Ancient Greek teachings state that there are three basic tools of medicine “the herb, the knife, and the word” (Grant 1995). EPITOME focuses on “the word” as an important tool for providing education and assisting in the promotion of patient safety through decreasing medication errors and improving medication adherence behaviors.

The key to improving patient safety outcomes through medication adherence is by providing continuous medication education, beginning with daily medication administration and continuing through hospital discharge.

This ongoing process enables the nurse to assess patient behaviors and understanding, and provides the patient with an opportunity to learn, reinforce, and question the importance of the medication education presented. This approach is supported by the health behavior change model (See  Figure Below), which advocates for education sessions that are structured to provide exchange of information in an atmosphere that is conducive to learning. Applications of this model have been shown to reduce patient resistance by reinforcing the importance of medication information and building confidence in it, thus supporting patient-centered education efforts (Rollnick 2003).

Nursing, pharmacy, and respiratory therapy staff receive training via this model, and are expected to attend at least one health behavior change program, art-of-active listening program, or patient/pharmacist communication live or Internet-based program (Link to HEALTH BEHAVIOR CHANGE TRAINING CD).

The Health Behavior Change program reviews the basic principles, including respect for patient autonomy, positive information exchange, ability to monitor readiness for change, and targeting the importance of information and patients’ confidence.  This program teaches the health care provider to better negotiate change (e.g., medication regimen) sensitively and effectively. 

The Art of Active Listening program teaches health care professionals to improve their communication and conflict management skills.  This program addresses communication needs, including: cultural competence, adherence, and delivering emotionally charged news/information. 

The pharmacist-patient consultation program addresses the professional concerns of pharmacists by teaching practical and effective communication and consultation techniques that will help expand a patients’ knowledge about a prescription.  This program helps pharmacists to identify functional and emotional barriers to optimal communication in the consultation environment and explain and prepare for potential problems that may arise during a patient consultation.  All educational programs are targeted to improving the communication skills of health care professionals when interacting with patients, and providing a foundation for strong patient-centric communication with continuous feedback and assessment of knowledge to promote an optimal learning environment.

Health Behavior Video