Patients are discharged home sooner and sicker than ever before. Many times with barely an understanding of how to implement there own care. One of our roles as healthcare providers is as patient educator. Its becoming more difficult to find the time required to give effective patient education, let alone following through to ensure compliance. However, studies show that effective patient education reduces hospital stays, decreases stress and improves patient outcomes through better compliance.
Patient education is no longer just patients receiving and following medical advice.
Studies show that patient satisfaction with their education determines in large part how compliant they will be with the treatment plan. Nurses need to tailor education to each patient as an individual, taking into consideration the patient's special needs. One other important factor is their desire for information and what specific types of information they want. In fact, the Joint Commission has recently added assessment of a patient's preferences to education standards. All of these issues have a tremendous impact on compliance.