bell design technologies, inc.

Case Study:

Constructing a Comprehensive

Patient Education System

The Issue

In addition to being mandated by healthcare accreditation requirements for patient education, a pain management medical practice believed that educating patients improved healthcare outcomes through

1. Increased understanding of the patient's health status

2. Increased compliance with the patient's healthcare plan

3. Increased patient participation in healthcare decisions.

The issue was to develop a way throughout the medical practice that aided with distributing educational material to patients.

The Solution

BDT created a systematic approach that not only optimized the staff's ability to distribute patient education material but also enabled the medical practice to comply effectively with healthcare accreditation requirements. BDT researched and developed all educational material contained in the patient education system. In addition, BDT collaborated with other specialists to design the system in two phases to accomplish these objectives. The first phase was a printed version of patient education material, the second phase was a web-based interactive system. During both phases, patient learning was evaluated, either by the patients demonstrating learning or verbalizing their understanding of educational material, to determine effectiveness of teaching and written material. 

The Result

The patient education system assisted the medical practice in complying with healthcare accreditation requirements and demonstrating measurable results patient understanding of care and treatment of diagnosed conditions. In addition, providing patient education material based on the medical practice's criteria demonstrated the practice's commitment to having its patients participate actively in their treatment. The patient education system also differentiated the medical practice from its competitors and contributed to the generation of new patients.