers to rely on getting their health and symptom information from Google.
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) defines patient education as “the process of influencing patient behavior and producing the changes in knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to maintain or improve health.” It plays a role in post-operative care, empowering discharged patients to fully recover and avoid rehospitalization. It’s also important in public health, and the self-management of chronic disease conditions.
Patient education and other healthcare messaging materials should ideally be made available at a fifth or eighth-grade reading level, and in multiple languages other than English. Providers can distribute this information in a physical form at the office or healthcare facility, and in an electronic or digital form via their chosen communications platform.
For example, with IDT Omnichannel Messaging, you can use SMS snippets to reach all mobile users instantly, ensuring delivery and engagement. With WhatsApp integration, you can share multimedia content and engage in rich and interactive conversations with your audience on the world’s most popular messaging app. You can also tap into Viber’s extensive user base for vibrant and multimedia-rich communication, or connect with billions of Facebook users through Messenger.
2. Be Clear and Understandable
Avoid medical jargon in your communications, and use clear language that’s easy for patients to comprehend. Using visual aids can help in illustrating more complex issues.
To cater for a diverse patient population, you can employ interpreters or use translation services to guarantee clear understanding between you and the patient. In some cases, you might encourage patients to bring a trusted interpreter to their appointments.
Ideally, you should personalize your communication style to meet the specific needs of each patient. Take into account the cultural background of each patient, along with their level of health literacy.
Your omnichannel messaging platform can assist you in effective patient outreach. For example, IDT Express Omnichannel offers reliable coverage across the globe, in language-appropriate forms ensuring that your messages reach your audience, no matter where they are.
3. Use Technology to Improve Your Outreach
With the proper technology and communications solutions in place, you can improve patient access to healthcare services, facilitate remote consultations, and enable quick and convenient communication with your healthcare team.
For example, you can use telemedicine platforms to offer your patients virtual consultations with healthcare providers. This saves time, reduces costs, and reduces the need for in-person visits. Telehealth platforms often include specialist features for secure messaging, appointment scheduling, and prescription refills. Providers can also issue dedicated mobile health apps, which patients can use to track their health metrics, set medication reminders, and access educational resources.
A good omnichannel communications platform can also contribute in these efforts. For instance, IDT Express Omnichannel Messaging includes a powerful Application Programming Interface (API) which you can integrate with your existing systems to seamlessly connect with your audience across a multitude of channels.
4. Use Soft Communication Skills
Especially for in-person visits and video communications, you an improve patient engagement through the use of “soft” communication skills, such as active listening, empathy, and non-verbal cues.
Active listening is a rapport building technique that involves fully concentrating, understanding, responding thoughtfully, and remembering what the patient communicates. Healthcare practitioners using active listening should maintain eye contact, nod occasionally, and provide verbal cues to indicate that they’re engaged with what the patient is saying. Asking open-ended questions to prompt fuller responses and paraphrasing what the patient has just said are other aspects of this.
Conveying empathy involves putting yourself in the other person’s position, and demonstrating that you understand what the patient is feeling or experiencing. Non-verbal cues, such as maintaining eye contact, nodding, and displaying open body language can signal attentiveness and compassion, and play a significant role in building trust with the patient.
5. Learn from Feedback and Review
Providing channels for patient feedback empowers patients to express their thoughts, issues, and experiences concerning their healthcare journey. As a healthcare provider, patient feedback can also lend valuable insights into patient satisfaction levels, areas where your services can improve, and the overall quality of care that patients perceive you are providing.
Online surveys (using social media for example), mobile apps, and patient portals can provide effective avenues for gathering feedback. Giving your patients the ability to share their feedback in realtime empowers you to address issues promptly, and enhance the patient experience.
Using IDT Express Omnichannel Messaging, you can enhance patient engagement with intelligent ChatBots. You can automate responses, handle routine queries, provide feedback loops, and create personalized interactions. Alternatively, IDT Express SMS 2-Way Messaging enables you to conduct interactive conversations with your patients.
A Final Recommendation
As we have seen, effective communication builds trust, strengthens the relationships between patient and healthcare provider, and empowers patients to actively participate in their journey towards better health. To implement an effective communications plan, you’ll need an omnichannel platform that can meet all of your needs.
IDT Express Omnichannel Messaging offers you the the convenience of managing 15 different messaging apps all in one place, from a platform that empowers you to expand your reach and make a local impact with extensive global coverage.
To talk to one of our experts today, to see if we are a good fit for you – and to Get $25 Free Test Credit with a Trial Account – visit our sign-up page.
