Date of Last Review 6/7/07
SME: Director of Hospital Wide Education
UTHCPC provides patient/family education to enhance the patient/family knowledge,
skills, and behaviors s/he needs to restore quality of life and make informed
health care decisions.
Education for patients/family must be based on assessment of their:
 | Ability to learn based on the following: |
 | Cultural and religious practices |
| Emotional barriers |
| Desire and motivation to learn |
| Physical and/or cognitive limitations |
| Language barriers |
| Learning needs including the above factors and skills/knowledge deficits |
Education include instruction in the specific knowledge and/or skills the patient/family needs to meet the patient's ongoing health care needs, including but not limited to the following:
| Current health status |
| Safe and effective use of medication, if any |
| Safe and effective use of medical equipment, if any |
| Instruction on potential drug-food interactions and counseling on nutrition intervention and/or modified diets, as appropriate |
| Instruction in rehabilitation techniques to facilitate adaptation to and/or functional independence in the environment, if needed |
| Access to available community resources, if needed |
| When and how to obtain further treatment, if needed |
Patient and family education is important because it helps patient/family as follows:
| Facilitates the patient/family understanding of the patient's health status and health care options selected |
| Increases patient/family potential to follow the therapeutic health care plan |
| Maximizes care skills |
| Increases patient/family ability to cope with the patient's health status/prognosis/outcome |
| Enhances the patient/family role in continuing care and promoting a healthy lifestyle |
| Teaches the patient/family skills and techniques to aid in improved outpatient functioning |
| Encourages participation in decision-making about health care options |
Educational resources are selected and provided based on patient/family needs and include but not be restricted to the following:
| One-to-one presentations |
| Group classes |
| Video tapes |
| Pamphlets and patient handouts |
| Information on community resource availability and access |
| UTHCPC television Channel 7 (internal programming) |
The individual or organization responsible for the continuing care of the patient receives information about any discharge instructions.
The treatment team adapts the education to the appropriate age, culture, and language and individualizes it for the specific patient/family. The patient and family educational process will be interdisciplinary, as appropriate to the plan of care.
The treatment team documents the education of the patient/family in the patient's medical record.
Such documentation must include the following:
| Assessment and identification of educational needs |
| The interventions the staff member used to meet those needs |
| The patient/family understanding of the instruction or education |
Data Entry
Documentation of patient education is initiated by Nursing within eight hours of the patient's admission. Documentation of patient education is initiated by Social Services within seventy-two hours of the patient’s admission. Patient education is incorporated into the Multidisciplinary Treatment Plan by Nursing and Social Services within 72 hours. Data entry is completed in Sunrise Clinical Manager and guided by the, “Multidisciplinary Treatment Plan,” and the, “Problem/Priority and Weekly Review forms.”
Social Services - order and evaluate educational groups in the Order section of Sunrise Clinical Manager. Social Services Educational Progress Notes are part of the Psychosocial Assessment Process. Educational Progress Notes include handouts on orientation to 1) Program 2) Treatment Team 3) Group Schedule 4) Discharge and Post-Discharge Planning. The Case Management note will include education on aftercare resources and education of family and friends. The Social Services Progress Note will contain information recorded by Group Therapist, Pastoral Care, or Recreational Therapist and include information on the description, content, and evaluation of the group presented.
Nursing - documents 1:1 patient education under,” Interventions and Education” section of the Nursing Progress Note. The education should be related to the patient’s problem(s) as identified on the Master Treatment Plan. Nurse’s educational group classes are driven by the Patient and Family Education Manual which staff access online - Go To: F Drive, Info, Patient and Family Education Manual, Patient and Family Education Manual FY2.doc)
The Joint Commission : Provision of Care , Treatment and Services
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