Developing a Plan for Engaging Consumers
This section covers the steps the planning team should consider when developing an organization-level strategy for engaging consumers and discusses four broad categories of engagement. The steps outlined here include assessing preexisting engagement policies, gathering data on the patient population and community, selecting engagement strategies, and building an outreach plan. While these steps are presented in a linear fashion, this process is, in fact, an iterative process. The planning workgroup should actively seek feedback from patients, community members and staff throughout this process and be prepared to revise the strategy as necessary. It may be helpful for workgroup members to intentionally implement a quality improvement framework such as Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA).
Types of Engagement Approaches
Engagement approaches typically fall into one of four main categories: communication, consultation, collaboration and co-ownership.
- Communication and Consultation approaches involve a one-way flow of information from the organization to the consumer or vice versa.
- Collaboration and Co-ownership approaches involve the bidirectional flow of information and require the creation of deeper relationships between organizations and the consumers and communities they serve.
All four categories of engagement approaches have their benefits and drawbacks. Ideally, an organization will employ a mix of strategies drawing from all four categories in order to engage patients and families with different perspectives.
Organizations truly dedicated to person-centered engagement should invest in collaboration and co-ownership strategies that promote the bidirectional flow of information.
Note: This section describes four engagement strategy categories; Collaboration, Co-ownership, Communication and Consultation. Health care organizations are often already familiar with the Communication and Consultation strategies typified by the one-way flow of information to or from consumers. While these strategies are an acceptable component of a larger plan, organizations that are truly dedicated to person-centered engagement must also incorporate Collaboration and/or Co-ownership strategies that foster bidirectional information exchange.
Key steps for the planning team in strategy development
- Ensure the planning team includes members who represent the diversity of the patient population being served.
- Work with frontline organization staff to survey existing consumer engagement policies and approaches at the organizational, service line and departmental levels.
- Analyze performance on available patient-reported measures, after visit surveys and any other patient-centered measures to understand areas of strength and identify opportunities for improvement.
- Analyze and summarize data on the organization’s patient population and the broader community to inform outreach strategies aimed at recruiting diverse participation that is reflective of the organization’s patient mix and the broader community.
- Develop short-term and long-term action items that are measurable, attainable and incorporated into the organization’s larger strategic goals. Ensure these measurable items reflect the importance of staff education, readiness to participate, and progress on the development of accessible consumer outreach and meeting strategies.
- Review and select potential consumer engagement strategies to implement and consider the pros and cons of each approach. There is a range of potential engagement strategies organizations can use as described in the graphics at the end of this section.
- Develop a preliminary outreach plan for the selected engagement strategies, leveraging any existing opportunities to interact with consumers. Potential opportunities for outreach include service recovery calls, telephone on-hold messages, websites, handbooks, in-clinic flyers, and direct invitations from staff members during patient interactions. Outreach strategies should also incorporate direct appeals to community members and community-based organizations that can assist with engaging people who may not be active consumers but can still share valuable insight on broader community needs.
Self-Assessment Questions
On a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 indicating “strongly disagree” and 5 indicating “strongly agree”), rate your organization’s performance on the following questions:
- The planning workgroup has a clear understanding of how our current policies impact patient engagement efforts.
- My organization has used existing data sources to develop a preliminary understanding of strengths and opportunities for improvement in consumer engagement.
- My organization has used data to develop a profile of the community we serve (e.g., demographics, economic status, resources, needs, and health care conditions) to inform engagement planning.
- Our engagement planning effort has a timeline with clear, attainable and measurable goals that are tied to the organization’s overall strategic plan.
- The planning workgroup has identified a clear set of outreach opportunities and developed a strategy to invite patients to participate in engagement strategies.
Resources
- Foundational Materials
- National Academy of Medicine: Framework for Patient and Family Engaged Care
- Planetree: Patient and Family Partnership Council and Beyond Primer
- Networks of Opportunity for Child Wellbeing: Community Engagement Resources
- Institute for Patient and Family Centered Care: Strategies for Changing Policies
- Tips and Tools
- Additional Resources