Leveraging “Webside” Manner for Better Health Outcomes

​It isn’t just what you do for your patients, it’s how you do it.  Patients decide whether they like their healthcare provider and will visit them based on more than just medical expertise. 

Bedside manner is a vital attribute for fostering patient relationships. ​However, as the walls of healthcare have come down, the traditional physical spaces that patients and clinicians intersect have been redefined. Patients are now surrounded by technology offering them access to health and wellness solutions at their fingertips. The growth of the telemedicine industry has led to a greater demand on a providers’ “webside” manner: their style of offering support and comfort to a patient remotely.
 
Webside manner is no more, or less, difficult or important than bedside manner – it just requires a different skillset. It is as important as bedside manner in securing open communication between patients and healthcare professionals in order to secure positive health outcomes.
 
While developing a webside manner may be difficult at the start, it can lead to impressive healthcare results, as David Steinhorn, MD told Wired, “My experience is that, once you get past some initial hurdles, you can maintain an intimate, immediate connection with patients that in some cases may be more therapeutically useful than even in-person interactions.”
 
Here are some thoughts and techniques to keep in mind to improve a webside approach:
 

• Ease of Use: Patients won’t be able to get very far with these healthcare technologies if they don’t feel comfortable using them. As in many industries, customer experience needs to be top-of-mind when creating digital health tools. Making devices and apps user-friendly will help ensure that patients don’t feel frustrated and are able to achieve their healthcare goals.

 

• Proper Training: Our world is rapidly becoming more digital. The leading healthcare providers, specialists and systems have already evolved. Still, these tools cannot be simply rolled out without a planned strategy. Understanding them and knowing how to properly implement – while infusing a human touch – will help patients maintain their medical plans.

 

• Gather Feedback: If you are going to improve your digital health program, it is worth soliciting feedback from patients. This information is another way to further understand patients – the benefits they have seen and whether they believe they achieved the results they were aiming for. These details can help with future patients and can lead to additional improvements.

 
A patient’s perception of care and experience matters. Being able to communicate to patients in an honest manner is a necessity, whether it’s face-to-face or online. Paying attention to webside manner with as much diligence as bedside manner is the key. The tools are here; it’s imperative they be put to use effectively.