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The Home Care Association of Florida
FEATURE
Achieving Greater Patient Satisfaction
through Evidence-based Health Coaching!
By Melinda H. Huffman, BSN, MSN, CCNS, CHC
A
recently aired TV commercial
shows an adult female with
diabetes using a mobile app
to select the types of foods she
likes, the physical activity she prefers, her
parameters for acceptable glucose readings,
if she prefers to be a part of a support group,
to receive personal one-on-one support, or
to manage her diabetes independently. The
app uses her preferences to generate her
plan. At the end of the commercial, she
says, “I love it, because it’s MY plan!
So often, we as healthcare providers
struggle to find just the right intervention(s)
that will improve patient outcomes and
satisfaction, that will increase our patient
census, and that will reduce costs while
maintaining or improving care quality.
We spend enormous amounts of time
developing new tools or methods to
achieve this end. Why should we expect
the same general approaches of the past to
yield a different result now? We shouldn’t.
We must begin to engage our patients
differently to achieve higher satisfaction
rates, to retain patients who will need
home care services in the future, and to
gain new patients!
For decades now, we have said we provide
patient-centered care. But do we? Maybe
we say this because everything we do
revolves around the patient… But think
about that notion for a moment… What
“we do” revolves “around” the patient.
We’re often so busy with a task-oriented
agenda and documenting the encounter
that we often whirl around the patient
and family telling them, based on our
professional expertise, what the patient
should do… But stop… Where is the patient
in this flurry of activity? Think about the
TV commercial… The individual said, “I
love it, because it’s MY plan…” How do
you think this person would describe her
satisfaction level with the mobile app at
this point?
1.
SKILLED LISTENING:
Providers should do less of the talking, and
more listening.Are you a good listener?Access
NSHC’s free Listening Self-Assessment at this
quick link to find out!
2.
MOTIVATIONAL
INTERVIEWING
Adapted for Brief Clinical Encounters: Guide
the patient to share or explore underlying
concerns by using Open-ended questions/
statements and Empathy.
Open-ended questions (examples):
*Don’t interrogate; but explore.
Example:
a. “Tell me what hinders you from ____ ?”
(e.g.: quitting tobacco/changing your dietary
habits/ taking your medication/other)
b. “What will ____________ do for you?”
c. “How will ____________ affect your
relationships with family/friends?”
d. Describe how you feel about ___?
e. What concerns you the most about ___?
Empathy
Some research shows that healthcare
providers believe they show more empathy
than patients think providers show. To
help achieve a more empathetic approach,
remember that: “We are them!” Think of a
time in your life when you had difficulty with
health behavior change.
Example:
Provider: “I do understand your concern about
this new diagnosis.” OR “A new diagnosis can
be unsettling.”
A TASTE OF EBHC
®
with MI
Three Beginner Tips
for the Home Care Provider
