Patients Want More Engagement with Doctors

Patients are looking for doctors who will check up on them and offer guidance between office visits according to a new report, “A Fragile Nation in Poor Health,” a look at why patients don’t follow their doctors’ treatment plans and what solutions are available to the healthcare community. Eighty-three percent of consumer survey respondents said they did not follow treatment plans given to them by their doctors exactly as prescribed, but, the respondents said, they’d do a better job following doctors’ orders if doctors checked up on them between visits. Forty-two percent said they would do better following a treatment plan if they received encouragement between visits and 35 percent said they’d do better if they received reminders via email, voicemail or text to do specific things, like take their medication.