The Patient Wellness initiative is a new, innovative model of care, focused on supporting patients with a complex interplay of risk factors to reduce their risks as they await orthopaedic elective surgery.
The initiative transforms an everyday health system interaction into an opportunity for behaviour change, capitalising on the elective surgery waiting period, to unveil a broader discussion about overall health and wellbeing and opportunities for reducing health risks and changing behaviour. Patients will gain greater knowledge of their health risks and will be supported to seamlessly navigate the public health system to access ongoing coaching and support to improve their modifiable lifestyle risk factors.
Patient Wellness Initiative
Summary
Aim
To provide targeted, evidence-based wellness advice to patients with complex needs and implement a pathway to support them to make sustainable behaviour change across eight modifiable lifestyle risk factors.
Benefits
- no burden on existing clinical areas or positions to implement new processes
- clinicians feel they have support 'behind the scenes' to comprehensively support their patients to improve their risk areas and to reinforce the advice and information they provide patients
- patients have a platform for advice, information and support to increase their health literacy
Background
Patients have a right to feel valued and that they have a platform for discussing their overall health and wellbeing in detail and to seek advice, information and support which ultimately increases their health literacy that can reduce their risk and improve their health prior to and post-surgery.
The challenges facing health today:
Utilisation of health services is increasing and there is no sign of a slow demand.
While people are living longer, they are living longer with illness or disability.
One-third of the disease burden can be attributed to the combined effect of modifiable risk factors