Provider Experience, Community Health Workers, and the Quintuple Aim

 
The Practice Transformation Institute (PTI) Community Health Worker (CHW) educational programs are designed to strengthen CHW knowledge, performance, and measurable impact. CHWs have gained national and state attention to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes.    
PTI’s CHW program teaches nationally recognized C3 Council competencies and prepares participants to function effectively across community and health care settings. PTI is an approved provider of Community Health Worker training by the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS), following a rigorous approval process and years of community and health system partnership. PTI is also uniquely distinguished by its IACET accreditation, underscoring its commitment to training excellence. This structured training supports CHWs in advancing all elements of the Quintuple Aim. 

Provider Experience and the Quintuple Aim
The Quintuple Aim, developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI, 2025), includes five essential goals for health system performance: population health, patient experience, cost, health equity, and provider experience.  Among these, provider well-being has emerged as a critical factor to reduce burnout and healthcare workforce strain. Improving provider experience is essential to achieving the Quintuple aim and delivering optimal care.

Why Provider Experience Matters
Health care providers (physicians and others) face increasing demands: complex patient care, administrative requirements, workforce shortages, and pressures to achieve productivity.  These challenges contribute to burnout and decreased job satisfaction.  When provider experience decreases, downstream effects include decreases in quality of care, patient experience, practice staff experience, and decreased job satisfaction. Cost of care increases due to inefficiencies, and population health goals become more difficult to achieve.

Provider Experience and Team-Based Care
One of the most effective strategies to improve physician and provider experience is to implement strong, team-based care. Creating an interactive practice team, with team members delivering care and services at the top of their licenses, certifications, and training, allows providers to focus on clinical decision-making while other team members focus on social determinants/drivers of health (SDOH) and logistical needs. Community Health Workers (CHWs) play an essential role in this model.

The Role of Community Health Workers in Team-Based Care
Throughout this series, we have focused on the role of Community Health Workers (CHWs) and their unique position as members of the communities they serve.  CHWs are uniquely positioned to operationalize health equity within care teams, applying lived experience, focusing on cultural norms, and understanding systemic barriers within communities and systems of care.  CHWs extend the care team across clinical settings and communities, bridging gaps between patients, physicians, and providers by addressing non-clinical factors that influence health. 
CHWs support providers by:

•         Addressing barriers, such as food insecurity, transportation, and housing

•         Reinforcing patient education

•         Coordinating follow-up and outreach with patients and families

•         Improving communication between patients and care teams

CHW support allows providers to work more effectively and efficiently, reducing the burden critical social needs place on clinical care delivery time.
                                             Figure 1: CHW Impact on Physicians and Providers

The Role of Community Health Workers in Reducing Physician and Provider Burnout
Burnout occurs when pressures and job demand exceed available resources.  CHWs contribute to reduced physician and provider burnout by balancing demands within practices to meet patient and family needs.  With CHWs in practices, physicians and providers function at the top of their training, care is proactive, and outcomes improve.

This shift reduces burnout and builds a sustainable workforce.

CHW Impact on the Quintuple Aim
CHWs contribute to improvements in every component of the Quintuple Aim.  In addition to improving physician and provider experience, CHW support allows physicians to deliver more consistent, high-quality care, improving population health.  Patient experience improves when providers spend more time with them, fostering patient and physician/provider relationships.  Finally, team-based care including CHWs reduces duplication of services and leads to reduced cost of care.

For more information on PTI CHW education and training, visit https://transformcoach.org/learning-solutions/community-health-worker-chw-program/.  
  
References

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2025). National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024).  Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/health-disparities-hiv-std-tb-hepatitis/about/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/healthequity/index.html. 
• Institute for Healthcare Improvement. (2025). The Quintuple Aim.
• Paulson, C.A., Durazo, E.M., Purry, L.D., Covington, A.E., Peters, R.A., Bob, B.A.,  Torchia, S., Beard, B., McDermott, L.E., Lerner, A., Smart-Sanchez, J., Ashok, M., Ejuwa, J., and Cosgrove, S. (2021).  Adding a seat at the table: A case study of the provider’s perspective on integrating community health workers at provider practices in California.  Public Health, 9:690067. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.690067
• Practice Transformation Institute (2025). Community Health Worker Training Program.

 

Equity, Community Health Workers, and the Quintuple Aim

 

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI, 2025) developed the Quintuple Aim as a framework to improve health system performance. Originally introduced as the Triple Aim in 2012, the framework emphasized improving population health, enhancing patient experience, and reducing per capita cost. The Triple Aim has since evolved to the Quintuple Aim with five interdependent dimensions: population health, patient experience, cost, provider well-being, and health equity.  Health equity is not an “add-on” to the Quintuple Aim.  It is the foundation that determines whether improvements in the other four domains are meaningful and sustainable. This month, we focus on equity and the Community Health Worker role.

 

What Does “Equity” Mean in the Quintuple Aim?

 

Health equity is the attainment of the highest level of health for all people (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024).  Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. Achieving equity requires us to value everyone equally, adjust resources for disadvantaged groups, and remove systemic barriers such as poverty, racism, discrimination, language barriers, geographic isolation, and other social and structural factors.  This concept moves beyond disparities and aims to create an even playing field for all populations. 

 

                        Figure 1.  Advancing the Quintuple Aim (Matheny, et. al)

 

 

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ, 2025) examines and documents persistent health disparities on an ongoing basis.  As we reviewed in our cost discussion, the United States experiences significant disparities in maternal health, chronic condition outcomes, and access to care.  These disparities persist, despite spending more per capita on health care than any other developed nation (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, 2025).  Health equity requires system transformation and a population health (rather than individual or sub-population) focus.

 

Equity and Social Determinants/Drivers of Health (SDOH)

 

Health inequities are rooted in upstream social and structural factors, often referred to as Social Drivers/Determinants of Health (SDOH): 

• Housing stability
• Food security
• Transportation access
• Education and health literacy
• Employment and income
• Access to culturally responsive primary care

 

When these upstream drivers are unmet, individuals are more likely to delay care and use emergency departments for non-emergent needs, resulting in fragmented care.  These patterns are the result of structural inequities and result in adverse health outcomes.

 

Moving to an upstream care model is essential to achieve equity.  The Chronic Care Model (Wagner, 1998) emphasizes proactive, coordinated, community-linked systems.  However, without explicitly focusing on equity and justness (the concept of being fair in action or treatment), upstream efforts may fail to reach communities and populations experiencing the highest levels of structural inequity. 

 

The Role of Community Health Workers in Advancing Equity

 

Throughout this series, we have focused on the role of Community Health Workers (CHWs) and their unique position as members of the communities they serve.  CHWs are uniquely positioned to operationalize health equity within care teams, applying lived experience, focusing on cultural norms, and understanding systemic barriers within communities and systems of care.

 

CHWs advance equity by:

• Identifying and addressing SDOH barriers that disproportionately affect marginalized populations
• Providing culturally and linguistically appropriate education
• Using evidence-based techniques such as motivational interviewing and teach-back to improve understanding and engagement
• Building trust in communities historically at odds with health systems
• Supporting navigation of complex systems such as Medicare, specialty referrals, and social services

 

By addressing root causes rather than symptoms alone, CHWs help ensure that improvement efforts reach populations most affected by inequities.

 

Equity and Physician/Provider Well-Being

 

Equity is also directly tied to physician and provider well-being. When health systems lack adequate infrastructure to address patients’ social determinants/drivers, physicians/clinicians may experience burnout.  Integrating CHWs into care teams takes advantage of the most appropriate team roles, physicians and team members practice at top of license, and patients’ and caregivers’ non-clinical barriers are addressed.  This creates an equity-centered practice model and supports workforce sustainability consistent with the Quintuple Aim.

 

Equity and CHW Investment

 

Investing in CHWs is a strategic way to improve effective, integrated, equity-focused care.  CHWs contribute to: 

• Reduced disparities in preventive service utilization
• Improved chronic care management in targeted, high-risk populations
• Improved prenatal care and postpartum follow-up
• Improved patient and family experience among marginalized populations

 

The Practice Transformation Institute (PTI) CHW educational programs are designed to strengthen CHW knowledge, performance, and measurable impact. PTI is an approved provider of CHW training by the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS) and holds IACET accreditation, reflecting a commitment to training excellence.

 

PTI’s CHW program teaches the nationally recognized C3 Council competencies and prepares participants to function effectively across community and health care settings. This structured training supports CHWs in advancing equity while simultaneously improving outcomes, cost performance, and care coordination.

 

Advancing the Quintuple Aim Through Equity

 

Equity is not separate from cost, quality, or experience; it determines them. Systems that ignore inequities may temporarily improve performance on certain metrics, but disparities will persist or widen. Sustainable transformation requires embedding equity into workforce design, care coordination, community partnerships and value-based models.

 

Investing in equity has the highest potential to achieve the full intent of the Quintiple Aim.  Community Health Workers are central to this transformation and effort to deliver just, equitable care.

References

 

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2025). National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports.

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024).  Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/health-disparities-hiv-std-tb-hepatitis/about/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/healthequity/index.html. 

 

Institute for Healthcare Improvement. (2025). The Quintuple Aim.

 

Johns Hopkins University (2022).  The difference between health equity and equality.  Retrieved from https://www.hopkinsacg.org/health-equity-equality-and-disparities/.

 

Matheny, M., Israni, S.T., & Whicher, D. (Editors, 2019).  Artificial intelligence in health care:  The hope, the hype, the promise, and the peril. NAM Special Publication. Washington, DC: National Academy of Medicine. 

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2025). The OECD: Better policies for better lives.

 

Wagner, E. H. (1998). Chronic disease management: What will it take to improve care for chronic illness? Effective Clinical Practice, 1, 2–4.

 

Practice Transformation Institute (2025). Community Health Worker Training Program.

 

Cost, Community Health Workers, and the Quintuple Aim

 

The Quintuple Aim is a framework developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI, 2025) to understand and improve health system performance. Originally proposed as the Triple Aim in 2012, the framework focused on improving population health, enhancing patient experience, and reducing health care costs. Over time, the model expanded to include other human and equity dimensions of care, resulting in the Quintuple Aim: population health, patient experience, cost, provider well-being, and health equity.

In prior discussions, we explored population health and patient experience, highlighting the essential role Community Health Workers (CHWs) play in delivering high-quality, team-based care. This month, we will discuss cost, which is often considered the most challenging aspect of the Quintuple Aim.

What does “cost” mean in the Quintuple Aim?

In the context of the Triple Aim, cost refers to the total cost of care for a population.  While total cost of care (TCOC) includes the price of services, it is broader and more complex.  TCOC includes avoidable emergency department use, inpatient admissions and readmissions, duplication of services (such as tests and medications), inappropriate utilization, and waste caused by inefficiencies. 

Increased health care costs place financial strain on patients, families, employers/purchasers, payers, and government programs (e.g., Medicare and Medicaid).  The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a group of 37 economically developed member countries that shape policies that foster prosperity, equality, opportunity, and well-being for all (OECD, 2025).  The United States has the highest health care cost per capita of all OECD countries.  However, this increased spending does not consistently improve outcomes. For example, certain important U.S. health outcomes (life expectancy, maternal mortality, and hospitalizations for heart failure and diabetes) also exceed all OECD countries (Peterson KFF Health Systems Tracker, 2025). 

Consistent with the Quintuple Aim and the Chronic Care Model (Wagner, 1998), achieving health care value (decreasing cost while simultaneously improving quality outcomes) will depend on shifting from reactive care to proactive, coordinated, community-based approaches that address utilization drivers. 

Cost and Social Determinates/drivers of Health (SDOH)

A significant portion of health care spending is driven by Social Determinants/drivers of Health (SDOH).  We often refer to “upstream” and “downstream” care.  Downstream care occurs after a problem is identified by treating symptoms and managing associated complications.  Upstream care focuses on prevention, root causes, and addressing conditions before illnesses or problems occur. When individuals have unmet SDOH needs (e.g., food insecurity, unstable housing, transportation barriers, lack of access to primary care) they are more likely to delay care and experience worsening chronic conditions. This cycle often results in high-cost services, such as emergency department visits and inpatient admissions where care remains downstream.  Moving care upstream will require us to understand how social and environmental factors influence downstream utilization and to invest in strategies to prevent avoidable costs before they occur.

The role of Community Health Workers (CHWs) in cost reduction

Community Health Workers (CHWs) play a critical role in advancing the cost dimension of the Quintuple Aim. As we have discussed, CHWs are trusted members of the communities they serve and bridge gaps between clinical care and everyday life. Their lived experience and cultural responsiveness, including using the patient’s primary language, enable CHWs to identify SDOH needs and other barriers to support patients and health teams.  The figure below estimates the percentages of TCOC components and potential CHW impact:

CHWs help reduce costs by:

-       Educating patients on self-management using evidence-base “teach-back,” “show-back,” and motivational interviewing techniques to increase preventive care utilization and reduce inpatient admissions

-       Improving follow-up after emergency department visits, redirecting patients to primary care and potentially preventing future inappropriate ED use

-       Connecting patients to community-based resources that address SDOH

By addressing root causes rather than symptoms alone, CHWs help shift care upstream, improving outcomes while lowering unnecessary utilization and TCOC.

Investing in CHWs as a cost containment strategy

Increasing evidence shows that CHWs are not an added expense but a high-value investment. When integrated effectively into care teams, CHWs contribute to lower utilization, improved quality outcomes, and improved patient and provider experience, advancing multiple dimensions of the Quintuple Aim.

The Practice Transformation Institute (PTI) CHW educational programs are designed to strengthen CHW knowledge, performance, and impact. PTI is an approved provider of Community Health Worker training by the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS), following a rigorous approval process and years of community and health system partnership. PTI is also uniquely distinguished by its IACET accreditation, underscoring its commitment to training excellence.

PTI’s CHW program teaches the nationally recognized C3 Council competencies and equips participants with the skills needed to function effectively across a variety of community and health care settings. This robust training supports CHWs in contributing meaningfully to cost reduction, improved outcomes, and sustainable system transformation.

Investing in prevention, care coordination, and community-based solutions can improve outcomes while managing costs more effectively. CHWs are central to this effort, helping align clinical care with SDOH and other patient needs to advance the Quintuple Aim in practice.

References

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2025).  National healthcare quality and disparities reports.  Refer to reference in figure.

Institute for Healthcare Improvement. (2025). The Quintuple Aim.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2025).  The OECD: Better policies for better lives.  Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/en/about.html

Peterson KFF Health Systems Tracker (2025).  How does the quality of the U.S. health system compare to other countries?  Retrieved from https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/quality-u-s-healthcare-system-compare-countries/

Wagner, E. H. (1998). Chronic disease management: What will it take to improve care for chronic illness? Effective Clinical Practice, 1, 2–4.

 

January is Social Determinants/Drivers of Health (SDOH) Month!

Social determinants/drivers of health (SDOH) are conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship and age.  These fall under broad categories: Health Care Access and Quality, Neighborhood and Built Environment, Social and Community Context, Economic Stability, and Education Access and Quality. 

Examples of SDOH include safe housing, access to nutritious foods and physical activity, education, jobs, transportation, language and literacy skills, education, jobs, and physical safety.  Although often non-clinical, these conditions have a major impact on health, well-being, and quality of life.

Addressing SDOH is a priority for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to improve the health and well-being of people in the United States (Healthy People 2030).

Community health workers (CHWs) are non-clinical members of care teams uniquely positioned to address SDOH needs.  CHWs have lived experience, cultural humility, and deep knowledge of the communities they serve.  They interact with patients and families to address SDOH, making crucial contributions to improved health.

Please join the Practice Transformation Institute (PTI) in recognizing CHWs and their ongoing commitment to patients, families, and care teams.    

For more information on CHWs and PTI programs, visit the website: https://transformcoach.org/learning-solutions/community-health-worker-chw-program/

Healthy People 2030, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Retrieved 1-7-2026 from https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/social-determinants-health

 

Patient Experience, Community Health Workers, and the Quintuple Aim

 

The Quintuple Aim is a framework developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI, 2025) to understand and improve health system performance.  Originally proposed as the Triple Aim in 2012, the model was widely adopted as a strategy to improve population health, patient experience, and reduce health care costs.  The Triple Aim has been expanded beyond quality and cost to include human and equity dimensions of care: population health, patient experience, cost, provider well-being, and health equity.   Last month, we explored population health, how it differs from public health, and the essential role community health workers play in the delivery of excellent team-based care.   The second dimension we will address is patient experience.   What is patient experience? The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ, 2025) defines patient experience as “the range of interactions that patients have with the healthcare system, including their care from health plans and from doctors, nurses, and staff in hospitals, physician practices, and other healthcare facilities.”    This definition is expanded when we consider the Chronic Care Model (CCM, ACT Center, 2025).  Originally developed by the MacColl Institute (now the ACT Center), the Chronic Care Model serves as the foundation to understand the delivery of high-quality patient care.  In addition to the AHRQ definition, the CCM identifies communities and self-management as essential for productive interactions between informed patients and providers. These productive interactions drive improved patient experience and patient-centered quality of care.    Like population health and public health, the terms patient experience and patient satisfaction are often used interchangeably.  However, to understand patients’ experiences of care, we need to look beyond satisfaction to consider other factors that patients value: self-management support, shared decision making, getting information, communication with clinicians, access to care, courtesy and respect, care coordination, and culturally appropriate care.      AHRQ, 2025   What is the community health worker’s role in patient experience?   CHWs play a critical role in improving patient experience, which directly impacts population health and the Quintuple Aim.  Trusted in the community, they bring lived experience and cultural responsiveness to build trusting relationships with patients and families (CHCS, 2025).  CHWs address social, cultural, and other barriers that health care teams may not be able to resolve.  They accomplish this though education, care coordination, and connection to community resources.  CHWs build trust and contribute to factors patients value: self-management support, communication, getting information, access, and culturally appropriate care. The Practice Transformation Institute (PTI) CHW educational programs strengthen CHW knowledge, performance, and contribution to improved health outcomes.  PTI is an approved provider of Community Health Worker (CHW) training by the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS). The approval follows a rigorous application process and more than two years of PTI providing CHW training through community and health system partnerships and support. Among one of the CHW training programs approved by the state, PTI is the only organization with the coveted IACET* accreditation. The program teaches the National C3 Council skills and health knowledge necessary to function as a CHW in a variety of community settings. This robust training offers teaching excellence along with a leading-edge curriculum that supports the participants in achieving the learning objectives of the program. For more information on PTI CHW training, visit https://transformcoach.org/learning-solutions/community-health-worker-chw -program/ or call (248) 475-4736.    References: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2025).  What is patient experience?  https://www.ahrq.gov/cahps/about-cahps/patient-experience/index.html. Anhang Price, R., Elliott, M.N., Zaslavsky, A.M., Hays, R.D., Lehrman, W.G., Rybowski, L, Edgman-Levitan, S., & Cleary, S. (2014).  Examining the role of patient experience surveys in measuring health care quality. Medical Care Research Review, 71(5), 522-54.  doi: 10.1177/1077558714541480. Epub 2014 Jul 15. PMID: 25027409; PMCID: PMC4349195. Center for Accelerating Care Transformation, https://www.act-center.org/application/files/1616/3511/6445/Model_Chronic_Care.pdf. Institute for Healthcare Improvement, https://www.ihi.org/library/topics/quintuple-aim. Wagner, E.H. (1998, seminal article).  Chronic disease management: What will it take to improve care for chronic illness? Effective Clinical Practice, (1), 2-4.

What is Population Health?

Patient- or client-centered care delivered by prepared, proactive practice teams is essential for excellent healthcare delivery (Center for Accelerating Care Transformation). Community Health Workers (CHWs) are important members of healthcare teams, bridging gaps between clinical health care and community-based resources (Center for Health Care Strategies, 2025).

In healthcare, we often talk about the Quintuple Aim, a framework developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (2025) to understand and improve health system performance. The Triple Aim (the initial form of the Quintuiple Aim) was proposed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI, 2012) as a purpose statement for simultaneously improving population health, patient experience, and per capita cost reduction. The Triple Aim was adopted by the US Department of Health and Human Services as a framework for the National Quality Strategy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Commonwealth Fund. The Quintuple Aim expanded the Triple Aim beyond quality and cost to include human and equity dimensions of care: population health, patient experience, cost, provider well-being, and health equity.

Over the next several months, we will explore each of these dimensions and how CHWs contribute to improved outcomes.

The first dimension we will address is population health.

What is population health?

There is ongoing confusion about the difference between population health and public health. These terms are often used interchangeably, but they are separate yet related disciplines. The World Health Organization (2023) describes public health as aiming “to provide maximum benefit for the largest number of people.” Public health agencies are organized at local, regional, state, and federal levels with responsibilities for communicable disease control, chronic disease and injury prevention, environmental health, emergency preparedness, assessment and surveillance, community partnership development, and policy development (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2025).

The term population health initially surfaced in 1990 with a focus on health status and outcomes in specific groups of people (D. Kindig & G. Stoddart, 2003). Groups may be comprised of patients based on location, provider practice, payer, chronic condition(s), age, health behaviors (e.g., cancer screening, emergency department use), or other variables. The goal of population health is to proactively identify and implement interventions to optimize health status within a group. This is done by implementing targeted, evidence-based interventions that often go beyond physical and behavioral health care to address social, economic, and environmental factors impacting health.

What is the community health worker’s role in population health?

CHWs play an important role in population health, particularly with increased recognition of Social Determinants/Drivers of Health (SDOH). CHWs bring lived experience and cultural responsiveness needed to build trusting relationships with patients and families (CHCS, 2025).

They are educated in SDOH assessment and evidence-based approaches such as motivational interviewing, goal setting, and action planning. CHWs have a deep understanding of community-based services and assist clients, families, and caregivers with navigating complex healthcare systems.

CHWs provide outreach, education, and social support for issues such as unstable housing, food insecurity, and transportation. CHWs may also support patients with chronic health conditions such as diabetes by reinforcing the importance of medication adherence, monitoring, and follow-up (CHCS, 2025).

The Practice Transformation Institute (PTI) CHW educational programs strengthen CHW knowledge, performance, and contribution to improved health outcomes. PTI is an approved provider of Community Health Worker (CHW) training by the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS). The approval follows a rigorous application process and more than two years of PTI providing CHW training through community and health system partnerships and support. Among one of the CHW training programs approved by the state, PTI is the only organization with the coveted IACET* accreditation.

The program teaches the National C3 Council skills and health knowledge necessary to function as a CHW in a variety of community settings. This robust training offers teaching excellence along with a leading-edge curriculum that supports the participants in achieving the learning objectives of the program.

For more information on PTI CHW training, visit https://transformcoach.org/learning-solutions/community-health-worker-chw-program/ or call (248) 475-4736.

References:

Center for Accelerating Care Transformation, https://www.act-center.org/application/files/1616/3511/6445/Model_Chronic_Care.pdf

Institute for Healthcare Improvement, https://www.ihi.org/library/topics/quintuple-aim

Kindig, D. & Stoddart, G., (2003, seminal article). American Journal of Public Health, 93, 380-383.

Michaud, J., Kates, J., Oum, S., & Rouw, A., U.S. Public Health 101. In Altman, Drew (Editor), Health Policy 101, (KFF, October 2025) https://www.kff.org/health-policy-101-u-s-public-health (accessed 11-5-2025).

Roux, A.V. (2016). On the distinction – or lack of distinction – between population health and public health. American Journal of Public Health, 106(4), 619-62. Doi: 10.2105/AJPH.206.303097. PMID: 26959262. PMCID: PMC4816152.

Patient Engagement: The Key to Better Health Outcomes

 

Engaging patients in their own care is one of the most powerful strategies to improve health outcomes, strengthen relationships, and support long-term self-care management and behavior change. When patients feel heard, understood, and empowered, they are more likely to actively participate in their care and treatment plans, making informed decisions that improve their overall well-being.

One proven way to enhance patient engagement is through Motivational Interviewing (MI). MI is a patient-centered communication technique that has been developed to help motivate ambivalent patients. Also, it guides care teams to have collaborative, empathetic conversations, empowering patients to explore their motivations and overcome barriers.

 Why Motivational Interviewing Matters

• Builds trust: Patients feel respected and valued when care team members listen with empathy.
• Encourages self-motivation: Through MI, care teams guide patients to find their own reasons for making health changes.
• Improves adherence: Patients are more likely to follow treatment plans when they are part of the decision-making process.
• Supports diverse care settings: MI is effective across primary care, behavioral health, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), palliative care, and more.

At Practice Transformation Institute (PTI), we believe engaging patients is the heart of quality care. PTI supports patient engagement by equipping care teams with tools, skills, and educational courses, such as Patient Engagement Foundations, to foster productive, patient-centered conversations. Through the Patient Engagement Foundations course, participants will learn the core principles of motivational interviewing and how to apply these skills across different care settings.

 Course Objectives:

• Describe the patient-centered approach of MI
• Explain the conversation style that represents the Spirit of MI
• Demonstrate basic MI skills
• Discuss how to use patient language cues (change talk and resistance) in practice
• Explain how to engage patients in the four MI processes necessary for health behavior change
• Identify barriers to patient engagement and behavior change
• Identify how to make cultural adaptations to MI

(It is strongly recommended to complete Introduction to Team-Based Care before taking this course.)

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Course Details: (Live Virtual)

November 13, 2025 | 8:30AM – 4:30PM

Cost: $300 per participant

This training provides practical tools to enhance patient engagement and strengthen care team communication, skills that benefit both patients and providers alike.

 Register Today: https://cvent.me/RD8o9E

Let’s continue building stronger connections, improving outcomes, and transforming care—one patient conversation at a time.

 

References

1. Hibbard, J. H., & Greene, J. (2013). What the evidence shows about patient activation: Better health outcomes and care experiences; fewer data on costs. Health Affairs, 32(2), 207–214.
2. Lundahl, B., Moleni, T., Burke, B. L., Butters, R., Tollefson, D., Butler, C., & Rollnick, S. (2013). Motivational interviewing in medical care settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Patient Education and Counseling, 93(2), 157–168.
3. Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2013). Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.