From the Guidelines
The relationship between healthcare providers and patients in telehealth settings is crucial for achieving positive patient-centered outcomes, and it is characterized by mutual respect, understanding, and trust, as well as effective communication and empathy 1. The concept of therapeutic relational connection (TRC) in telehealth has been explored in recent studies, highlighting the importance of intentional relationship-building between healthcare providers and patients in virtual settings 1. Key attributes of TRC in telehealth include:
- Mutual respect and understanding
- Effective communication and empathy
- Cultural humility and presence
- Ability to evaluate patient concerns and build relationships These attributes are essential for establishing a strong patient-provider relationship in telehealth settings, which can lead to improved communication, adherence to treatment recommendations, and increased patient satisfaction 1. The use of telehealth platforms has increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is essential to develop guidelines and educational interventions to train healthcare providers in the skills needed to establish TRC during telehealth visits 1. Surrogate or similar terms for TRC in telehealth include connection, relationship, nonverbal communication, presence, reciprocal flow of openness and dialogue, and therapeutic alliance 1. Overall, the relationship between healthcare providers and patients in telehealth settings is critical for achieving positive patient-centered outcomes, and it requires intentional effort and skill-building to establish a strong therapeutic relational connection.
From the Research
Relationship Between Medication Adherence and Chronic Disease Management
- Medication adherence is associated with improved clinical outcomes for chronic disease management and reduced mortality from chronic conditions 2
- Nonadherence is associated with higher rates of hospital admissions, suboptimal health outcomes, increased morbidity and mortality, and increased health care costs 2
- Improving medication adherence is a public health priority and could reduce the economic and health burdens of many diseases and chronic conditions 2
Factors Contributing to Medication Adherence
- Patient-related factors, such as information and knowledge of diseases and their treatment, communication, trust in patient-provider relationships, support, and adequate resources, are critical facilitators in medication adherence 3
- Barriers to medication adherence include patient-specific, illness-specific, medication-related, healthcare and system-related, sociocultural, as well as logistical and financial factors 3
Interventions to Improve Medication Adherence
- Comprehensive medication management (CMM) services have been shown to improve medication adherence across various chronic disease medications 4
- Face-to-face CMM services resulted in improvement of medication adherence, with consistently higher and statistically significant proportion of days covered (PDC) levels across all therapeutic classes 4
- Psychosocial interventions engaging people in medication self-management offer potential for improved patient outcomes in complex diseases 5
General Health Checks and Medication Adherence
- General health checks are associated with increased detection of chronic diseases, moderate improvements in controlling risk factors, and improvements in patient-reported outcomes 6
- General health checks may be beneficial for groups at high risk of overdue preventive services, uncontrolled risk factors, low self-rated health, or poor connection or inadequate access to primary care 6