Telephonic Coaching Tool in Health Psychology

Health Psychology

Telephonic coaching

Patient adherence to taking medications has been a major issue facing many insurance companies. Patients tend to forget to take their medications, and this will reduce the effectiveness of the medicines. The lack of adherence means that the patient's disease will continue developing, and it might become chronic. The patients do not intentionally refuse or forget to take medications, it just happens and sometimes they end up taking the medications later than the appointed times or when they are in pain. In order to promote adherence, most insurance companies have proposed for telephonic coaching, which entails a nurse calling and reminding the patient to take their medication. The nurse no only calls to remind the patient regarding their medication, they also enquire about the patient's progress. This way the patient does not feel burdened with taking medication, but rather they feel they have someone who cares about their health. This patient concern is vital to promote open communication and encourage the patient to take his or her medication.

Patients like telephonic coaching, because it allows them to get reminders and enquire about their lifestyle. This way the patient is able to establish if he/she is leading the required lifestyle for managing their illness in this case diabetes. Managing diabetes has been shown in various studies as been possible provided the patient follows or adheres to the recommended instructions. Managing chronic diseases like diabetes is beneficial to the patient because they can continue leading their life in normal manner. Making use of motivational interviews, the life coach is able to encourage the patient to make life changes and make commitments to change completely (Adams et al., 2013). Patients have indicated that telephonic coaching has allowed them to change their nutritional behaviors and medication adherence, which have contributed to their life improvement. Satisfaction is one key factor for telephonic coaching.

Insurance companies encourage the use of telephonic coaching because it reduced their costs in the treatment of chronic disease like diabetes. Insurance companies are in the profit making business, and any strategy that would assist them to reduce or minimize their costs is quite welcome. Making use of telephonic coaching, the company is able to ensure that the patient's condition does not get worse and they can continue leading a healthy lifestyle as soon as possible. Improving patient outcomes ensures that the insurance company can reduce its treatment costs in the short- and long-term. By following up with a patient and monitoring their progress, the insurance company can establish of the strategy is working or if there is a need to make changes. Mitigating an issue early enough allows the company to spend less money while at the same time helping the patient. Medication adherence is promoted, which ensures that the company is not wasting its money paying for drugs that the patient does not use or take.

In the long-term, using telephonic coaching ensures that the insurance company does not have to deal with the same problem on the same patient. Encouraging a patient to make lifestyle changes is not only beneficial when the patient is sick, but rather it would still be beneficial in the end. The patient will have learnt how to manage their condition, and they would have developed a routine that they would be willing to stick to once they recover. Having someone that regularly communicates with the patient is vital because he/she can motivate the patient in ways that the patient did not think possible. The life coach has the ability to motivate the patient to make changes, which would allow them to manage the condition without medication or with reduced medication.

Quality of life

A patient suffering from diabetes, mentally challenged, or paraplegic would need to improve their quality of life to ensure that they lead a healthy and fruitful life. The presence of an illness does not necessarily mean that the person is weak or unable to perform their daily activities. There are people who look healthy and do not have an illness who are unable to live active lifestyles. A person suffering from diabetes would need to remain active in order to ensure that their metabolic rate is increased, and they can lead a normal life. Physical health is vital for a diabetic person and he/she should ensure that they do not become inactive due to their condition. Quality of life is an assessment of a person's well-being (Florez et al., 2012). It measures the individual's emotional, physical, and social life in order to determine their quality of life. A disease will affect an individual's quality of life over time, but this does not mean they cannot have a good quality of life. A person suffering from diabetes would manage to live and work like a healthy person provided they are able to take their prescribed medications and adhere to proper diet.

Leading a normal life for a paraplegic is not easy, and they need to adapt to the new situation. The person is forever in a wheelchair, but they have the ability to perform physical activities and take care of themselves with minimal or no assistance. Remaining active will ensure that the person does not succumb to inactivity, which would make them dependent on others and might lead to emotional instability. Physical activity like doing their own shopping, cooking, and going outside is vital to create balance in the individual's life. Performing housework or going to work is encouraged because this would promote the individual's health. Health-producing activities does not refer to activities of medical nature, but rather to any activity that an individual can perform, and it will aid them in improving their health status. For a paraplegic, this would require the individual to try as much as possible to live in their natural setting and only accept assistance to perform activities that might cause injury. The individual should try hard to perform most of their other activities, which would promote their well-being and improve on their health.