--- title: When Is the Best Time to Activate Patients? description: When is the best time to activate patients? In today’s healthcare environment, there is so much that your patients need to know. But if you want to engage patients in their care, you should only expect them to think about the next step or two in the care continuum and start setting patient expectations early in the care episode. image: https://blog.ubicare.com/hubfs/timing-is-everything.jpg --- [![logo](https://blog.ubicare.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Ubicare_Image/logo.png?width=250&name=logo.png)](http://www.ubicare.com/) - [Home](https://ubicare.com/) - [About](https://ubicare.com/about-ubicare/) - [Blog](https://blog.ubicare.com/) - [Client Login](https://mobile.ubicare.com) - [Contact Us](https://ubicare.com/contact/) # When Is the Best Time to Activate Patients? Posted by [Jo Charest](https://blog.ubicare.com/author/jo-charest) on Sep 8, 2016 3:29:40 PM ![Jo Charest](https://blog.ubicare.com/hubfs/Blog/Jo.jpg) Find me on: [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmcharest) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ![Timing is everything](https://blog.ubicare.com/hs-fs/hubfs/timing-is-everything.jpg?width=5139&name=timing-is-everything.jpg) There are many solutions out there that engage patients at different times in the care journey. At UbiCare, we have always maintained that [setting patient expectations earlier in the care episode](http://www.ubicare.com/patient-activation) is better to improve patient outcomes. Research supports this, as well. In a [Gallup study](http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/183317/benefits-pre-surgery-education.aspx) of pre-surgery patients who received education to set expectations, researchers found that going into surgery with a good idea of what’s coming afterwards had the biggest impact on patient satisfaction. In fact, 72% of those patients who strongly agreed that they knew what to expect after surgery also reported that they were extremely satisfied with their surgery results, and only 8% reported post-surgical problems.  Technology now means that you’re not limited to the usual one-time, pre- and post-op visits or printed booklets for setting patient expectations. You can share care instructions in small, easy-to-digest segments by reaching patients through email or text. In this way, you can communicate in a more conversational way and build an ongoing relationship with patients over time. This style of direct patient activation is shown to be more effective at [helping patients recall care instructions](http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0191940) and allows patients to focus on just the next step or two ahead of them. The consistency and amount of information you’re giving counts. Fortunately, technology makes it easy for hospitals to automatically connect with patients sooner, and to [engage patients throughout an episode of care](http://www.ubicare.com/patient-activation) with just the information they need to know—timed perfectly to their care paths— and without extra work from doctors or hospital staff. 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