All patients find it difficult to understand medical content. It’s even more difficult when the subject is a surgery or a significant procedure.
Face-to-face clinician-patient communications is overrated – by clinicians. Yes, patients need to meet clinicians face-to-face, but soon after clinicians begin speaking the benefits drop quickly. Patients don’t retain the orally delivered information. For physicians - no matter how well intended - endless repetition will tax everybody.
The correct response is not the “old-saw” of talking or writing at an 8th Grade level.
A single, virtually universal, behavioral change provides the solution:
- Digital Consumption - Just about everybody has a digital device. >80% of people over 65 have mobiles or tablets. Digital content delivery has been embraced and expected. Look around.
- Patients now digest complex content when that information is at their fingertips …or in the palm of their hand. You can’t hit replay on a face-to-face briefing, but you can 24/7 when delivered digitally. And they access and digest it at their own pace.
- Timeliness. Content relevant to the current stage of the patient journey can be delivered.
Clinics really benefit: As clinics are relieved from the flood of pre and post treatment questions, symptom triage, visits, consent forms, etc. they now have time for more procedures and more critical patient care. And less stress.
If this is the direction we should follow, the road has been difficult because HIPPA’s barriers to digital communications effectively block most patients from consistent use. But companies like ours are making it easier …much, much, easier!