3 Keys to Patient Engagement Success

There are 3 keys to success when developing a patient engagement program:

1. Focus on the patient
2. Invest in qualified health coaches
3. Leverage innovative technology

In my last blog, I covered the first key – focusing on the patient. As noted, the patient should be at the center of every engagement program. Here I’ll focus on the other two keys – investing in qualified health coaches and leveraging innovative technology to enable those coaches to provide compassionate patient support.

2^nd Key to Success: Invest in qualified health coaches

The human touch is what takes a patient engagement program from good to great.

Health coaches — often nurses — create that human touch by providing the support patients need to manage their treatment. They help to build trust and develop the type of relationship that will further the success of the patient engagement program. Often these health coaches have come from a clinical setting, where they are experienced with and passionate about providing excellent patient care.

Hiring qualified health coaches, and training them appropriately, can ensure that the patients in the program receive empathetic, compassionate support. Coaches should be trained to help patients problem solve, use motivational interviewing skills to facilitate patient goal setting, and communicate to patients when and how to speak with their physicians.

In addition to training, the coaches need a platform to seamlessly and simultaneously navigate conversations, while engaging with patients. This is crucial, as it allows for a more natural conversation that is patient-directed rather than scripted, and makes for a more meaningful interaction. The ability of the coach to schedule interactions based on the patient’s needs and desires ensures that the patient’s individual preferences are being met.

Providing the coaches with an innovative technology platform is essential to the success of the engagement program. And this is our next Key to Success.

3rd Key to Success: Leverage innovative technology

An effective technology platform for patient engagement should ensure that coaches have a 360 degree view of all patient interactions in the program and accurately report safety information.  The technology should also support a feedback loop to provide a patient’s healthcare provider with critical information on their patients in a timely and proactive manner.

Finally, the platform should help the coach identify and intake adverse events and product quality complaints. It should also ensure that the cases generated travel through the correct medical review and case processing to be submitted to the appropriate regulatory agency. Seamless integration between systems of engagement and systems of record ensures that regulatory compliance happens without any disruption.

Successful patient engagement programs keep their focus on the patient, are staffed with qualified health coaches and are supported by innovative technology.

C3i Solutions’ patient engagement programs follow this method for success. Our full suite of patient engagement services includes dynamic coaching programs staffed by qualified healthcare professionals. Contact us today.