After saving lives, patient education is our most important service

After saving lives, the most important service of health care providers is patient and family education.

Think about it.

Patients come to us, wanting and needing our help.  We intervene, and save their lives.  But we won’t always be there to take care of them.  At some point, they leave us and need to take over care for themselves.

If this transition is to be successful, we need to teach them how to best take over their care.  They need to learn how to give themselves treatments and medications.  They need to learn how to recognize problems, and how to respond.  If they don’t learn these things, and don’t do them correctly, they could end up sick again and back in the hospital.  Or worse.

After saving lives, there is no other service we provide that is more important than patient and family education.

However, our behaviors don’t always show it.  We give them pieces of paper with discharge instructions as they run out the door, without discussion.  We hand them prescriptions and ask, “Do you have any questions?”  We offer piles of pamphlets in our waiting rooms, but never discuss the contents with them.

This is not teaching.

So next time you provide direct patient care, observe your practice.  Are you just saving lives?  Or are you also taking that next step, and teaching them how to care for themselves?

Patient education is not a nice little extra.  It is the care we provide.