The objective of your report is to convince your supervisor that the
patient education program should be continued. To do this, you need
to provide information explaining what problem the program addresses,
how effective the program is at addressing it, and what the costs
associated with the program are.
To structure your report, you will want to begin with a brief (no more
than one page) summary providing the most significant points you have
to make in support of the patient education program. Clearly state
that these points caused you to decide to support continuation of the
program, with a brief explanation of why. The remainder of the report
then goes into each of these points in more detail. Quantitative
information is particularly helpful. I will discuss a number of areas
you will want to cover in your report.
First, you want to discuss the problem the patient education program
is trying to address. Why is there a need for a patient education
program in this area at all? For example, before the patient
education program was started, 20% of the general population in the
vicinity of our medical practice suffered from a particular medical
malady that they could avoid if they knew about some type of
preventive measure. This malady is very painful and results in 35% of
sufferers becoming partially or totally disabled.
Second, you want to discuss how the patient education program is
administered. Are people educated when they come in for treatment, or
are special classes held? Who teaches them? What is taught? How
many people have been served?
Third, you want to discuss the benefits of the patient education
program. How has it helped to resolve the problem? How is its
efficacy measured (for example, are questionnaires used to assess
students' knowledge before and after the program, has the prevalence
of the medical condition among those receiving the education
decreased, is there evidence that behaviors have changed among those
receiving education compared to those who have not)? Have new
patients been drawn to the practice because of the patient education
program, and if so, how many ? Has the medical practice received
beneficial publicity from the patient education program? If so, what
type and from whom? How much money is saved because of the patient
education program because less medical care is needed? For example,
of the 500 patients who have been educated over the last year, only 5%
suffer from the malady, whereas the general population who did not
receive the education continues to be affected at a rate of 20%.
Fourth, you want to discuss the costs associated with the patient
education program. Are there materials involved that have to be
purchased? Are the instructors paid extra to deliver the education?
Are there other costs associated with the facility where the
instruction is held, such as security associated with keeping the
clinic opened after hours? Also identify if there are external funds,
such as grants, being used that help defray the costs associated with
the program. Could external funds be obtained if they have not been
already acquired?
Fifth, if it is possible to associate a dollar value with the benefits
of the patient education program, compare that with the costs
associated with delivering it. Do this both from the perspective of
the medical practice itself and from that of society as a whole.
Finally, conclude by highlighting why the problem, the benefits of the
program, and the costs of the program lead you to support continuation
of the medical education program.
Sincerely,
Wonko |
