Patient_Compliance_and_Patient_Education

Running head: PATIENT COMPLIANCE AND PATIENT EDUCATION Patient Compliance and Patient Education Mary Manning Grand Canyon University March 06, 2011 Patient Compliance and Patient Education In the health care field today, there is an increased focus on patient education in order to achieve pertinent patient goals and maintain compliance. The meaning of compliance in the medical realm is when a patient consents to a procedure and the subsequent treatment plan recommended from the physician post procedure. Working in the field of respiratory therapy, it is vital that patient compliance is in place. When respiratory patients or any patient with chronic disease is not compliant they have repeat visits to the emergency room or multiple readmissions to the hospital. Strain in the health care system is impacted when patient are noncompliant, “Nonadherence, which results in increased morbidity, mortality, disability, or increased use of healthcare services, caused decreased productivity through lost work days, and drives up insurance and other health care costs” (Falvo, 2011) (Feldman, 1982; Gerbino, 1993;). With the Patients Bill of Rights was published in 1975, it made health care professionals legally responsible to inform patients about their illness, treatment, and to provide them with education in understandable terms (Falvo, 2011). Attitude and perception are essential when caring for patients. If a health care professional has a negative attitude, comes across in a disrespectful manner or appears uncaring, there is an increase risk that the patient may become noncompliant just based off the negative experience they encountered. It is essential that as professionals, our attitudes are positive and that we are respectful and empathetic to our patients. Another way to define compliance is when an individual takes ownership and adheres to a plan or expectation that is set before them. Unfortunately, compliance among the elderly and other groups can be challenging. Patients with depression are three times more likely to be noncompliant with their treatment (Patient Compliance: The missing link to medication safety). In these incidences, a collaboration of care needs to be established. Collaboration of care can be defined as bringing the patient, family and, other health care professional together to determine a plan to achieve positive outcomes and compliance. Prior to 1950, patient education really did not have any value and was very inconsistent. Health care workers did not have the resources we have today to perform proper assessments to establish a patient’s learning curve. And then there was the general conception among the public that a doctor knew all and could do no harm. At last, in the early 1950’s, the education train got some momentum but not fast enough. It still took almost three decades to get more patients rights in place in regards to their illness and educational needs. As medical science and advanced technology was coming to light, the need for patient education was recognized. Patients today are more knowledgeable when dealing with an illness then patients in the past. With internet access and various medical websites patients have information at their fingertips. Times have changed, and often patients come to an office visit or into the hospital today with substantial more information and questions regarding their treatment plan (Falvo, 2011). Many organizations are keeping health care professionals accountable in providing quality patient education such as; the American Nursing Association and, The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations. These organizations are committed to patient education and we must be too. Hospitals and other medical facilities around the country must be committed to educating their staff with the proper knowledge and skill set so they then can pass that information onto the patient. It would be wrong to teach a patient when you yourself don’t have the knowledge. Three categories being used for education learning are: Cognitive, Psychomotor and Affective. Cognitive is giving the patient the information to enhance their knowledge. Psychomotor encompasses more of the hands on assessment by teaching the skills and having the patient return demonstration. Affective is observing the response from the patient to evaluate if further teaching is recommended. These learning categories work well in the medical field since we educate patients on their illness (cognitive), provide them the skills (psychomotor) to take care of their illness and lastly, make sure they feel comfortable in caring for themselves once discharged (affective). At times patient education involves more then just the patient, it may require bringing in family members or other resources when it involves patient with physical disabilities, mental challenges or language barriers. Using the patient-centered teaching model and collaboration of care from other disciplines is a must here. Every patient is an individual making teaching skills vary to meet set goals. It is imperative that we document the patient education we provided. Most hospitals have a specific education record to document procedures being taught, education provided and patient’s assessments being conducted. I do have experience in the Outpatient setting in which we would give patients pre and post tests to determine knowledge base on their disease. I can happily report that our post score test showed increased in patient knowledge. References: American College of Physician. (n.d.). Patient Compliance: The missing link to medication safety. Patient Compliance. Retrieved February 28, 2011, from http://acponline.org/ptsafety/pat_compliance.htm Falvo, D. R. (2004). Effective patient education: A guide to increased compliance. (3rd ed.). Boston: Jones & Bartlett. Falvo, D. R. (2011). Effective Patient Education: A guide to increased adherence. (4th ed.). Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett. Rothenberg, G. (2003). Diabetes watch: How to facilitate better patent compliance. Podiatry Today, 16(6), 16-18. Retrieved February 28, 2011, from http://www.podiatrytoday.com/article/1612