Introduction
Telehealth is transforming healthcare in the modern world. Patients are now able to video call the doctors and nurses and communicate through online resources. This facilitates access to healthcare, but at times it does not seem personal as compared to an in-person visit. To improve telehealth in favor of patients, healthcare providers may resort to the PERMA model. This is a model developed by a psychologist, Martin Seligman, and his model has five central concepts, namely: Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (Seligman, 2011). If implemented, the healthcare professionals should use these concepts to transform the PERMA telehealth patient experience and make patients more confident in their addressability in the virtual setting.
Doctors and nurses can use this blog to find easy and feasible ways to improve telehealth. Now, let us touch upon the ways that the components of the PERMA model can help extend the virtual care benefits to the patient outcomes.
Positive Emotion
Healthcare is also significant with regard to positive feelings, such as being happy or calm. They make the patients feel less nervous and less reluctant to listen to the medical recommendations. When there is no physical contact (in telehealth), the warm, friendly atmosphere should be established.
Physicians and nurses are able to begin every video conversation with a wide smile and a friendly greeting, such as, Hi, it is good to see you today! This makes a happy tone even via a screen. Revising can be assisted with amicable words as well. As an example, instead of telling them, “You must do this,” you can say, “This can really make you feel better.” Such small changes will make patients feel loved and optimistic.
Actionable Insight: Ensure a good mood by greeting at the beginning of every telehealth session with a smile.
Engagement
Engagement is taking the interest and involvement of a patient in telehealth visits. By being involved, patients comprehend their health situations more and become empowered. This can be a tricky condition in virtual care, as there is no room within which the patient is placed in order to keep things lively.
Asking open-ended questions is one of the methods to increase engagement, such as, How have you been doing this week? Or what has been going well? This welcomes the patients to open up. The other suggestion is the implementation of technological devices, such as screen sharing. This ensures that patients are kept attentive and the session is interrelated.
Actionable Insight: Screen sharing will enable the instructor to display visuals, such as diagrams, and describe health-related content in an interactive manner.
Relationships
Good relationships between the patients and healthcare providers develop comfort and trust. When you are not meeting in person, it requires a little bit more effort to connect. Yet, it is worth it as patients who feel close to their providers are more likely to adhere to their care plan.
Nurses and doctors can reinforce connections by making inquiries about the patients. Putting a brief message or call through after visiting a patient, such as “Just calling to see how you are holding up,” will make them feel like they are important. It is also necessary to express empathy. Just uttering like, I am aware that this could be quite difficult for you, makes patients feel that their emotions are comprehended.
Actionable Insight: Whenever possible, make follow-up calls or short messages to stay in contact with patients in between visits.
Meaning
Patients desire to know that others care about their health and are looking out for them. Providers can assist their patients through telehealth by establishing a connection between the virtual visits and personal health objectives. Patients find increased motivation when they can see the reason behind their care.
Discuss the goals that a patient wants to attain at the beginning of a session. To give an example, in case a person with high blood pressure is interested in being more energetic, the doctor may answer, “We will discuss ways to regain your energy today in the following ways.” This connects the telehealth visit to something that is important to the patient, rendering this as more than a typical check-up.
Actionable Insight: Start every session by asking about the health goals of the patient to demonstrate how telehealth will help them achieve what is important to the patient.
Accomplishment
The ability to get a sense of accomplishment motivates patients, not least when dealing with health problems. In telehealth, physicians and nurses may contribute to the progress by establishing small and achievable goals and praising their success. This promotes trust and makes patients committed.
As one example, a provider might recommend to a patient making the attempt to eat healthier, “This week, we want to add one vegetable to your plate.” They can later encourage the patient by saying, “Good job incorporating those vegetables—it is a big step.” Small victories also count, and appreciating them makes the patient feel good about his or her efforts.
Actionable Insight: Patients should be acknowledged and appreciated for their efforts at any stage of progress to increase their satisfaction.
Conclusion
Telehealth Patient Experience is here to grow, and it is a priority to ensure that it can be an excellent experience for the patients. There is an easy yet effective tool to do this, which is called the PERMA model: Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment. Doctors and nurses can ensure that virtual visits are personal and effective by beginning with a smile, continuing with patient engagement, establishing trust, giving the care a sense of purpose, and sharing victories. Studies indicate that telehealth makes patients happier and more satisfied with it and presents them with better health outcomes (Polinski et al., 2016).
These are the suggestions to utilise during your next telehealth session. They are not difficult to undertake and can go a long way. To get additional suggestions as to how to enhance telehealth, you can visit the Telehealth Resource Center of the Cleveland Clinic.
References
- Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being. Free Press.
- Polinski, J. M., Barker, T., Gagliano, N., Sussman, A., Brennan, T. A., & Shrank, W. H. (2016). Patients’ satisfaction with and preference for telehealth visits. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 31(3), 269-275.