Why patient engagement matters

On one hand, physicians are experts that people seek out because of their knowledge of human health. On the other, physicians are still their patients’ employees. While physicians can strongly encourage a course of action, they can’t force a patient to do it—nor can they compel patients to reveal extremely personal, sometimes embarrassing, details about their health.

With those limitations in place, how do you ensure your patients take their meds or show up to their appointments? How can you get them to listen to advice about diet and exercise, or make them comfortable enough to confide in you about their health concerns?

There’s been an increasing push in recent years to promote the idea of patient engagement. The idea is that by finding ways to help patients become more active, those patients will take a larger role in improving their health.

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