Table 3.
A summary of extra-pharmaceutical tools that healthcare professionals may employ prior, during, and following pharmacological treatments to enhance “experience efficacy.”
| Step | Target | Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation | Set | • Therapeutic alliance |
| ○ Obtain general life overview ○ Get to know patient as a person ○ Elicit patient questions, concerns, hopes and fears ○ Use engaged body language and active listening | ||
| • Patient empowerment | ||
| ○ Help patients set intentions/motivation ○ Establish patient-relevant treatment rationale ○ Provide information for patient to understand treatment and navigate its challenges | ||
| Intervention | Setting | • Sense of warmth and safety |
| ○ Leverage social context (human relations) ○ Leverage physical context (artifacts, decoration, clothing, spatial layout) | ||
| • Sense of ritual/ceremony | ||
| ○ Performance in medical context For example, open administration ○ Rituals outside of medical context ○ For example, “taking the pill” | ||
| Integration | Matrix | • Support with difficulties |
| ○ Schedule follow-up appointments ○ Monitor side effects ○ Elicit patient’s perspective on treatment progress | ||
| • Maintenance of beneficial outcomes | ||
| ○ Support lifestyle changes via the matrix |