Patient Journey Mapping is a process by which healthcare users can outline their individual healthcare experience in detail with time-dependent information using tech tools such as a timeline, online maps, images, and audio and video clips. This process can help strategize patient care plans or determine what needs improvement to create better experiences.
Healthcare providers can use it to understand their patient’s needs, discuss, problem-solve, and create plans to improve their treatment experiences.
Understanding the Stages of the Patient Journey
The growth of social media has created a way for patients to share their stories and share and discuss their own experiences in real time. Healthcare providers require consumer data from their patients. Patient Journey Mapping provides this information and allows for a way to analyze what problems are encountered, need improvement, or should be solved.
1. Awareness
The first step is for healthcare providers to determine the patient’s needs and how these needs can best be solved. Before mapping, healthcare providers should understand their patients’ concerns and needs. It allows healthcare professionals to create a user-friendly platform that is easy for patients to understand. Patients being aware of their healthcare journey will enable them to be involved in mapping the journey and understanding how this process can ultimately benefit their overall healthcare experience.
2. Access
Establishing contact between the patient and the healthcare provider is of the utmost importance. Healthcare providers should guide patients throughout their journey so they may feel engaged and a part of their well-being. Patients should know how the process works, why it is essential, and what it could mean for them moving forward in their healthcare experience. Making patients aware of where their journey is headed will allow them to feel more content and satisfied with their progress.
3. Engagement
One of the goals of PJM is to allow patients to become engaged in their healthcare experience. Patients involved in the process are more likely to take ownership of any outcomes and move forward as more active healthcare partners. Healthcare providers must create an engaging, interactive, and motivating platform that will allow patients to feel like they are taking part in their own healthcare experience.
4. Care
After accepting the services, patients should be given the best care possible. Providing patients with an in-depth healthcare experience will allow them to feel at ease and provide better service. For it to be successful; healthcare providers must enable the patient to see a clear connection between their journey and the services they receive. Living up to their journey will allow them to see the best results and provide the best care possible.
5. Treatment
Treatment is where healthcare providers can better understand how to improve treatment procedures. Healthcare providers can see how a patient’s health condition can lead to multiple problems that must be addressed before the patient can continue their journey. These complications will allow healthcare providers to help patients overcome their health issues and move forward with better care methods. As a result, patients will be able to receive more effective care and better results.
6. Follow up
it provides a platform for healthcare providers to evaluate how a patient’s progress has improved. By examining how patients track their health journey, healthcare providers can create plans to help improve their results and the overall process of patient care. Patients should use their experience mapped to track their treatment and ensure it is going well. Making it a long-term strategy will allow patients to be more involved in their recovery and create a more comprehensive guideline for future treatment.
The essence of PJM is to show how a patient’s health journey can be tracked and how this connects with patient care. Healthcare providers must remember that the ultimate goal is to improve patient care while ensuring they consider their actual patients’ needs. Allowing patients to see a link between their journey and treatment services will make them feel more comfortable, trust the process, and find better overall treatment.
