Allied Health Insights Vol. 1, No.7: Technology For Patient Engagement
The Covid pandemic was a major catalyst for the allied health professions’ adopting digital technologies and tools. Many of the digital technologies and tools that out of necessity saw a huge uptake by the allied health professions, such as telehealth and data analytics, are now being appraised for their long-term use post-pandemic. Telehealth is now being utilised by AHPs to ease elective surgery waiting lists, prevent unnecessary hospital admissions, and intervene in chronic diseases much sooner. Moreover, digital streamlining of administrative processes and the ready availability of digital resources are being adopted by the allied health professions to improve patient and client engagement.
For Allied Health Insights this week, we’ll be looking at how the allied health professions can use technology to improve patient and client engagement. Patients who are actively involved in their health care experience better health outcomes. ‘Patient engagement’ involves strategies to better allow patients to be active participants in their own health care, including providing better information and support about their health condition or needs, and involving them in decision making. Allied health professionals have a number of different technologies available—many already in use—that can be used to promote and support patient engagement. With careful planning, technology may generate room to streamline your patients’ experience. In this article we look at how allied health professionals can improve patient engagement through the use of specific technologies.
And for our weekly A to Z of Allied Health feature, we’ll be examining the audiologist profession. Many of us will recognise audiologists as healthcare professionals who work with people who have hearing loss and other hearing problems. What many people may not know, however, is that they also work with people with balance disorders. Audiologists work with people of all ages: from young babies through to older adults. They aim to improve their clients’ quality of life by maintaining and improving their ability to hear, process, and understand sounds, and by developing and restoring their sense of balance.
