Introduction
The problem highlighted for this assignment is patients’ non-compliance with renal diet and fluid control, as well as shorter or skipped dialysis sessions. The wellness and health of dialysis patients are significantly impacted by adherence to fluid and food recommendations. The non-compliant patients should be subjected to dietary and behavioral therapy to increase adherence. Health literacy would go a long way to improve compliance and establish a foundation for behavioral changes. To increase awareness across the organization, all dialysis health professionals at the clinic would need to receive training to identify and assist patients with cognitive and communication problems to increase compliance.
Improvement Plan
A patient-centered atmosphere that emphasizes effective communication in all client relationships would need to be established. Additionally, it would call for the use of experienced healthcare translators for patients with limited English competence and the prioritization of cultural sensitivity as reflected in recruiting procedures that embrace diversity. By embracing diversity and cultural awareness, the healthcare professionals at the clinic would be better positioned to ensure the patients understand all the prescriptions and diet recommendations (Chen et al., 2018). Diversity would also ensure the patients understand the diet recommendations and get detailed explanations of the potential repercussions of non-compliance. Health literacy can be strengthened by providing knowledge, fostering good communication, and providing systematic education. It can be seen as a quantifiable result of patient or health promotion.
To improve communication and foster health literacy, the organization would need to prioritize well-structured training programs to sharpen the communication and interpersonal skills of all healthcare practitioners. The training sessions would also cover cultural competence and how to impart knowledge to diverse patients. These abilities include reading and writing, adding and subtracting, communicating with medical professionals, and using medical equipment. With these skills, healthcare professionals can educate patients on food portions, eating time intervals, and the amount of medication needed, along with the importance of adherence.
Strategies to Address Patients’ Communication Needs
Some of the challenges or barriers identified include language barriers. As mentioned, interpreters will be a part of the plan to ensure those patients with language competence issues understand everything clearly. Additionally, the clinic should emphasize soft skills training for its employees to enable them to communicate effectively. With soft skills, the employees will create a relaxed communication atmosphere by making the patients feel cared for and valued (Chen et al., 2018). They will communicate effectively and more openly to allow the health staff to identify the key challenges and address them promptly.
Among the strategies would be a plan to identify the various vulnerable groups, those likely to suffer from low health literacy or comprehension abilities. These include older patients, ethnic and racial minorities, low-income individuals, people who did not attend high school, people with feeble health, and non-native English speakers. Identifying the specific needs of the patients would create a platform for customized solutions (Wittink & Oosterhaven, 2018). For instance, for those in critical health, educating the caretakers about diet adherence and attending dialysis clinics would be essential. Translators would, in a similar way, get assistance from translators.
Regarding partnerships with patients, health professionals will encourage patients to express their concerns and needs to allow for shared decision-making. Additionally, we can provide decision support tools to help patients become more knowledgeable about their medical interventions and possible results (Chen et al., 2018). An effective patient choice tool helps patients define and express their desires while providing practical information about the risks, advantages, and burdens of various therapeutic options, such as diet recommendations and dialysis sessions. These tools, such as online pamphlets, or instructional videos, will assist dialysis patients in comprehending pertinent clinical information, developing well-informed choices, and communicating those personal tastes to their healthcare professionals.
Promoting Improved Provider-Patient Communication
Regarding communication techniques, digital communication will be prominently considered. If appropriately used, the widespread usage of health information technology has the potential to aid promote communication even though it may be perceived as impeding real connections between patients and clinicians (Massa et al., 2021). The use of technology to facilitate communication is not limited to patient portals. In times of a medical crisis, people can communicate with doctors remotely, thanks to the emerging field of telehealth.
While improving clinical outcomes might result from establishing communication channels utilizing new health IT systems, physicians must keep patient happiness in mind when engaging in humanistic interactions. A crucial component is involving the patient in his care (Massa et al., 2021). The client is likelier to take charge of his health when involved in the collaborative care process. For instance, explaining why a particular diet regime is critical makes patients feel more at ease and included in the decision-making discussion.
To improve hands-off communication between providers, I recommend a centralized information base that can be accessed digitally. I would also advocate for training sessions on the best inter-departmental communication and teamwork practices. The challenges I foresee in implementing my plan include financing the training sessions, the digital infrastructure for communication, and the configuration of patient portals and digital communication aids. Other challenges are associated with resistance to change as some professionals are inclined to be hesitant about embracing some aspects of digital communication technologies.
Conclusion and Summary
As a result of the above plan’s implementation, I expect many positive changes. For instance, I expect improved adherence to recommended diets, stronger patient relationships with clinicians, and more effective communication. Health literacy is directly associated with communication, and I hope to see improved health literacy among patients and more participation by the patients in decision-making processes. Overall, there is a fair expectation of improved clinical outcomes for dialysis patients.
References
Chen, X., Hay, J. L., Waters, E. A., Kiviniemi, M. T., Biddle, C., Schofield, E., … & Orom, H. (2018). Health literacy and use and trust in health information. Journal of health communication, 23(8), 724-734.
Massa, S., Wu, J., Wang, C., Peifer, H., & Lane-Fall, M. B. (2021). Interprofessional training and communication practices among clinicians in the postoperative ICU handoff. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 47(4), 242-249.
Wittink, H., & Oosterhaven, J. (2018). Patient education and health literacy. Musculoskeletal Science and Practice, 38, 120-127.
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