Over the past decade, the term ‘patient engagement’ has shifted from just a buzzword to a fundamental pillar of effective care.
This shift reflects a broader transformation in healthcare. The relationship between providers and patients is no longer one-sided. Patients are now active participants in their care, expecting more involvement and control over their healthcare experiences. With easy access to information and a more consumer-driven mindset, patients are researching treatment options, asking more questions, and even challenging their provider’s recommendations.
At the same time, providers are realizing that trust and open communication are crucial to keeping patients engaged and satisfied. The days when patients followed doctor’s orders without question are fading, and a more balanced, collaborative relationship is becoming the norm.
The benefits of prioritizing patient engagement are clear. When patients are engaged, they’re more likely to stick to treatment plans, attend appointments, and actively manage their health. This not only leads to better health outcomes but also helps reduce healthcare costs and fosters stronger relationships between patients and providers. In today’s healthcare landscape, fostering this two-way connection is critical for delivering high-quality care and maintaining a sustainable practice.
In the following sections, we'll explore why patient engagement is essential and the significant benefits it brings to patients, providers, and the healthcare system as a whole. We'll also examine how to identify an engaged patient and dive into how modern technology can support and accelerate patient engagement, driving success for both patients and providers alike.
The Role of Patient Engagement in Shaping Modern Healthcare
Healthcare is evolving to become more efficient, affordable, and patient-centered. A key driver behind this transformation is the shift in patient expectations. Today’s patients expect the same level of convenience and flexibility from their healthcare providers that they experience in other areas of life, such as banking and online shopping. If their provider doesn’t offer these conveniences, they won’t hesitate to switch to one who does.
In response, healthcare is slowly adapting. Care is no longer limited to doctor’s offices and hospitals—it’s available in pharmacies, retail clinics, over the phone, and even online. This gives patients more options and control over where and how they receive care, treating healthcare decisions like any other purchase.
Patient engagement plays a critical role in meeting these evolving expectations. Engaged patients experience a more seamless and personalized healthcare journey. They have access to tools that let them book appointments, communicate with providers, and manage their care from anywhere, giving them the convenience and flexibility they expect. Digital engagement tools like patient portals, two-way texting, and virtual appointments allow providers to be more responsive and accessible, making healthcare fit into patients’ busy lives.
Additionally, patient engagement doesn’t just offer convenience—it fosters stronger relationships between patients and providers. When patients feel more involved in their care, they’re more likely to trust their providers, follow treatment plans, and stay proactive about their health. This leads to better health outcomes and reinforces patient loyalty, helping practices retain patients who might otherwise seek more convenient options elsewhere.
Engagement also supports the shift toward value-based care (VBC). In a VBC model, the focus is on improving patient outcomes and reducing costs, rather than the traditional fee-for-service approach. Engaged patients are more likely to attend preventive screenings, manage chronic conditions, and follow medical advice—all of which contribute to the goals of value-based care. This collaboration between patients and providers helps achieve better health outcomes, lower costs, and higher patient satisfaction.
Patient Engagement Benefits for Patients
When patients are engaged in their care, the benefits aren’t just incremental—they can make a lasting difference in health outcomes, overall costs, and the patient experience.
Engaged patients:
- Are healthier and experience better outcomes
- Manage chronic conditions more effectively
- Avoid unhealthy habits
- Are more likely to follow medical advice and stick to treatment plans
- Take a proactive approach to preventive care
- Have fewer hospital admissions and emergency room visits
- Use fewer healthcare resources and incur lower costs over time
Being engaged also means patients are more motivated to follow through on medical advice and stick to treatment plans. By staying connected with their healthcare providers, they’re empowered to make informed decisions about their health, leading to faster recovery times and better long-term health outcomes.
While patient engagement is ultimately the patient’s choice, practices can do a lot to foster it. Education plays a key role—patients won’t automatically know the benefits of staying engaged, so it’s up to providers to communicate that message. This can be done through educational materials, one-on-one conversations, and digital outreach. For some, the motivation might come from wanting to live a healthier life, while for others, the promise of spending less on healthcare may be more persuasive.
For patients facing barriers like social determinants of health (SDoH), practices can help by connecting them with community or government resources.
Patient Engagement Benefits for Providers
Patient engagement doesn’t just benefit the patient—practices also reap significant rewards.
These include:
Standing out in a competitive market
Today, practices are competing with a variety of care options, from retailers to telehealth services. To stand out, practices can strengthen their relationships with patients by offering proactive and personalized care that patients won’t find in nontraditional settings. When patients feel connected and valued, they’re more likely to stay with the practice, return for future care, and recommend it to others.
Increasing patient satisfaction and driving growth
Engaged patients also contribute to practice growth by improving patient satisfaction. Satisfied patients leave positive reviews and are more likely to refer others, which can lead to increased revenue. Additionally, in care models where patient outcomes and reviews influence reimbursement, engaging patients helps ensure that practices achieve higher satisfaction ratings and better outcomes—both of which are crucial for financial success.
Achieving greater efficiency
Another key benefit is the impact on efficiency. Engaged patients are more likely to take proactive steps in managing their care, such as scheduling appointments and following treatment plans. This reduces the administrative back-and-forth and helps minimize no-shows, allowing practices to operate more smoothly. When patients take an active role in their healthcare, staff can focus on higher-priority tasks, improving overall workflow and reducing the burden on the team.
Maximizing Success in Value-Based Care Models
Patient engagement is also crucial for the success of value-based care (VBC), a model that rewards better health outcomes and cost savings over the traditional fee-for-service approach. A proactive, engaged patient is more likely to follow medical advice, seek preventive care, and manage their health—helping both the patient and provider achieve the goals of VBC: healthier patients and lower costs.
Patient Engagement Benefits for Healthcare
Healthcare is facing a workforce crisis, with professionals leaving the field in record numbers. While the problem existed before COVID-19, the pandemic has accelerated it. The American Hospital Association estimates a shortage of 124,000 physicians by 2033, with a need to hire at least 200,000 new registered nurses each year to keep up with demand. This shortage extends across nearly every healthcare role, from certified nursing assistants to lab technicians.
The reasons for this exodus are varied—low pay, unsafe working conditions, lack of work-life balance, and the resulting stress and burnout are driving an estimated 600,000 healthcare professionals to leave the field as of May 2023.
These workforce challenges are directly impacting healthcare’s financial stability. Rising costs are leading to the closure of hospitals, particularly in rural areas, and forcing system mergers that often result in fewer, more expensive services.
While patient engagement isn’t a cure-all for healthcare’s workforce and financial issues, it can offer some relief in several key ways:
- Reducing the burden on staff: By automating routine tasks like patient check-ins, appointment scheduling, and answering phones, patient engagement allows staff to focus on higher-value care activities. This helps reduce burnout by freeing staff from time-intensive, menial tasks.
- Healthier patients, lower costs: Engaged patients are typically healthier, managing chronic conditions more effectively and avoiding costly medical emergencies. With fewer emergency room visits and hospital stays, patient engagement helps reduce the overall financial burden on healthcare systems.
How to Identify an Engaged Patient
As you can see, patient engagement has many benefits for patients, practices, and the healthcare industry as a whole. It’s important to note that patient engagement varies—some patients are fully involved in managing their health, while others miss appointments, ignore symptoms, and neglect to fill prescriptions. Most patients fall somewhere in between.
The goal for providers is to engage those who are unengaged and help moderately engaged patients become fully invested in their care.
Researchers have identified six key factors that measure patient engagement:
- The ability to self-manage health conditions
- The ability to maintain daily functioning and prevent health decline
- The ability to participate in treatment and diagnostic decisions
- The ability to collaborate with healthcare providers
- The ability to choose providers based on quality or performance
- The ability to navigate the healthcare system effectively
There are clear signs that can help practices determine how engaged their patients are in their care. Recognizing these behaviors allows providers to take action and better support those who may need more encouragement.
Signs of Unengaged Patients:
- Avoid doctor visits
- More likely to visit emergency departments for preventable health crises
- Forget or fail to follow discharge instructions
- Don’t pick up prescriptions
- Higher likelihood of being readmitted for avoidable issues
Signs of Engaged Patients:
- Attend annual wellness exams and schedule necessary visits
- Act early when they notice warning signs
- Agree to receive personalized care reminders
- Pick up and take medication as prescribed
- Return for follow-up appointments
Patients may be disengaged for various reasons, including distrust of the healthcare system, low health literacy, lack of digital access, or social determinants of health (SDoH) like housing instability, poverty, and language barriers. While providers may not be able to address every issue, identifying disengaged patients and understanding the reasons behind their disengagement is key to helping them become more involved in their care.
How Patient Engagement Technology Expedites Success
Like healthcare, technology is constantly evolving. To deliver the best results and meet patient expectations, it’s essential to use modern patient engagement technology that goes beyond basic functionality.
Many practices mistakenly believe that a simple patient portal is enough. While portals were once the gold standard, today’s technology demands more. Portals are now just the starting point—patients expect seamless engagement at every stage of their healthcare journey. To keep pace with these rising expectations, practices must adopt technology that supports the entire patient experience.
Key features of effective patient engagement technology include:
- Easy patient scheduling and appointment check-ins
- Automated appointment reminders with easy rescheduling options
- Virtual appointments for convenience
- Two-way texting for direct communication with providers
- Prescription refill requests
- Automated population health campaigns
- Online registration and intake forms
- Flexible payment and financing options
- Online survey and reporting tools to gather patient feedback
Of course, patient-facing technology needs to be seamless and easy to use. If the experience is frustrating or difficult, patients may disengage. But by offering a smooth, inviting, and simple digital experience, practices make it easier for patients to stay involved in their care and follow through on medical advice.
Beyond improving patient interactions, engagement technology also plays a crucial role in accelerating revenue collection. Advanced systems can capture payments at the time of service and send automated reminders via text or email for any outstanding balances, helping practices improve cash flow and reduce administrative burden.
Conclusion
Practices might be tempted to believe patient engagement is solely the patient’s responsibility. After all, it’s their health at stake. However, engagement is important for patients, providers, and the healthcare industry overall. Providers might be challenged to promote engagement, but the right patient engagement technology can help them foster a mutually beneficial relationship.
Read the infographic to learn why patient engagement requires a platform! >>
