Why Every Patient Deserves Clear Health Information
Patients can often leave their appointments feeling overwhelmed. There can be a lot of information thrown at them in a short space of time which can leave them feeling lost. Poor health literacy, a lack of understanding surrounding the condition and its treatment – or not trusting healthcare providers – can all contribute to this.
Effective patient education is one of the most powerful tools for improving health outcomes, reducing preventable complications, increasing patient confidence in both the treatment and their healthcare provider.1
What Does Patient Education Really Mean?
Providing patient education means patients can understand their health, make informed decisions, and feel in control of their own care.
This can include:
- Understanding a diagnosis
- Learning about the treatment options
- Knowing how and when to take medications
- Recognising warning signs
- Making healthy lifestyle choices
- Understanding preventative care
Patient education is most successful when it is personalised, easy to understand, accessible, and culturally appropriate for each individual patient.
However, this doesn’t end when the appointment ends. Education should be a continuous conversation for patients throughout their healthcare journey.
Better Knowledge, Better Health
Helping a patient understand their condition can empower them to feel confident in their medical decisions.1 It can make them feel heard and respected, improving trust in their healthcare providers.
Better medical and health education can also help with treatment compliance. When a patient understands the importance of treatment for their condition, including the potential side effects and the risks associated with skipping days, they’re more likely to stick with their plan consistently.
Treatment compliance is easier when a patient has more trust in their doctor. They can feel confident in asking questions; like their concerns will be listened to. This reduces the risk of setbacks or complications, which is even more important for those suffering with chronic conditions.2
Investing in Education for Better Care
However, investing in patient education takes time and resources for it to be effective:
- Some patients may need extended appointments
- New materials may need to be developed
- Following up with supplemental information after an appointment can be time consuming
While this can be challenging to implement initially, the benefits far outweigh the time and resource burden.1 In the long-term, it helps to improve health literacy in patients – leaving them with higher satisfaction in their care, stronger treatment adherence, and as a result, lower hospital admissions.
Making Patient Education More Effective
One of the easiest ways improve health and medical education is by working with the patient to help them understand their condition, the goals of treatment, and how these goals can be reached. While medical writers do not have direct contact with patients, these methods could be useful to consider and include when writing patient support materials intended to be delivered by healthcare professionals.
The ‘teach-back’ method may be useful to make sure you have explained things in a way that the patient can understand.3,4 You cannot tell from looking at a patient whether they have understood what you have told them. However, this is not as simple as asking ‘do you understand?’.
Try asking people to ‘teach back’ what you have discussed and any instructions that were given. It is important to remember that the patient is not being tested! The phrase ‘So I can check I’ve explained things properly, can you tell me in your own words what we have discussed?’ could be useful.3 A similar tool, called ‘show me’ can be used when showing people how to carry out actions, such as where or how to apply cream, or taking an inhaler. This allows them to show you what you demonstrated to check they understood how to do it.3
There are some useful resources available to help you develop the teach-back method in a way that works for you. You can try the AHRQ’s Guide to Improving Patient Safety in Primary Care Settings by Engaging Patients and Families or the Always Use Teach-back! Toolkit.
Have the information accessible in different forms – not everyone processes information the same way. Try offering a mixture of written and verbal information and print and digital content.1 These materials need to be reviewed regularly so they are up to date. If they need updating, try to direct patients to a relevant resource in the meantime.
Continue to reinforce education across all visits, not just the first one. Successful patient education requires a continuous dialogue to keep communication and trust flowing.
One of the most important tips for education is remembering that patients often feel scared and overwhelmed. Empathy goes a long way in these situations. While a healthcare provider may come across this condition regularly, the patient who has just been diagnosed has not.
Bringing Patient Education into Everyday Care
Patient education is an essential part of the healthcare journey – not an optional extra. Patients deserve to have the knowledge and tools to effectively understand their health and feel confident in making informed decisions.
If you’d like support with your patient communications, get in touch to find out more: hello@rubyduke.co.uk.
References
- Bhattad PB and Pacifico L. Cureus. 2022;14(7):e27336.
- Adekunle TA, et al. PEC Innov. 2023;3:100187.
- Health Literacy Place. Teach Back. Available from: https://www.healthliteracyplace.org.uk/toolkit/techniques/teach-back/.
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Use the Teach-Back Method: Tool 5. April 2024. Available from: https://www.ahrq.gov/health-literacy/improve/precautions/tool5.html.
