Patient education meets economic austerity, accountability demands, and staff burnout

Three non-mutually exclusive forces (economic austerity, accountability, and staff burnout) come together to demand a close look at the methods used to plan and evaluate patient education programs. A program development approach that focuses on the impact of patient education activities could respond to the demand of each of these forces. If patient educators can submit data on the impact their activities have on patients, they will be in a better position to compete for limited resources. If accountability is the obligation to disclose those acts for which an individual, group, or institution is responsible, then an approach that documents processes and outcomes will satisfy this demand. If such an approach enables patient educators to set goals and measure the success of programs, the staff burnout phenomenon can be diminished. Such a planning approach, together with an example, is described.