Patient education is a fundamental part of medical care. Ensuring patients learn, understand, and remember the steps of their treatment is extremely important. It can be the difference between a successful outcome, treatment failure, or possible life-threating issues. HCPs often have time constraints when speaking to patients, which may leave them feeling uncertain after a discussion, or have trouble recalling information the next day.
Patients and caregivers need to understand how to distribute their medicine to adhere to therapies, and how to properly use medical devices-from routine daily glucose monitoring for diabetes, to emergency epinephrine injections for life threatening allergies. That’s why clear and memorable education is critical in handouts, websites, online information, pictures, mobile apps, and videos.
As healthcare marketers, we take our role seriously. Educating, communicating and engaging with patients helps to ensure a successful treatment outcome. Here are some of REALITYRx’s recommended Best Practices for patient communication:
- Project Brand Confidence. Cultivate an aura of expertise, accuracy, and authority. Patients need to know they are dealing with THE experts, so they feel confident about the info they’re getting.
- Keep It Simple. Be as brief and clear as possible. Minimize medical jargon, technicalities, or long-winded thoughts. Information should be easy-to-process and foolproof.
- Be Empathetic. Striking the right tone is truly a balancing act. While medical information needs to be precise and scientific, patients also crave a sense of warmth, humanity, and connection. After all, their treatment isn’t just robotic routine-it’s a personal journey, affecting their well-being, recovery, and health. Despite the clinical nature of the information, patients seek a heartfelt and understanding tone.
Video and mobile apps are now the go-to medium for information. Mobile solutions provide patients with tools to keep them active and engaged in their own healthcare. For marketers, grasping the ins-and-outs of healthcare videography is an important element for successful patient communication.
At REALITYRx, we are experts at effective healthcare communications in multimedia channels. Getting patients engaged, educated, and comfortable is our specialty-which lets patients easily adhere and comply to their treatments to achieve the best possible outcome.
