Improving patient outcomes through self-management

As patients take greater responsibility for their health and wellbeing, there is an opportunity for chiropractors to provide advice to help patients with an interest in managing their own condition between appointments.

The GCC public perceptions research, published earlier this year, highlights how patients are looking for more than just actual hands-on treatment from their chiropractor. The importance of receiving care that includes exercises and self-management advice scores highly amongst patients.

Providing advice around lifestyle, diet and exercise is important to encourage and help patients self-manage their conditions, which can ultimately lead to better patient outcomes.

According to the research, many registrants are already responding to the changing needs of their patients, with just over three-quarters (76%) of patients noting that they have received general health advice from their chiropractor.

In a new GCC blog, registrant Fay Waiting highlights the benefits of providing her patients with a bespoke care plan. She says, “I consider a valuable part of my role as a healthcare professional is to give advice to my patients about exercises that are not only suitable for their condition but also enjoyable and realistic such as walking or a Pilates class. In my experience, patients who follow exercise and self-management advice achieve better outcomes in the long-term and are more likely to stay pain or injury free.”

The public perceptions research also suggests that many patients want to have an active role in the decisions around their treatment. Patients score shared decision-making with input from both practitioner and patient highly.

To support the decision-making process many patients, want to be informed about their treatment options using research evidence.