Eyeworld

March 2017 • Ophthalmology Business 15 5. Make sure the video's mes- sage is clear even if the person is only listening. "Many people simply listen to a video and glance away from their phone, tablet, or com- puter.… I assume one-third of my audience can't hear my message and one-third can't see my message. If those people can still get the gist of my message, I'm in good shape," Mr. Farkas said. 6. Plan how you will show the video—and what technology you may need. This requires ample space and equipment if patients watch vid- eos at your office, Dr. Anderson said. At Dr. Ozerov's office, the availability of tablets has been a perfect medi- um for patients to access videos and apps. Outside the office, you'll want to make sure patients know where to find your videos and confirm they can access them, Dr. Anderson added. Keep in mind that not all patients will want to watch them. "This may be especially true of older individuals who are less knowledgeable about technology or more skeptical of the trustworthiness of technology," she said. OB References 1. Shukla AN, et al. Informed consent for cata- ract surgery: patient understanding of verbal, written, and videotaped information. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2012;38:80–84. 2. Egekeze N, et al. The age of OrthoInfo: A randomized controlled trial evaluating patient comprehension of informed consent. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2016;98:e81. 3. Crabtree TD, et al. Outcomes and percep- tions of lung surgery with implementation of a patient education video module: a prospective cohort study. J Am Coll Surg. 2012;214:816– 21.e2. Editors' note: The sources have no finan- cial interests related to their comments. Contact information Anderson: landerson@natcom.org Brockman: danielle@boxcarpr.com Farkas: farkasd@ohio.edu Ozerov: karensuedennis@gmail.com Rosdahl: jullia.rosdahl@duke.edu videos help address concerns about health literacy. "Generally, videos are thought to be a useful means of increasing health literacy as well as improving patient engagement, activation, and knowledge," said LaKesha Anderson, PhD, assistant director for academic and profession- al affairs, National Communication Association, and part-time faculty, communication MA program, Ad- vanced Academic Programs, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C. In fact, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administra- tion recommends the use of videos to help overcome health literacy barriers, which can include the use of words patients do not understand, lower education levels, cultural barri- ers, and limited English proficiency, Dr. Anderson said. The downsides? Still, videos aren't always a perfect solution. First, providers must careful- ly select the ones they will use. "I think the biggest hurdle is choosing the right video at the right time for each patient," Dr. Rosdahl said. "For example, a video about glaucoma surgery is not useful for a glaucoma suspect patient and might scare her, and a video generally about glauco- ma is likely boring for a long-stand- ing glaucoma patient." Videos also still challenge pa- tients if the images or spoken words are not at the right health literacy level for patients, Dr. Rosdahl said. While it's easy to assess the read- ability of a written document, this may be harder to do with a video if a transcript is not available. Additionally, videos still require explanation. "The videos are just the starting point. We use them as a way to prepare patients for what's to come and to give them a more in-depth understanding of their condition and the procedure," Dr. Brockman said. 6 tips for video use Here is how your practice can maximize its use of videos for better patient education. 1. Don't feel the need to make your own if you aren't ready to do so. There are a lot of high-quality products out there already, Dr. Ros- dahl said. Some video sources that physicians in this article like include ones from Rendia, pharmaceutical companies, YouTube, Sight Selector, and the American Academy of Oph- thalmology. That said, Dr. Brockman said his office has been happy with the videos that it created as it makes patients feel more connected to the practice and the doctor before they even visit. 2. Watch the videos yourself. "Quality varies," Dr. Rosdahl said. When you watch, make sure they are appropriate for your patient mix, and check for length. "Nowadays, the attention span for videos is 2 to 3 minutes. Shorter is better," she said. The videos you choose also should help illustrate concepts that are hard to explain—for example, a video can perhaps better show how aqueous fluid is made and drained and what happens in high pressure glaucoma, she added. 3. Plan where to show videos. Patients in Dr. Rosdahl's office can watch them in the clinic while they are dilating, on video monitors, and at home. The office provides short URLs that can be inserted into the patient instructions document. You can also show videos in your waiting area, but choose carefully. A video about retinal detachment may fright- en some routine patients; videos about instilling drops are great edu- cational tools, but keep in mind that instructions may vary by providers and types of surgeries. 4. Add a personal touch if you can. If you decide to make your own videos, consider adding brief video bios about your team of doctors, Dr. Brockman recommends. "We share tidbits about our lives and some of our favorite things, like our favor- ite sports teams and food, so our patients can relate to us on a more personal level," he said.

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