Patient Engagement in Chronic Care Management

A chronic care management program is not effective without the use and engagement of patients. In order to onboard and retain patients, there are a few key steps to take. 

First, it is important to understand the barriers that exist for patients’ engagement in their care: 

• Health literacy 
• Access to health services and transportation
• Technology use barriers 
• Miscommunication between providers and patients 
• Time and schedule barriers

Explain the program to them face-to-face 

Whether in-person or on Zoom, a thorough explanation by a provider to flesh out the components of a CCM program and answer questions is essential to onboarding a patient. This step may seem obvious, but studies show that physicians regularly overestimate patient literacy levels.

Taking the time to discuss their conditions and treatment plan in simple, non-medical terms can help fill the gaps in health literacy, especially when patients are seeking care for several conditions.

Provide written instructions 

It is best to prepare for a steep learning curve, as patients have varying capabilities in navigating new medical treatments and technologies. Sending patients home with written instructions and informational documents gives patients a reference and physical reminder for program engagement.

For example, provide patients with a copy of their signed CCM program participation consent document that includes the program’s purpose, goals, and what to expect.

Choose a CCM program for your patient population

When designing or scaling a CCM program for your practice, there is no need to start from scratch. Specialized technology solutions can help collect health metrics, check in on patient symptoms, and automate much of the workflows, while providing you a comprehensive note on the state of each patient.

Choose a CCM patient engagement software platform that offers remote monitoring through accessible means, such as SMS text messaging, to close the care gap caused by transportation and technology use barriers. Through these platforms, monitoring can be automatically personalized to each patient’s conditions, past medical history, and their goals further driving engagement.

Record a welcome video 

If your CCM program is predominantly conducted through an online application or through instant messaging, consider making a short introductory video to orient the patient with the purpose and goals of the program. Seeing their physician’s face in the initial impression of the program’s platform is a small personal touch that can help improve trust and comfort. 

Give patients incentive 

Ideally, better care is an ​​incentive in itself. However, if you are hoping to see improvements in patient usage of your CCM program, consider an incentive-based program targeted towards low-usage patients. For example, you can provide a $15 gift card patient incentive for every 15 consecutive check-ins completed. 

Quadrant Health is an all-in-one CCM platform that allows you to personalize and execute on the care plans between you and your patients. Increase patient engagement and retention with incentive-based programs built right into the platform.

Learn about the 4 steps to get your practice started with CCM, to provide better care for your patients while increasing revenue.