Capstone Project Completed at Eastern Michigan University
In addition to O&P patient evaluation and device fabrication and fitting, certified O&P clinicians are responsible for patient education (PE) regarding those devices and services.1,2 In hospital settings, the quality of PE upon discharge is statistically negatively correlated with readmission rates. Readmission often represents preventable healthcare costs, and can leave patients feeling dissatisfied in their healthcare and unhappy with their ability to manage their own health.4 Yetzer states that healthcare professionals are responsible for patient education to provide information, assessing each patient’s understanding of the information, and restating the information as necessary for understanding.3