The complete guide to patient engagement for independent practices

The most successful practices have patients who are active partners in their own care. This is the essence of patient engagement — a strategy that leads to better health outcomes, higher satisfaction, and a more efficient practice.

The concept is not longer limited to the relationship between a provider and a patient. True patient engagement means a person is proactively involved and empowered throughout their entire healthcare journey, from appointment booking to following care plans. 

This shift means that engagement is influenced by every interaction a patient has with your practice, including every team member and every digital tool you provide. Below, we offer a comprehensive guide to foster this partnership and build a more successful practice.

Many patients today feel they are not meaningfully involved in their treatment plans or condition management. Some do not fully comprehend their diagnosis or treatment options, while others lack the necessary tools, resources, or knowledge to effectively self-manage their care between visits. A 2021 peer-reviewed article named "personal" factors — including a lack of self-care knowledge and the difficulty of changing habits — as a top barrier among patients with heart failure.

“Patient engagement has been found to have many benefits for the patients themselves, as well as for the organizations that support and facilitate it,” says Jan Oldenburg, consumer health information strategy and personal health engagement expert, author of several books, and founder of Participatory Health Consulting.

Engaged patients have higher quality care and cost less because they have the motivation, comprehension, and skills to adhere to their care plans. This engagement encourages proactive behavior in seeking appropriate follow-up care and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Patient engagement is closely tied to patient activation, which Judith Hibbard, founder of the patient activation measure (PAM) — one of the most commonly used methodologies used to assess patient engagement — described as “understanding one’s own role in the care process and having the knowledge, skills, and confidence to take on that role.” 

Engaged patients:

When patients transition from passive recipients to active partners in their care, the results are clear for their health and your practice's performance:

Patient engagement is not a static measurement or a box to tick yes or no. Rather, there are various levels at which providers can work to engage patients in their own healthcare journeys. 

Based on the 6 stages of stakeholder involvement, which is often used in community advocacy and also the business and finance industries, the 6 stages of patient engagement are similarly a spectrum. Each step denotes greater patient involvement in their own health.

The more engaged patients are, the more likely they are to be self-motivated in their healthcare. A 2020 peer-reviewed study noted that the “engaged patient has a strong motivation to become more knowledgeable and more powerful.”

This could be because the same techniques that help support patient engagement — active listening, open-ended questions, affirming a patient’s perspective — help emphasize their intrinsic motivations in care conversations. Once a clinician has identified what those motivations are, they are better able to work alongside patients to co-create care plans and make decisions, which can help promote shared decision-making. 

The process of advancing through the 6 steps of patient engagement can serve to motivate patients, too — as they acquire more knowledge, skills, and confidence. 

Here are 7 actionable strategies you can implement to build a more engaged patient population and a more successful private practice.

Effective engagement begins with exceptional communication. This means practicing active listening to ensure patients feel heard, and ditching medical jargon in favor of clear, simple explanations. Always provide written instructions — in a patient's preferred language when possible — to improve understanding and adherence after the visit.

Move from instructing patients to collaborating with them through shared decision-making. This involves working together to create personalized treatment plans that reflect a patient’s unique goals, values, and lifestyle. When patients help build the plan, they are far more invested in the outcome.

Patients expect the same digital convenience from their healthcare provider that they get in their day-to-day lives. Tebra's 6th annual Patient Perspectives survey confirms that certain tools significantly improve their experience. Nearly half of all patients value online access to lab reports (48%) and automated appointment reminders (47%), while many also prioritize the ability to book (43%) and reschedule (40%) appointments online and communicate through secure messaging (39%). Implementing these tools automates the patient journey and meets modern expectations.

Part of engaging patients means meeting them where they are. For many, telehealth is a more convenient and accessible option for routine follow-ups, medication checks, and consultations. Tebra’s data shows that a growing number of patients — 18% in 2025, compared to 9% in 2024 — will leave a healthcare provider over lack of telehealth options, making it a critical tool for a modern, patient-centric practice.  

Engagement shouldn't end when a patient leaves your office. Use your patient portal or secure text messaging to maintain an open line of communication. Proactively check in, answer questions, and provide encouragement to help patients adhere to care plans. A 2022 JAMA study found that simple text message outreach reduced a patient's risk of hospital readmission within the next 30 days by 41%. 

Go beyond one-size-fits-all care by using formal assessments to understand patient activation. A tool like the PAM provides a baseline of a patient’s confidence in managing their health, allowing you to tailor your approach for maximum impact. 

Regularly ask patients for feedback about their experience. This has a powerful dual benefit: it provides your practice with testimonials for social proof and also gives you invaluable, actionable insights to improve your operations. More importantly, it shows patients you value their voice.

Understanding whether your patient engagement strategies are working requires a clear way to measure their impact. The most effective approach combines a formal, clinical standard with real-time data from your practice operations.

For a more formal assessment, the patient activation measure (PAM) is a widely validated tool to assess a patient's knowledge, skills, and confidence in managing their own health. Developed by Judith Hibbard, it assigns a score that helps you understand where a patient is on their journey, from "disengaged and overwhelmed" to "active self-manager." Higher PAM scores are directly correlated with better health outcomes and lower costs, making it the foundational metric for measuring true patient activation. 

While PAM provides the clinical benchmark, your daily operational data offers a real-time pulse on engagement. Use the framework below to track these key indicators, understand why they matter, and set targets for improvement.

Beyond these metrics, your patient feedback and online reviews are a direct qualitative line to the patient experience and can help you pinpoint successes and concerns. Tools like Tebra’s AI Review Replies can help you respond to new reviews, good or bad, within seconds. AI Review Insights gives you the full story behind the feedback to catch issues early and improve patient satisfaction. Learn more in the video below.

Building a more engaged patient population is one of the most effective ways to create a thriving, resilient practice. It’s a continuous process of improving communication, leveraging technology, and empowering patients to become active partners in their own care.

As you implement these strategies, the following resources can provide deeper insights and support: 

While these resources provide the framework, the right technology brings your strategy to life. Tebra's intuitive, all-in-one platform is designed to streamline tasks, simplify scheduling, and hear directly from your patients. Book a demo today.

Engagement is an active partnership between a patient and their provider to improve health outcomes. It expands beyond the office visit to include shared decision-making, consistent communication, and empowering patients to be active in their own care.

While "patient engagement" doesn't have a single synonym, related terms include "patient activation" (a patient's readiness to manage their health), "patient partnership," and "patient collaboration." All emphasize the goal of an active, involved patient.

They are digital tools that improve communication and give patients self-service options. Key examples include patient portals, secure and compliant 2-way messaging, automated appointment reminders, online scheduling, telehealth platforms, and digital intake forms.