What is patient engagement anyway?

Everyone wants to engage patients in the hope they can improve outcomes and drive down costs. Unfortunately, many unvalidated assumptions and barriers are getting in the way and there is a cacophony of conversations going on between people talking at each other. One of the issues is that we don't all agree on the definition of "patient engagement"

Employee engagement is a workplace approach designed to ensure that employees are committed to their organisation’s goals and values, motivated to contribute to organizational success, and are able at the same time to enhance their own sense of well-being. If we apply that concept to patients, then some define engagement as "actions individuals must take to obtain the greatest benefit from the health care services available to them." This definition focuses on behaviors of individuals relative to their health care that are critical and proximal to health outcomes, rather than the actions of professionals or policies of institutions.

There are several things we need to consider in the conversation if we agree on the definition: