Learner Outcomes
- At baseline, health care professionals have moderate to high levels of knowledge around good communication and moderate to high levels of confidence to apply this knowledge
- At baseline, health care professionals' communication skills are low, despite levels of knowledge and confidence
- The training significantly improves communication skills
- Four hours of live training is sufficient to improve communication skills
- Health care professionals are highly satisfied with the training, identifying it is a good use of time and directly applicable to their work
Health System Outcomes
A care coordination model that include five bundled interventions, including the Patient Engagement Program (PEP) was associated with lower health care spending and improved health outcomes.
- Berkowitz, S. A., Parashuram, S., Rowan, K. Andon, L., Bass, E. B., Bellantoni, M.,… Brown, P. M. C. (2018). Association of a care coordination model with health care costs and utilization: The Johns Hopkins Community Health Partnership (J-CHiP). JAMA Network Open, 1(7), 1-14.
Articles that support PEP
- Physician use of patient-centered communication can buffer the impact of patient medical mistrust on patient mistrust of health care professionals and patient compliance with health recommendations. Cuevas, A. G., O'Brien, K., Saha, S. (2019). Can patient-centered communication reduce the effects of medical mistrust on patients' decision making? Health Psychology, 38(4), 325-355.
- Three factors have been found to impact the quality of patient-provider relationships in fibromylagia: how providers give information to patients, matching between providers abilities and access to resources and patients' needs, collaborative approach to responsibilities. PEP addresses all three factors. Chen, A. T. & Swaminathan, A. (2019). Factors in the building of effective patient-provider relationships in the context of fibromyalgia. Pain Medicine, 0(0), 1-12.
- Good patient-provider communication improve adherence to asthma medications by way of improving patient trust in their provider and patient motivation. PEP teaches specific skills that increase patient trust and patient motivation. Young, H. N., Len-Rios, M. E., Brown, R., Moreno, M. M., & Cox, E. (2017). How does patient-provider communication influence adherence to asthma medications? Patient Education and Counseling, 100(4), 696-702.
- Physicians used more patient-centered communication when they perceived that the patient was a good communicator, was satisfied with the care they were receiving, and was likely to adhere to recommendations. PEP addresses how providers can adapt their attitudes and perceptions to create more engaged patients. Street, R. L. Jr., Gordon, H., & Haidet, P. (2007). Physicians' communication and perceptions of patients: Is it how they look, how they talk, or is it just the doctor? Social Science and Medicine, 65(3), 586-598.
- There was significant improvement in provider burnout and patient satisfaction after clinicians participated in an intensive communication skills training. Pollak, K. I., Nagy, P., Bigger, J., Bilheimer, A., Lyna, P., Gao, X.,…Armstrong, S. (2016). Effects of teaching motivational interviewing via communication coaching on clinician and patient satisfaction in primary care and pediatric obesity-focused offices. Patient Education and Counseling, 99(2), 300-303.
- Provider burnout serves as a barrier to ability to use quality patient-centered communication. PEP teaches ways to reduce burnout. Robbins, R., Butler, M. & Schoenthaler, A. (2019). Provider burnout and patient-provider communication in the context of hypertension care. Patient Education and Counseling, 102(4).
Clinical Studies that used PEP in Recruitment and Retention
- Aspirin or low-molecular-weight heparin for thromboprophylaxis after a fracture. New England Journal of Medicine, 2023 388(3), 203-213.
- ARBOR-Telehealth study: an examination of telerehabilitation to improve function and reduce opioid use in persons with chronic low back pain in rural communities - protocol of a pragmatic, individually randomised group treatment trial BMJ Open 2025;15:e102773. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-102773
- Study Design and Protocol of a Randomized, Pragmatic, Comparative Effectiveness Trial Evaluating a Sequenced Strategy for Improving Outcomes in People with Knee OsteoArthritis Pain (SKOAP): Conservative Treatment Evaluation. Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism 2025 Sep 23 (p. 152834). WB Saunders.
- Comparative effectiveness of non-pharmacological treatments and sequences for chronic low back pain. A sequential multiple assignment randomized trial. Annals of Internal Medicine. (In Press 2026).