Introduction
Good quality care dictates that treatments, tests, and procedures should be medically appropriate. Moreover, care should be desired by informed patients. Increased patient involvement is an essential element of quality improvement as it is linked to enhanced health outcomes. Patient experience-of-care or patient satisfaction surveys are pertinent to the evaluation of quality from a patient’s perspective. In a scenario where a survey suggests that when patient involvement in decision-making is minimal, i.e., with a score of 60%, it is the responsibility of the quality manager to make necessary adjustments in the hospital’s policies and programs. Overall, improved communication can be achieved by designing information systems that encourage patient involvement (Maulik, Ransom, Nash, & Ransom, 2014).
Main text
For instance, training programs on communication skills can be integrated into the hospital’s program (Maulik et al., 2014). Medical practitioners should be trained on how to engage patients in decision-making. This experience assists them in presenting complete and balanced presentations of diseases and their treatment options to respective patients. Proper intrapersonal skills allow patients to elicit their preferences, thereby feeling involved in treatment decisions.
Moreover, technology that supports the frontline staff can be integrated into the hospital’s system (Maulik et al., 2014). The use of Health Information Technology (IT) in hospitals improves the quality of care by making medical records available electronically. Health IT facilitates the delivery of relevant health information directly to patients in instances where they are required to think about making a clinical decision.
Conclusion
In conclusion, to improve patient involvement, physicians should be encouraged to engage patients in decision-making. This is achieved by physicians learning to recognize patients as experts who possess unique knowledge regarding their health and preferences for treatments and outcomes.
Reference
Maulik, J., Ransom, E., Nash, D., & Ransom, S. (2014). The healthcare quality book: Vision, strategy, and tools. In S. Edgman-Levitan (Ed.), Measuring and improving patient experiences of care (pp. 209-235). Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.