Supporting healthcare professionals to enhance patient experience through better communication

Arthritis Action, the UK charity helping people with arthritis live better lives, needed to better understand the information needs and communication gaps for patients with inflammatory arthritis in secondary care settings. They sought insights into how healthcare professionals share self-management resources and wanted to identify where high-quality communication could improve patient experiences and outcomes throughout the care pathway.

Approach

Blue Lozenge conducted comprehensive research combining multiple methodologies to understand both professional and patient perspectives:

• Carried out extensive desk-based research reviewing existing self-management resources available to healthcare professionals
• Analysed academic literature for best practice in self-management communication and professional engagement
• Conducted guided conversations with secondary care healthcare professionals to understand their preferences and practices for sharing patient resources
• Performed communication health checks at two hospital trusts’ rheumatology teams, examining communication practices, patient demand drivers, and barriers to effective self-management
• Facilitated two patient journey mapping workshops – one with inflammatory arthritis patients and another with healthcare professionals
• Co-created an ideal patient communication pathway with patients, identifying key touchpoints and resource gaps

Our approach ensured both clinical expertise and lived experience informed the research findings.

Impact

The research delivered critical insights into healthcare professional habits and patient needs regarding self-management resources. These findings provide Arthritis Action with a clear roadmap for developing world-class resources that fill identified gaps and support rheumatology teams in enhancing their communication practices. The co-created patient communication pathway offers a framework for improving patient experiences and outcomes throughout their care journey.