Patient Relationship Management

"Namaste, Ms. Jane welcome to Magnum Hospital. I see you are due for a scan this Friday; would you like to confirm the appointment?

"Good Morning, Mr.Shekar we

नमस्ते-Namaste is a customary greeting originating from the Indian Subcontinent when individuals meet, and a salutation upon their parting.

The same has to be redefined - well-defined for the Todays patients as they are both customers and consumers.

Unless the patient is in a critical condition and is being driven to the closest hospital, the patient can choose which hospital to "purchase" services from. Patients are now managing Hospital's business. So each patient, or a prospective patient, is an asset.

PATIENTS HAVE MULTIPLE CHOICES….

When Leonard Kleinrock's initial idea of Internet or packetization way back in 1960's was floated, little did people realize the effect of Internet on an already labyrinthine doctor-patient relationship. Two fundamental changes are evident because of the Internet- patient empowerment and transformation of point of care.

Patient Relationship management as consequence

Healthcare provider such as Physicians, Dentists, therapeutist, Labs,Pharmacies ,Diagnostic Centers and hospitals, and the patients have to rethink their attitudes and approaches. The challenge is to manage the new developed autonomy of the empowered patient.

Patient Relationship Management is a way to understand, diagnose and evaluate threats and to recognize means of systematic improvement.

Definition-PRM

A definition of the Swiss ICT on the occasion of the user forum "e-Health" thus phrased:

"Under the designation Patient Relationship Management, all efforts of maintaining the relationship between health professionals and patients including information and communication technologies can be subsumed"1

Around the Dawn of the Millennium Healthcare showed its interest in Relationship Management. There were approaches from medical practitioners of describing the doctor-patient relationship before,

An attempt of describing the new role of the patient made by Smith. He focused on the communication between patient and doctor and interrogated the patients about their attitudes

The year 2001 was a golden year of PRM research. Now, for the first time the concept of Relationship Management was applied on Life science and Health Management.

The main focus of a Patient Relationship Management would revolve around:-