Category Archives: Patient Engagement

Tips for Patient Engagement

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alexanderrathsThe term “patient engagement” is one that is frequently stated and bantered about. However, what does it really mean? Why is such engagement important? How can patient engagement be fostered and promoted, so it becomes more than a theoretical idea or ideology and something that is real and realized?

According to Dr. Anhalt, an individual who treats pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes and chief medical officer for T1D Exchange, patient engagement is critical. Among other things, it sees patients becoming engaged in their own care, resulting in living healthier lives and experiencing better outcomes. Based on this understanding, Dr. Anhalt discusses tips for successful patient engagement. They include: educating patient and families, encouraging patients to engage in their health outside of a doctor’s office and using all patient interactions as opportunities for learning. To read the full article, click here.

Clinical Trials – To Participate or Not

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Clinical trials are becoming more popular and as such, the demand for participants is increasing. Unfortunately, oft times patients who are being asked to participate or are considering joining are unclear about the nature of the study and what their involvement would entail. This, in turn, makes deciding whether or not to get involved in the study more difficult.

To address this issue, The Center for Information & Study on Clinical Reseach Participation has a number of questions on its website that may be of assistance to individuals contemplating clinical trial involvement. Here are five of the questions they list.
1. What is the main purpose of this study?
2. Does the study involve a placebo or a treatment that is already on the market?
3. How will the treatment be given to me?
4. How long is the study going to last and what will I be asked to do as a participant?
5. What has been learned about the study treatment and are any study results published?

To reading the list, click here. What, if any, questions would you add to this list?

Our Presentation

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Jess and DebAs mentioned in the previous post, Pts4Chg was presenting today at the International Institute for Patient and Family Centred Care (IPFCC) conference in New York City. The presentation entitled, “Bridging the Disconnected: Empowering Advisors for Change Through Social Media,” was well attended and well received, both at the conference and in the Twittersphere. According to participants and presenters, the level of enthusiasm, energy and engagement was high.

Below are just a few of the tweets sent out during the session.

Thank you to everyone who attended the session in person or virtually. Special thanks go to Kirsten, Holly, Shannon and Jamie. Your efforts made live tweeting the event possible. Thanks so much.

You Are Invited…

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Pts4Chg is presenting at the International Institute for Patient and Family Centred Care (IPFCC) conference that is occurring from July 25-27th. As part of the presentation, a Twitter exchange will be taking place. Please consider joining us in the Twittersphere to converse with conference delegates, share ideas and have fun. IPFCC2016

Date: Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Time: 11:15 a.m. EST
Location: In the Twittersphere at ‪#‎Pts4ChgNYC

Helping Oneself and Others

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In an online post, Sheila, a member of the Pts4Chg community, raises an important topic. How does one obtain assistance for oneself or others when it comes to health care? How does one

tactfully get help for yourself or a loved one, or even possibly someone we don’t know who is in the hospital and we see that he/she is not getting the care that the Dr. prescribed, such as meds being missed or denied, patient not being fed, etc. Sadly, only those who have a loved one who comes to visit, will get these issues fixed, but I have seen (too many times) meals delivered to people without a loved one there to feed them, which were just picked up and taken away when the dietitians came back to collect trays, no one to feed those who are the most sick and alone or help them get the care the Dr. prescribed. In my local hospital, those with visitors get the most care because then there are ‘witnesses’ to what did or did not happen. The ones who are alone are in a dangerously negligent position.

Any comments and suggestions relating to this topic are welcome.

Poll: Social Media and Confidence

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Will Any Patient Advisor Do?

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In her blog post, Alies Maybee explores whether patient advisors are interchangeable entities – not unlike a cog in a wheel. Can patient advisors move from role to role and be seamlessly substituted for one another? Are patient advisors swappable? A portion of what she quickly discovers is found below.

As I’ve come to know some of my fellow advisors, I have concluded that in terms of skills, attributes and experience related to the business of advising, we are not all the same.

As advisors, we sometimes assess our involvement and our experience of a group differently. I venture to suggest this is in part because we are different types of advisors. Sometimes it’s like we weren’t all at the same party.

Our healthcare partners don’t often see our experience of involvement in the same way we do. Not only that, I sense they may make an assumption that all advisors experience the involvement in the same way.

My hope is that understanding the different types of advisors will bring a new level of clarity to how we choose to interact and assess those interactions.

Click here to continue reading.

Seeking Your Input on the Nursing Home Legislation

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Open house
Alberta Health is seeking your input on Nursing Home Legislation. Discussion topics will focus on care providers, eligibility, social and leisure activities and meal requirements. Click on the above image for more details.

Patient/Family Partners Wanted

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Are you a Patient Family Partner in Canada? If so, you are invited to join a focus group or interview in person (Vancouver) or via telephone or webinar. To find out more about this exciting opportunity, click on the image below.

Call for Patient Family Partners

Please Note: The deadline to express your interest in participating in this project is May 31, 2016.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words?

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Have you ever found yourself at a medical appointment trying desperately to explain to your physician what and how you are feeling? Unfortunately, no matter how hard you try, nothing you are saying is coming out right and any utterances you make are not conveying the message you want. Rather than struggling to verbalize your thoughts, why not draw them instead? This idea is explored in Damien Pollard’s article Magic Eyes.