Ophthalmology Patient Portal and Online Communication Editorial

Patient Education, Meet the Patient Portal

It was said, at the turn of the last century, that the only thing better than a good physician was no physician at all……..ouch! Things were simpler then. There wasn’t much to explain and even less to do for most patients. Despite this small matter of efficacy, physicians were able to spend more time talking to their patients. Now it’s a matter of so much to say and so little time to say it. But the benefits of educating patients remain. Patients that understand their medical problems have better results. Cutting edge practices seeking world class service should look to a patient portal to craft mass customized patient education.

Mass Customization

Educating today’s patients requires accommodating the differences in today’s medical landscape. The complexity of conditions and treatment has exploded. Physician time has become simply too valuable to always educate patients face to face. Despite these limitations, patients expect to have all of their questions answered. The trick is to be able to provide the customized approach of yester year and be able to scale it up to service all or the mass of patients.

 Paul C. Seel, MD, MBA
 Vice President & Medical
 Director
 
 Sophrona Solutions
 Minneapolis, MN

Portal Driven Patient Education

Web portals have enabled cost effective consumer education in just about every industry. Look at the web sites of travel and financial services companies to see how they educate their customers. What would be the critical success factors for portal driven patient education? The system must be able to predict and deliver pertinent content when the patient is receptive, and the content must be engaging. Being able to do this cost effectively for all or most patients constitutes mass customized patient education.

Relevant Material: How can one predict?

What does a specific patient need to learn? It’s not possible to anticipate everyone’s needs, but simple algorithms can predict relevant topics based on information such as demographics, life style interests or appointment type. For example, a near sighted 30 year old who hates wearing glasses would be a candidate for information on LASIK. A 75 year old referred by his optometrist for a cataract evaluation would benefit from a video explaining “the what is” and “what can be done” about a cataract. An explanation of eye health would benefit a normal sighted person.

Timing: When do you think about flossing?

When is the best time to engage a patient? I believe I’m not alone in rarely thinking about my health unless something goes wrong, or unless I have an upcoming appointment. I suspect this is pretty common. For example, I’m much more likely to think about flossing my teeth before visiting the dentist. Afterwards, I’m on to other things. So if I was promoting flossing, I would approach patients before their appointments. Deliver the material you’ve predicted is pertinent before patients show up. They are more likely to pay attention then and will have a better understanding.

Engaging Material: YouTube vs. Gutenberg?

What constitutes engaging material? Gutenberg invented the printing press about 600 years ago and for the near future at least, print may be the most reliable medium to reach patients. Even though YouTube is only a few years old, we are becoming increasingly accustomed to getting information on demand in a video format. There is no shortage of engaging material that can be delivered.

Patient Portal Driven Education

Here’s how a patient portal can drive patient education. Patients register on-line in advance of their appointments. The information from their demographics, lifestyle interests and appointment types enable algorithms to predict relevant educational topics. Print or video material can then be delivered pre appointment when the patient is more likely to be paying attention. The material provides the a foundation allowing the physician or techs to more cost effectively spend their time with the finishing touches and addressing specific questions. Once established, portal-driven education will simply run in the background and provide patient education in a remarkably cost-effective fashion.