Managed Healthcare Executive - October 2008 - (Page 27)

{ HEALTH MANAGEMENT } Continued from page 24 ney of enhancing health literacy. It began three years ago when Jessica Ridpath, research com munications coordinator with the organization’s Group Health Center for Health Studies, couldn’t shake a “nagging feeling in my gut” that people weren’t understanding what they were asked to do. An audit of the center’s print materials revealed that they were written mostly at an 11th grade level, well above guidelines. Ridpath began revising print materials—especially the center’s consent forms—into plain language, while simultaneously training sta to do the same. In the process, a readability toolkit was developed containing strategies, real-world examples, and related resources to aid researchers and others in the healthcare setting to create printed materials in plain language. “We didn’t really hinge our dialogue around the term ‘health literacy,’ but instead focused on using plain language,” says Ridpath. “The onus isn’t on the patient to get a medical dictionary every time they read something we give them. Instead, we wanted to change our communication pattern so we leveled the playing eld.” Roger Foreman, executive vice president and chief marketing o cer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City, has been working in marketing for 37 years, and he acknowledges that communicating e ectively with di erent constituents—from members and brokers to healthcare providers—has been an ongoing challenge. In July, as a way to address that challenge, BCBSKC became an early adopter of a healthcare videocommunication service. He says video technology is a new opportunity to get messages to constituents and cut through “all the insurance garble.” It’s also a very popular medium. According to measurement research rm comScore Inc., U.S. Internet users viewed more than 12 billion online videos in May, a 45% increase over a year ago. BCBSKC plans to integrate the video service into its electronic enrollment, billing and wellness initiatives. And with a new pharmacy network being introduced to members this quarter, all eyes will be watching the tool’s e ectiveness. Foreman is convinced there will be no spike in call center volume thanks to the better-developed materials explaining the new pharmacy network. “There is no doubt in my mind that this is going to be more e ective,” he says. Ridpath acknowledges that Group Health’s work around the problem of low health literacy has only just begun. One of the organization’s goals going forward is to involve members in the development of health education materials. “In order to be centered around your target audience, you need to involve that audience,” she says. “Until we have a systematic way of pulling in members of that audience, we can’t really assure ourselves that we’re doing plain language to its fullest.” MHE OCTOBER 2008 27

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Managed Healthcare Executive - October 2008 For Your Benefit Editorial Advisors Contents News Analysis State Report Politics &�Policy Healthcare Reform Trends in 2009 Cost Control Strategies Predicted Premium Increase Top Challenges in 2009 IT System Integration Technology Innovation Disease Management Health Management Pharmacy Best Practices Technology Desktop Resource Ad/Edit Index Managed Care Outlook Statement of Ownership

Managed Healthcare Executive - October 2008

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