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Patient education software boosts patient satisfaction, practice efficiency
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When explaining a condition or a treatment to a patient, software specifically designed for that purpose can have numerous benefits for both the patient and the practitioner.
“In this day and age, we have to see more patients in the same allotted time,” Andrew Morgenstern, OD, FAAO, told Primary Care Optometry News. “If you can show a patient in the exam chair a video that explains everything, with visualizations, you can reduce chair time.”
Morgenstern estimated that the educational videos he shows his patients at his practice in Bethesda, Md., on an iPad save 5 to 8 minutes every time they are used. During the course of a year, this adds up to dozens of hours of chair time that can now be allotted to new patients. This is particularly effective when the patient is shown the video after the workup, during the dilation phase or in the waiting room, he said.
“During the dilation phase, the patient can either be given a magazine, serving no purpose whatsoever, or be shown an educational video,” he said. “I choose the latter. The key is integrating the video into the flow where its use is most efficient.”
Showing high-quality videos on an iPad can educate patients on their condition, improve compliance and drive referrals.
Image: Eyemaginations
Educational videos
“All clinicians understand that the art of medicine involves educating your patient about the nature of their condition, short- and long-term implications, the treatment plan, the potential for success of treatment and its side effects, alternative treatment strategies and the rationale for follow-up,” Mujtaba A. Qazi, MD, of Chesterfield, Mo., told PCON.
“During a typical evaluation and treatment, there can be an overwhelming amount of information transferred between the clinician and the patient, and it can be difficult for the patient to retain all of it,” Qazi continued. “Ancillary support material, including handouts, brochures, pamphlets and in-house and online videos can be helpful in reinforcing the discussion.”
“It’s difficult enough taking care of patients,” Morgenstern said. “Getting them to understand their condition and what kind of treatment options they have — and understanding it well enough to make a solid, informed-consent decision — can be even more difficult.
“The easier it is for the patient to digest the information, the better it is for everyone involved,” Morgenstern continued. “Trying to explain to a patient what a premium IOL is, for instance, is very challenging. But if they can visualize it, like in an Eyemaginations video, and hear about it at the same time, the information comes across much better.
“And patients who understand their condition are more likely to comply with treatment,” he noted.
“My waiting rooms and each exam lane have wall-mounted televisions,” Qazi said. “The channels loop educational videos from Eyemaginations specific to glaucoma, cataracts, dry eye and macular degeneration, so if a patient has glaucoma, the television in the exam lane can be switched to the glaucoma channel to educate the patient while they’re waiting for the doctor or being dilated.”
Videos are perhaps the most effective mode of educating the patient, using three-dimensional animated graphics to explain complex anatomy in a simple, concise and patient-centric way, Morgenstern said.
The Pepose Vision Institute also uses videos during a preoperative examination, Qazi said.
“For example, during a cataract surgery preoperative examination, we have a separate room with sofas, chairs and a television that discusses the anatomy of an eye, the definition of a cataract and the process involved in cataract surgery with lens implantation,” he said.
The patient sees the video after IOL biometry is performed and before the surgeon comes in for the examination, so the patient can be prepared to decide on premium IOL customization options, Qazi said.
G. Chad Green, OD, told PCON that in his office in Demopolis, Ala., iPads are mounted on an arm on the instrument stand next to the exam chair.
G. Chad Green
“Techs will start one of the iPad app videos before leaving the exam room,” he said. “Patients are instructed on how to view additional videos while waiting for the exam to begin.”
Green said the practice has received positive feedback via patient surveys on the use of this technology.
Online patient education
The same videos and software available on an iPad can be made available to patients through a practice’s website as a mode of reinforcing a patient’s understanding at any time, according to Jeff Mungar, OD, of Oakville, Ont.
Jeff Mungar
Mungar used EyeMotion software to design and host his practice’s website, he told PCON in an interview.
“There is a lot of information on my website that allows my patients to educate themselves on many common areas of interest, and I’ve had positive feedback and comments from many patients who have visited it,” he said. “I was able to tailor my website and its information to better match my practice philosophy, as well as concentrate on information that matched the services I provide.
“My website also includes educational videos of various topics and a scrolling news feed of many eye-related topics from around the world,” he added.
Ancillary support material
Practitioners have additional options for educating patients.
At the Pepose Vision Institute, Qazi and his colleagues use a variety of brochures created in-house that provide information about common eye conditions and procedures. Moreover, the information provided in these brochures has been revised with the input of both the institute’s medical and technician staff to ensure that it is accurate and easy for the average patient to understand, Qazi said.
Qazi and his colleagues also use brochures from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and individual ophthalmic pharmaceutical and surgical companies, he said.
“For more specialized procedures, we also provide CD-ROMs developed by ophthalmic surgical companies that patients can take home so they can share information about the upcoming surgery with family members,” he said
Marc S. Hartig, OD, uses Ocutouch videos in his office in Grove City, Ohio, but he also knows the importance of providing informational material with which patients can walk out of the office.
Marc S. Hartig
“We use pamphlets from the American Optometric Association to augment the videos,” Hartig said in an interview. “We use OfficeMate, as well, for conditions such as convergence insufficiency, for example. There’s a report writer program in OfficeMate where we can actually give the patient a printout that talks about convergence insufficiency, or another less dramatic diagnosis, so they have something to take home from our office.”
Practice benefits
Along with a streamlined patient flow, a practitioner is creating an informed and, hence, satisfied patient, Morgenstern said.
“When patients have a better understanding of their eye care, their condition and the treatment options available, patient satisfaction will rise. Knowledgeable patients are happy patients, and happy patients give good reviews, online and off,” he said.
“What I typically do,” Hartig said, “is have a verbal discussion with a cataract patient and show them on the video what a cataract is. Then I’ll play the narrative on the cataract procedure and go on to my next patient. The video runs about 4.5 minutes and, after that’s done, my staff goes in and they’ll schedule the procedure and get the patient checked out.”
The videos save time and make for happy, informed patients, but they also provide satisfaction for a practitioner, Hartig said.
“I don’t want someone going into a procedure when they don’t understand it,” he said. “For example, with cataract surgery you have so many options. You’re not just explaining a single vision lens — it’s the multifocal implant, the accommodative implant, the toric implant.”
When patients get to the ophthalmologist, they are expected to make a decision on which implant they want, and that can be difficult for them if they have no idea what an implant is, Hartig said.
“We try to give them a sense of what we feel might be appropriate,” he said. “We discuss all of the options, but ultimately the decision is left with the patient. And when they reach the ophthalmologist, they’ve had time to digest the information, to make a better decision,” he said.
Additionally, by showing a patient an educational video about a condition, practitioners can add a layer of protection from potential litigation, according to Morgenstern.
“Every cataract patient should initial on their chart that they saw your specific preoperative cataract surgery video,” he said. “A large portion of the informed consent information can be in the video. There still needs to be a comprehensive consent form, but the video is a scripted, patient-centric message that standardizes the information. If the consent information ever needs to be reviewed, there is no confusion about what information the patient received prior to their procedure. We always discuss all questions, concerns, risks, benefits and alternatives with every patient. But when you’re doing your informed consent only by voice, you never know if the conversation is the same from patient A to patient B to patient C.”
When deciding to make the financial investment in such software, “What it comes down to is do you want to be an educator, or are you just there to get the procedure done?” Hartig said. “My philosophy is that I want to educate my patients about not only their condition, but how to treat it, what’s available and what’s on the cutting edge. I can’t really put a price on that. Other than that, I feel it elevates the quality of my care.”
Andrew Morgenstern
“Considering today’s economic climate,” Morgenstern said, “it’s not only just a good idea to use technology to benefit your practice, but it can be the difference between sinking or swimming. Having high-quality videos you can present on an iPad is not only functional, but provides that wow-factor that drives referrals.” – by Daniel R. Morgan