The Influence Patient Education has in Health Care

The Influence Patient Education has in Health Care
Patient education plays a significant role during and after the recovery of patients. It basically refers to equipping patients with the requisite knowledge and attitude to enhance health and self-care. One of the benefits accrued to the strategy is that it improves healthcare outcomes (Paterick et al., 2017). However, this is only attainable if robust and unreserved engagement exists between patients and physicians. I interviewed several people to get a firmer grip on how effective patient education is in the U.S. Below is an interview I had with a friend of mine, Paul Garcia, who is sixty-seven years old. He had undergone successful surgery to correct a recurring knee problem that had plagued him over the years.
I got underway with the interview by seeking to know whether P. Garcia had received instructions on how to care for himself. He replied in the affirmative; given the invasive procedure of his treatment and advanced age, it had been imperative to educate him thoroughly on how to care for himself after discharge. This is because patient education plays a crucial role in preventing readmission (Heath, 2022). In addition, he disclosed that the representative looped in one of his family members to manage his care at home (P. Garcia, personal communication, August 24, 2022). According to him, the education paid special attention to medication instructions and potential side effects. It also focused on his specific needs as regarded his circumstances.
Further, I sought to know whether he had received any advice regarding his medication, diet, and exercise. In answering this question, P. Garcia noted that healthcare professionals meticulously taught him how best to go about his medication. In addition, they warned him about any possible side effects and how to navigate such an eventuality. As important, the healthcare professionals attending to him intimated that the effectiveness of his recovery would immensely depend on his diet (P. Garcia, personal communication, August 24, 2022). In this regard, they advised him on what to and not to include in his diet. Regarding exercise, and as Hoogeboom et al. (2014) intimate, my friend was duly informed that physical exercise was utterly important. This is because being excessively immobilized during recovery can cause post-surgery complications and poor functional outcomes. Therefore, he was educated on how to exercise without putting his body under unnecess...