Another reason is a potential increase in patient satisfaction. Dr. Brady points to audience research showing that patients expect their physicians to recommend community resources. “When we asked people why they did not use resources such as the self-management programs, the prevailing reason is patients did not know they existed,” she says. “If such programs did exist, most respondents thought their doctors would have already told them about it. Providers have a responsibility to tell their patients, and may increase patient satisfaction if they do.”
These programs are becoming more widely available in the community, meaning that outlays in both time and money to the practice are minimal. In return, a physician gets patients who are more knowledgeable and more actively involved in their own care. “Most education in healthcare is the provider telling patients what they should do instead of helping patients best integrate the best set of health behaviors,” says Dr. Lorig. “We do things in the rest of our lives because we have confidence we can do them right, and they become our regular routine. We have to look at how we educate patients instead of blaming problems on them.”
Kurt Ullman is a freelance writer based in Indiana.
