User:Logan Picunko/Patient Education

Overview:

Education may be provided by any healthcare professional who has undertaken appropriate training education, education on patient communication and education is usually included in the healthcare professional's training. However, further training is required to develop specialist skills needed to facilitate self-management and behaviour change. [Patient Education can often be more effective in Patient comprehension that things such as medication guides. ] [Many institutions are calling for courses in educating medical students in Technical Communication to promote Patient Education and the subsequent benefits thereof. ]

Health education is also a tool used by managed care plans, and may include both general preventive education or health promotion and disease or condition specific education. [Some topics proposed in Patient Education courses include Technical and Professional Communication (TPC) and Rhetoric of Health and Medicine (RHM) in order to prepare Health educators to create simples and culturally sensitive avenues of communication. ]

Benefits:

Important elements of patient education are skill building and responsibility: patients need to know when, how, and why they need to make a lifestyle change. Group effort is equally important: each member of the patient's health care team needs to be involved. It can also help the patients by a better lifestyle, it gives them the ability to learn new information.[citation needed]

The value of patient education can be summarized as follows:


 * Improved understanding of medical condition, diagnosis, disease, or disability.
 * Improved understanding of methods and means to manage multiple aspects of medical condition.
 * Improved self-advocacy in deciding to act both independently from medical providers and in interdependence with them.
 * [Improved initiative in voicing concerns over medication delivery, risks, and dosages with a physician. ]
 * [Improve trust between a patient and their provider through effective and clear communication. ]
 * Increased adherence – Effective communication and patient education increases patient motivation to adhere to treatments.
 * Patient outcomes – Patients more likely to respond well to their treatment plan – fewer complications.
 * Informed consent – Patients feel you've provided the information they need to make informed decisions
 * Empowered to make shared decision - Patients understanding of the evidence of benefits and risks of interventions, helps them to truly weigh the trade-offs they are (un)willing to make.
 * Increased health literacy and confidence to navigate the health systems.
 * Utilization – More effective use of medical services – fewer unnecessary phone calls and visits.
 * Satisfaction and referrals – Patients more likely to stay with your practice and refer other patients.
 * Risk Management – Lower risk of malpractice when patients have realistic expectations.
 * Race and health – Target education to help reduce the disproportionate burden on populations at increase risk of mortailty.

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