Improving Quality through Strong Patient-Provider Relationships

Increased Patient Engagement

We are living in times where medical information is more accessible to patients than ever before. In the past, patients had to wait for a consultation to understand the implications of their test results. But today, many legitimate websites offer information that can have an impact on the patient prior to a provider visit. So, the answer is for providers to create a safe and trusting environment, where the patient feels that they matter and that they are respected regardless of race, ethnicity, age, literacy level, or socioeconomic standing.

Stronger Provider Engagement

Once a strong relationship has been established between the provider and the patient, it will increase the likelihood that the patient will follow through on the follow-up visits and screenings the provider recommends. This will lead to improved quality of care through appropriate management of chronic conditions, early detection via recommended screenings, and in turn decreased instances of visits to hospitals and emergency rooms. Historically, this is where I have seen the responsibility placed on the patient, when the starting point is actually the provider. It is critical to remember that there are many other factors that influence our success in managing efficient and effective care plans.

Improved Quality Rates and Higher Quality Incentives

The best workflows, the latest technology, the best provider access, and state-of-the art facilities all are great, but will do nothing to improve quality programs/population health without patients being willing to engage in their own care. While these improvements are great and necessary for efficient patient care, they could never replace or compensate for what a patient-provider relationship can accomplish when it comes to quality improvement. So, at the end of the day, the critical piece in quality improvement is the patient’s relationship with their provider.

I am not touting this as a novel idea, nor a concept that we are not all aware of. At AdvantageCare Physicians, we understand the importance of the provider-patient relationship and work to engage with our patients, develop a high level of trust and respect, and improve health outcomes all of which will ultimately impact our quality rates. One of the many ways that AdvantageCare Physicians has invested in this area is with the implementation of a Quality Outreach Team, whose primary focus is creating opportunities to support population health through our quality programs. I have spent 10 years leading this team, and a decade of experience has given me the opportunity to hear from my team about the level of hesitance that patients express when they do not feel a strong connection with their provider. And inversely, we have often seen increased trust and participation from patients when they do have that strong connection. While the patient surely does play a role in that dynamic, it does not change the fact that we need to rely on our providers to improve quality of care. To that end, our outreach workflows and scripts are geared to say “you matter” to our patients every time we are in contact with them.

Our goal is to meet patient needs by applying years of experience in understanding patient behavior. It is crucial to know what to say when, and to encourage patients to not only schedule their primary care visits/screening appointments but, also ensure that all pertinent HEDIS screenings are both scheduled and completed. There are times that we are on the phone with patients for 25-40 minutes, because we know they need to talk and have their feelings heard. We understand that some elderly patients are on their own, lonely, and need to feel that connection, so we work to not only provide that for them, but also efficiently manage instances where that extra time is not required.