The Role of Patient Engagement Today
The Role of Patient Engagement now
Patient engagement is a key component of healthcare development today. It’s not just about ensuring that patients have a voice in decisions that affect their own care, but also about seeing patients as active partners in research, education and policy development. Involving patients as experts in their own experience makes healthcare more relevant and customised to their real needs. It also helps to create sustainable solutions that patients feel ownership of.
For patient organisations, this means there is a responsibility to bridge the gap between the patient experience and the larger healthcare systems. Instead of simply representing members, patient organisations can act as catalysts to empower their own voice and initiative. This requires organisations to provide a framework and support for more patients to feel empowered to participate, regardless of their background or previous experience.
How patient organisations can change their structure for greater involvement.
Patient organisations can achieve greater engagement by making it easy for members to get involved. This may involve expanding opportunities for volunteering in smaller roles such as working group members, ambassadors for specific projects, or participation in online discussion forums. Flexible engagement options that suit different schedules and levels of experience can make it more attractive to be an active participant.
Additionally, decentralising decision-making processes can help more members feel heard and have direct influence. By creating local networking groups or online communities, members can more easily find like-minded people and participate in dialogues that directly relate to their own experiences and needs. A culture should also be created where every contribution, big or small, is valued as an important part of the organisation’s overall efforts.
What is missing for patient organisations to feel equipped to guide their members?
One of the biggest challenges for patient organisations today is that many of them lack the right resources to guide their members in patient engagement. Both knowledge on how to influence healthcare policy effectively and practical tools to engage members are needed.
Education is an important factor here – for both association leaders and members. Courses in communication, advocacy, and how to engage with the healthcare system can give members the confidence and skills to participate more actively.
Furthermore, expert support, such as partnerships with academic institutions or healthcare professionals, can be crucial to increasing the capacity of associations. The creation of peer-to-peer networks, where members help each other understand the systems and navigate the often-complex patient rights, can also play a role in empowering patients to take part.
Taking the pressure off the enormous work of patient organisations.
We understand that patient organisations do a huge and often invisible amount of work on a daily basis to support their members and create better conditions for patients. That’s why we’re working to take some of the pressure off the associations’ daily tasks and make a difference to make their work easier and more efficient.
This means providing resources, knowledge and tools to help organisations navigate complex structures and engage their members in a meaningful way. By providing easier access to information, education and support, we hope to lighten the workload and free up time for what really makes a difference – working directly with patients and their needs.