There was a time when health providers were an extension of one’s family. They knew each patient by name and it was a point of pride to take an interest in their patients’ lives. They did this not because they had nothing better to do, but because they genuinely believed that healing was a combination of the right medicine and care.

A lot has changed.

Patients have become more demanding. They want to have your full attention and  are likely to complain about how technology is hindering the patient provider relationship. Yet if you go the conventional way, with no computers tying you down, the very same patients will be doubtful if they are getting the best of care.

Let’s face it, technology, as much as we would like to complain about it, reassures our patients that they are getting the best and latest care our industry has to offer.

Its common sense that a generation who grew up with IT surrounding them in every sphere of life, would expect the same omnipresent IT to assist and improve something as important as their health.

Thus, let’s not blame the government for changing the way medicine is practiced. The change was inevitable, all the government did was to wake us up and nudge us in the right direction

It’s now up to the practitioners to either resent the change or to accept it, and use it to create an enabling environment for a better patient- provider relationship. To that end, here is a simple thought:

Give your patient what they want

A satisfied patient is a happy patient, and for some reason they recover better.

Back in the day people wanted personalized attention, now they want personal attention combined with the latest technology. All you need to do is to strike a balance between both.

How can you do it?

Following are some suggestions which may seem familiar, but are worth revisiting nevertheless.

Supplement technology with humans

Let scribes do the administrative work, while you can lend both your ears to your patients. This creates a perfect balance of increased engagement and excessive capturing of required details. If you still feel that presence of a third person makes your patient uncomfortable, substitute the third person with direct reporting transcription services (DRT). Simply record and send the encounter to the service, and have it sent back to you, typed and entered in your EHR. Doable right?

Collaborate as a team

Working as a team is important. A patient goes through various touch points before he or she finally sees a physician. Although these touch points may seem trivial, they are of the utmost importance. They make patients realize that they are cared for and they are important.

Support staff needs to ensure that the patient is comfortable and his questions are taken care off. Physician assistants can help too. They can help ensure that the patients have everything they may need after a procedure etc. Successful transition can only be made possible when everybody collaborates as a team.

Include Patients in the process

Something which can help in cultivating good rapport with your patients is to include them in the process. For example, let them look at the computer screen when you are entering data and tell them how this will be beneficial for their optimum care.

Show them the graphs, the charts and the trends to make it more interactive. As they say, a picture speaks louder than words, patients show more interest when you show them a graph of how their blood pressure has fluctuated over time, or how they’ve lost weight over several years. Such little gestures help them understand that it’s for their betterment and are a good formula for enhancing patient engagement.

Highlight during discussions, how EHR can help revolutionize patient care., Tell them what’s in it for them rather than whining about how to deal with it. That’s how they’ll eventually know that it’s a mundane thing and not a distraction to worry about.

Leverage Patient portals

Patient portals can help create a virtual interaction session for providers. Interaction becomes easy with these portals as you can send educational materials beneficial to the patient, and it shows that you’re willing to go the extra mile when it comes to their care. Moreover, patients can easily access their labs and schedule appointments. Overall it’s a helpful way to supplement personal support. So don’t waste your time and get your patient portal online.

Use verbal and non-verbal communication

Language, if used correctly can be a powerful tool. Starting the encounter with brief introductions, asking about their family, their day, perhaps what they like to do in their free time, can really help engage patients. It doesn’t take long to make your patient comfortable before you worry them with trickier details about their condition.

Know when to stop looking at the screen and look at your patients, maintain eye contact, after all eyes are windows to the soul.

Use ‘teach back’ strategies. Ask your patients to explain everything back to you in their own words, to ensure that they fully understand their instructions, and to reinforce everything. As the saying goes “The problem with communication is the illusion that is has occurred”.