--- title: Want to Improve Health Outcomes? Start by Building Patient Confidence description: Patient confidence can improve health outcomes and lower hospital readmissions. image: https://blog.ubicare.com/hubfs/Ubicare_Image/Navigating_patients_through_their_care_continnum_improves_outcomes.png --- [![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/) # Want to Improve Health Outcomes? Start by Building Patient Confidence Posted by [Deirdre Wilson](https://blog.ubicare.com/author/deirdre-wilson) on Aug 11, 2015 2:00:00 PM ![Deirdre Wilson](https://blog.ubicare.com/hubfs/Blog/Deirdre_Wilson.jpg) Find me on: [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/pub/deirdre-wilson/5/96a/404) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ### ![Navigating_patients_through_their_care_continnum_improves_outcomes](https://blog.ubicare.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Ubicare_Image/Navigating_patients_through_their_care_continnum_improves_outcomes.png?width=1899&name=Navigating_patients_through_their_care_continnum_improves_outcomes.png) ### You’ve likely heard the adage, “Confidence breeds success.” It’s a saying that doesn’t only apply to goals and achievement. Confidence can also have a powerful influence on your health. Thirty years of research supports the concept that when patients feel confident in their ability to participate in their own healthcare, they’re more likely to do it well. As a result they enjoy better outcomes and experience lower hospital readmission rates. This is increasingly important as hospitals work toward the federally mandated healthcare goals of patient-centered care and Meaningful Use attestation. **The Research** The theory that “confidence supports competence” stems from renowned psychologist [Albert Bandura’s work on self-efficacy](http://www.apa.org/pi/aids/resources/education/self-efficacy.aspx) during the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s. The ability to influence self-management of chronic disease, in fact, is one of the applications of his Self-Efficacy Theory.  These days, healthcare providers are focusing on patient engagement and “activation”—the knowledge, skills, confidence and willingness to manage one’s own health in general, not just in the case of chronic disease. Providers agree that patients who are informed and actively involved in their own care have better outcomes and lower care costs in many situations. Healthcare consumerism expert Judith Hibbard, PhD, MPH, of the University of Oregon, has even developed and tested a [Patient Activation Measure](http://www.rwjf.org/en/library/research/2004/08/development-of-the-patient-activation-measure--pam-.html) questionnaire to help gauge patients’ knowledge, involvement and confidence in their care. **The Connection to Value-Based Care** Working with researchers at [Boston Medical Center](http://www.bmc.org), Hibbard *et al* have shown that [highly activated patients are less likely to have readmissions](http://www.hhnmag.com/Magazine/2014/Jan/inbox-predictive-modeling) or ED visits within 30 days of discharge from the hospital. Additionally, in a study at [Fairview Health Services](http://www.fairview.org/) in Minnesota, Hibbard found that patients whose activation scores were highest had lower billed-care costs during that same year, as well as lower costs during the succeeding 6 months. The benefits of patient engagement and “activation” bear out in other research, as well. One case study at Parkview Medical Center, a small hospital in Pueblo, Colo., linked [digital patient education systems](https://blog.ubicare.com/how-to-choose-patient-education-systems) to improved outcomes for knee and hip replacement surgery patients. In that study, knee replacement patients who received digital messages about their procedures before, during and after surgery had a 5% shorter length of stay and saved the hospital $360 each day on average. Among hip replacement surgery patients, the average length of stay was reduced by 17% and the hospital saved an average of $2,000 each day. **[![Patient Messaging Linked to Outcomes](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/502025/7dcfbff3-3f2a-4071-a6c5-706481671317.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/502025/7dcfbff3-3f2a-4071-a6c5-706481671317)** **The Advantages of Digital Connection** With the evidence linking patient activation to better self-care and improved health outcomes, consider how *you* are building your patients’ health knowledge and confidence. In an age where [87% of U.S. adults are online](http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/health-fact-sheet/), the most effective connections occur with [digital patient engagement and education](http://www.ubicare.com/patient-engagement-solutions/). By making digital connections, engaging patients with the right education at the right time, and doing so throughout the care continuum—before, during and after a hospital stay or procedure—you’ll see the biggest return on investment for both patients and your hospital. Ultimately, you’ll make a real impact on population health. Topics: [Meaningful Use](https://blog.ubicare.com/topic/meaningful-use), [Improving Patient Outcomes](https://blog.ubicare.com/topic/improving-patient-outcomes), [Patient Engagement](https://blog.ubicare.com/topic/patient-engagement) ### Get the latest patient engagement insights. 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