The assistance of staff in updating and maintaining chart flow sheets is very important. The entire staff must be familiar with the format of the sheets and how to use them. Over time, flow sheets prove to be useful tools for tracking and auditing the performance and results of preventive care, encouraging increased compliance with preventive care standards and early detection and treatment of preventable conditions. Postcard reminders Postcards or letters can be useful tools for reminding patients to come in for needed preventive care. Such reminders can easily be created by individual organizations, or preprinted cards can be obtained from outside sources.
Computerized systems are capable of generating such mailed prompts.
Patient reminders can greatly increase the rate at which clients return for services. Personal Health Guide and Child Health Guide Patients play a critical role in tracking and prompting their own preventive care. Chart reminders alert clinicians to the specific preventive care needs of individual patients Prevention prescriptions and behavioral change contracts facilitate behavior change by clearly defining the patient's and the clinician's expectations. Health risk appraisals can ensure that clients are questioned about all possible risk factors, increase patient awareness of health risks, and provide the clinician with a second source of information other than the patient interview. However, health risk appraisals should be done in the proper context and with an appropriate amount of time allotted for follow-up counseling to ensure that patients understand the implications of such assessments and the steps to be taken in addressing the various risk factors revealed.