Four Patient Education Fallacies
by William D. Esteb
It doesn't take long before every practitioner learns the importance of patient education. It's easy for doctors in practice for five years or more to forget the long-term benefits of a consistent patient education program. Offices with roller coaster statistics are often guilty of doing what they know works (patient education) only when they "need" to do it.
On an especially memorable episode of The Cosby Show, Dr. Huxtable was explaining how wasteful this starting and stopping approach can be. Apparently, Theo had decided to wait until right before his exams to begin studying. It seems that no amount of convincing could change Theo's behavior until Dad used a metaphor. He likened this short-term thinking to the enormous amounts of fuel that jet aircraft consume during take off (cramming before the test). Once the jet reaches cruising altitude it takes much less energy (daily studying). Similarly, a consistent system of patient education requires a minimum amount of energy and frees the doctor and staff to concentrate on the more important aspects of patient care and relationship building. Without effective patient education, the doctor, staff and financial resources are consumed by a constant focus on new patient acquisition rituals.
Yet, for many doctors, patient education sounds like work. Which is probably why so few invest in patient education. If you don't have a consistent, systematized way of doing it, then it probably is too much work. Is discipline required? Of course. Are their disappointments? Naturally. Do your words occasionally fall on deaf ears? Sure. Yet, if you take your responsibility as a teacher seriously, you have a professional obligation to educate your patients. The media won't. The state and national associations don't seem to. You're it.
There are several fallacies about patient education that need to be identified, lest you misunderstand what I mean by patient education.
The "I-told-them-once" fallacy. This is the mistaken notion that once you tell patients about subluxations and show them their X-rays your patient education responsibilities are over. Few patients will appreciate the spine and its role in health after a single exposure to an oral presentation. If your patient education efforts are limited to the first couple of visits while patients are still somewhat apprehensive, suspicious or distracted by their symptoms, don't expect them to retain the information. While it may be old fashioned, the "tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em, tell 'em, and then tell 'em what you told 'em" is an adage that still rings true. Create a plan to cover some aspect of chiropractic on every visit.
The "I-showed-them-a-video" fallacy. Here, the doctor has introduced some technology to make the presentation of chiropractic more consistent, and if properly designed, give it more impact. Video has the potential of making the message understandable, memorable and consistent. Yet, without continual follow up and relating the information in the video to the patient's life on subsequent visits, the use of video can seem out of place or appear like a sales tool.
Video can help avoid repetitious explanations so the doctor can concentrate on other aspects of patient care. It must also reflect the philosophy and practice approach of the doctor. It is not a panacea and will never replace other types of "low-tech" patient communications.
The "I-have-posters-and-pamphlets-everywhere" fallacy. When doctors litter their offices with chiropractic tracts and brochures, and fill every available wall space with posters, they may assume that patients will learn chiropractic principles simply by osmosis. This patient-education-by-proximity approach is ineffective. Use the walls (ceilings?) of your office to advance your purpose. Posters must be referred to. Brochures must be presented. Spinal models must be touched. Like a shovel that doesn't move dirt until it is used properly, patient education tools don't move patients to make better decisions about their health until they are used properly. Because these efforts are rarely rewarded with immediate results, our penchant for instant gratification is not affirmed. If your sense of time is no broader than the two or three weeks it takes to effect symptomatic improvement, you'll never harvest the bounty that relentless patient education can offer.
The "They-don't-care" fallacy. This is the notion that patients don't seem interested in anything more than pain relief, so educating patients is a waste of time. When doctors reflect this school of thought they have actually given up on themselves, not their patients. Think back to one of the worse teachers in school. Students can tell when the teacher isn't having fun or has neglected to update his or her notes. Worse, if the teacher doesn't take the effort to make the information relevant, then students (patients) react in a predictable manner. Are you making your patient education efforts germane to your patients' lives?
These four patient education fallacies can be found throughout the profession--among both new doctors and experienced veterans.
Patient education is one of the critical elements of a successful practice, especially today, as more and more patients are having to finance their care out of their own pockets. What's incredible is that effective patient communications is such a small part (or totally absent) from the curricula of today's chiropractic colleges. This critical missing link will continue to sabotage more and more new doctors in today's increasingly competitive marketplace.
Best communicators have the best practices. Why not model those who depend upon optimum customer "education" for their livelihood? Ask any advertising agency or marketing director how to help patients "get it" and they will reveal two key approaches: impact or repetition, or a combination of both.
Impact: When the car company bungy jumps an automobile off a bridge, it's an attempt to give their message impact. When Pepsi, Kodak or other companies use celebrities, it's to give their message impact. There are many ways of giving chiropractic concepts impact with strong visuals, drama, humor; even the volume of your voice.
Repetition: Repeat a consistent message and people will know how to "spell relief" or "who deserves a break today." Unfortunately for many patients, the patient education they receive is a one-time oral presentation at the report of findings. No wonder they drop out of care once their symptoms improve.
The best patient education strategy is to combine both impact and repetition. For many it means rethinking the report of findings and giving it more impact than genuflecting in front of X-rays. It will mean saying, doing or asking something on every visit to make your solution to the patient's problem meaningful and relevant to their life. It will mean questioning the status quo and abandoning the path of least resistance. For most it will mean taking their role as a teacher more seriously.
Excerpted from
Beyond Results
Originally published in 1995
240 Pages
US $24.95
Not a reader? Bill reads his favorite chapters
from all 10 books on Bill's Best.
|
