As payments to hospitals and ambulatory providers become increasingly dependent on improving patient satisfaction and patient engagement, it is vital that health care systems create and maintain a culture of patient-centered care. However, many hospitals don’t have the time or the skills to create and maintain this sort of culture—one that is capable of changing behaviors across health care teams, increasing patients’ engagement in their own care, and helping patients make healthier lifestyle choices.
The Johns Hopkins Patient Engagement Program (JHPEP) is a comprehensive, in-person, skills-based training program that teaches nurses, physicians, social workers and other providers how to change their team’s culture, engage their patients as partners in health care, and communicate in a way that motivates patients to engage in healthier behaviors. Learn more about the program at hopkinspep.org.
More than 2,000 providers across Johns Hopkins Medicine and external to Johns Hopkins Medicine have participated in the patient engagement program (PEP) since it was first offered in 2012. Data from those participants indicate high levels of learner satisfaction with PEP and valuing of the skills taught. Additional data indicate that learners experience significant improvement in provider communication skills and provider knowledge and attitudes about what helps to improve patient engagement in health care. Preliminary data also show that PEP contributes to improved HCAHPS scores on the Provider Communication Composite.
JHPEP is rooted in evidence-based communication principles and motivational interviewing skills that can be customized to meet local needs. JHPEP has several components:
Stephen T. Wegener, Ph.D., ABPP is director of the Division of Rehabilitation Psychology and Neuropsychology, professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and a professor of Health Policy and Management in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. His clinical activity is focused on providing psychological services to persons with traumatic injuries and chronic illness. His research focuses on theories and projects that have the potential to improve function and reduce disability. These projects emphasize the importance of patient-centered care models, self-management by patients and the use of motivational interviewing by providers. His research has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control, the Department of Defense and several foundations.
Nicole Schechter, Psy.D., is an assistant professor in in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Clinically, Dr. Schechter specializes in providing psychological services to persons with chronic health conditions. Her research is focused on the factors that improve patient-provider relationships and patient-provider collaboration to effect positive patient health outcomes and organizational change. She serves as the coordinator of the Johns Hopkins Patient Engagement Program.
For 130 years, Johns Hopkins Hospital has led the way in both biomedical discovery and health care, establishing the standard by which others follow and build upon. This is one of many faculty-developed programs, protocols and services provided by Johns Hopkins HealthCare Solutions to improve health outcomes and reduce the cost of care.
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