By recognizing these things as part of a patient personality, you can be better prepared to give them the best patient experience
Patients want their health care professionals to recognize them as people, and they want more say in wellness plans. But it seems that organizations are lagging behind in the integration of personalized medicine and recognizing the individual patient personality.
According to the 2022 State of the Healthcare Consumer Report from Kaufman Hall, seven out of 10 of the 3,500 health care consumers that were surveyed wanted their health care providers to be more involved in a patient-centric, self-care management system.
Alternative health and self-managed well programs are becoming more important to the health consumer. Nearly half of the surveyed participants want the health care system to support healthy eating, and more than a third of respondents want exercise programs or equipment to be included in their coverage. They also want their providers to get to know them better by recognizing their individual patient personality and providing a way to discuss symptoms and concerns via technology.
Consumer self-care
Consumers are already incorporating self-care into their ongoing wellness plans, despite the lag of health care professionals. A third of those surveyed already wear fitness trackers, and more than a third watch their diets and pay attention to their own nutritional needs. Physical health isn’t the only area consumers pay attention to — 22% of respondents receive some sort of mental health services, and about 18% use self-care activities or practices. Many of these consumers are adopting wellness practices outside of the health care experience.
Incorporating patient personalization into an already firm and traditional health care system that treats the masses is, at best, a challenge. But it is an important step in the health of the public overall to focus on the person and patient personality instead of the industry, and in the end reducing health care costs and providing what the patient perceives as individual care.
How can catering to the patient personality help the chiropractic practice?
Patient personalization can improve your business by ensuring each patient is receiving quality, individualized care. By treating your patients in a focused way, they know they are seen and understood, and are more likely to accept and continue a health maintenance plan that you create for them.
You start with the patient. How can you best communicate with the individual? Perhaps you have an older patient who — shockingly or maybe not — has little to no access to a computer and depends on landline phone messages or a fax machine. Or another client is a hyper-focused businessperson who depends on an assistant to set up appointments. Other clients are anxious to be called if your office has a last-minute cancellation. This information can easily be noted in hard-copy and database files, and you can communicate with each in ways that add a personal touch.
Does one of your patients depend on public transportation to get to the office? Is another client on a fixed income? Each one is living with situations that affect their health and well-being, and by recognizing these things as part of a patient personality, you can be better prepared to give them the best patient experience.
Marketing, emailing and utilizing personal data
Marketing also plays a part in patient personalization. Do you have an industry focus, such as athletics, post-surgery, or geriatric patients? Your marketing plan should reflect the needs your patients have, including lifestyle and behaviors, and segment your communications to meet these needs.
Shifting from a one-size-fits-all mindset to patient personalization is key to staying current and moving to a value-based business model that improves the quality of health care and the reduction of costs. Be proactive — use digital records and data, personalized health care and pain management plans, and patient input. The more trust your client has in you and your practice, the more open the communication and the better the experience — leading to better outcomes, a personalized relationship, and more referrals.
Sources:
https://www.bizzuka.com/patient-personalization-in-value-based-care/
https://www.hucu.ai/how-patient-personalization-is-changing-the-way-of-treatment/
https://patientengagementhit.com/news/poor-personalized-healthcare-limits-healthcare-consumerism
