Flip No. 68

Give Clear and Lasting Instructions for Care

How a personalized plan can help patients meet goals between visits.

By Susan Todd, Grace McElroy, John Sharp, Jennifer Sryfi

Developed at Flip the Clinic Lab: Princeton

Even patients who are really engaged while they’re in the clinic can have a hard time tracking and sticking to their health goals after they leave. Staying motivated can be tough without a clear understanding of how far they’ve come in the treatment process and how far they need to go. And the longer the time between visits, the easier it is for patients to forget instructions.

Patients should walk out of the clinic door with a tool in hand that gives them a comprehensive vision of their health and a clear path to reaching their goals. Personal wellness plans can help, but a stack of papers is easy to misplace. Why not borrow an idea used by sports teams and wedding planners the world over—printed magnets. Patients look at the front of their fridges every day and are already used to having mementos that mark wedding dates and that lay out sports team schedules. These visible reminders would serve as a tiny and visible bridge that supports patients between visits.

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