"Community engagement" is increasingly on the lips of marketers. The phrase was mentioned more than 5,400 times in international newspapers and government and corporate press releases. Compare that to 1998 through 2000 when "community engagement" came up 111 times. What's behind the new fashion in community engagement (a.k.a. "stakeholder engagement"), and does it work?
Providing information about hospitals is a move in the right direction in this country, where it's virtually impossible for patients to find out everything from the price of a procedure to discipline taken against doctors to how many people died from infections in a certain hospital, says this editorial from the Des Moines Register. But Hospital Compare has a lot of room to grow in providing needed information for consumers, say the editors.
Nearly 90% of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight, obesity is responsible for many cases of hypertension, and being overweight or obese is linked to increased risks for certain types of cancer.
Despite those sobering facts, many still view obesity as a lack of will power and fail to focus on the health quandary that is leading to comorbidities, higher healthcare costs, and premature illness and death.
But there are those trying to turn the tide. The Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance—comprised of consumers, providers, government officials, labor organizations, health insurers, and numerous other stakeholders—has taken the lead to promote the obesity problem and how it impacts the nation.
DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance has also taken an active role in exploring the issue and its impact on employers and the healthcare system. Last week, DMAA raised the bar by presenting a new flexible obesity benefit design approach, which it developed with Health & Technology Vector Inc.
DMAA offered the Value-Based Benefit Design for Obesity and Comorbidities at a Washington, DC, press conference with members of the STOP Obesity Alliance and Service Employees International Union on hand.
DMAA's design benefit takes a unique approach to the problem of obesity. It combines scientific evidence on effective obesity management strategies with pricing structures that allow health plans, employers, and organizations representing businesses, providers, academia, and other stakeholders, to create a benefit design to reach those who may be on the road to obesity or are already there.
DMAA describes the approach as a supplemental package of services offered at an additional premium, such as vision or dental care. No person would be required to enroll or participate in the obesity benefit and employers could choose to offer it at no additional charge.
Eligibility in the benefit program would be based on the person's body mass index (with those listed 25 or higher considered overweight or obese) and comorbid conditions, such as diabetes.
The benefits program would be broken into three levels that would use health management programs. The actual programs and cost structures would depend on an employer's budget, culture, and values.
DMAA's prototype suggests the following services in each level:
Level 1—Initial comprehensive evaluation by and follow-up visits with primary care physicians; behavior modification services, including initial and follow-up visits with a registered dietitian; and obesity-related pharmaceuticals.
Level 2—Visits with a registered dietitian, as well as e-mail and telephonic support; an EKG; physician visits; initial and follow-up visits with exercise physiologist; clinical laboratory panels; and obesity-related pharmaceuticals.
Level 3—Bariatric surgery; psychological evaluation; and adjuvant services, including post-surgical reconstructive surgery and travel/lodging allowance.
The first question a health plan and employer will surely ask about this program is: How much will this cost my company and our members? The program design makes that question difficult to answer because there are so many variables, such as population size and benefits provided. DMAA's proposal is not a "plug and play" program, but leaves the specifics up to the employer, health plan, or other plan sponsor. This will allow a health plan or company to develop a design that best benefits them.
That critical cost question may soon become clearer. DMAA is working with the SEIU to pilot programs to test and refine the benefit design.
There are still plenty of questions left with this benefit design, but it is an important first step. Whether this idea gains momentum, improves health, and reduces costs is in question, but this is the chance for the employer community to step forward to take part in a pilot that could ultimately reverse obesity trends and provide long-term savings.
Les Masterson is senior editor of Health Plan Insider. He can be reached at lmasterson@healthleadersmedia.com .
Note: You can sign up to receive Health Plan Insider, a free weekly e-newsletter designed to bring breaking news and analysis of important developments at health plans and other managed care organizations to your inbox.
A campaign for Fremont (NE) Area Medical Center has taken a different approach to improving community awareness. By featuring well-known community members and patients, quick facts, and T-shirt incentives, Fremont is improving community knowledge one microsite hit at a time.
"The competition is formidable and active in the market area," says Jerry Hobbs, vice president of healthcare marketing for Fremont's agency, Prairie Dog, in Kansas City, MO. But pressure from a large local competitor wasn't the facility's only challenge. Fremont was also struggling to fight a preconceived community notion that a smaller facility couldn't be as good as a larger one. "We needed to make sure that the community understands all that Fremont can offer,” Hobbs says. “Our challenge is to reveal some of the surprisingly advanced capabilities of the medical center.”
Focus group research confirmed members of the community didn't know about the services and technology at Fremont. The team concluded that the best way to reach out to the community was with members of the community.
The hospital chose patients and well-known community members based on their alignment with service lines and forms of technology. "We chose the service lines based on our strategic plan," says Jackie Beaton, director of public relations, marketing, and volunteer services for Fremont. "Also, robotics are unique to the hospital, so we wanted to make sure to showcase that as well."
The campaign creative included print, billboard, TV, radio, and life-size stand-ups of the featured patients that hold brochures. The language and messages throughout the various materials gave quick facts with the intent of driving curious consumers to the campaign's microsite landing page. The landing page shows all of the featured patients alongside their testimonials.
Visitors can take a quiz on the campaign facts to win a free Fremont T-shirt. "We wanted this campaign to be fun and also wanted to make sure the community was aware of our services," Beaton says. "So we decided to add a fun quiz. Whether you're right or wrong you receive the right answer and still can receive the T-shirt." According to Beaton, it was really about reinforcing the campaign's message.
So far the results have been positive with over 250 t-shirts requests and more than 2,000 hits on the landing page and to the TV spots which are posted on YouTube. Interest and hits will continue to be monitored throughout the campaign.
Kandace McLaughlin is an editor with HealthLeaders magazine. Send her Campaign Spotlight ideas at kmclaughlin@healthleadersmedia.com. If you are a marketer submitting a campaign on behalf of your facility or client, please ensure you have permission before doing so.
Utah's System Reform Task Force is pushing for a customer-centric healthcare Web site that would be a user-friendly, one-stop shop that breaks down benefits for consumers. The site would include costs, reimbursement rates for common procedures, average out-of-pocket expenses and the names of the doctors and hospitals contracted with plans. Under a draft piece of legislation, health insurance companies would be required to electronically submit this data to the Insurance Department by July 1, 2009. The portal would be administered by the Governor's Office of Economic Development, which will likely have it up and ready to receive data by the beginning of 2009.
An obstetrician and gynecologist is suing Memorial Hospital Los Banos (CA), claiming the hospital retaliated against him because he complained to the state about their standard of care. John Brannigan, MD, says he filed a complaint about conditions in the hospital's labor and delivery area with the California Department of Health Services in 2004. After state officials found that the hospital's quality of care was deficient and told administrators to correct their policies, Brannigan says hospital officials gave him bad recommendations when he tried to find another job.
Hollywood writers and producers are working with senior advocacy group AARP to bring attention to the need to provide affordable healthcare. Under the partnership, an AARP campaign will work with the Hollywood Radio & Television Society, the Entertainment Industry Foundation and the Motion Picture & Television Fund to make sure healthcare messages are included in the story lines of popular TV shows and movies. Campaign members plan to take steps such as producing TV shows and movies that talk about healthcare issues in an accurate way, and pushing healthcare with political leaders.
A report released by The Commonwealth Fund has found wide disparities among states in regards to child healthcare. The report compiled an array of 13 measures relating to access to medical care, quality and cost for children in each state. Overall, Iowa ranked first and Oklahoma ranked last. The report also found that top-performing states tend to have lower rates of uninsured children than those ranked at the bottom, but also have higher health costs.
In 2003, President Bush said he wanted most Americans' medical records to be computerized within 10 years. Five years later, only a third of Texas physicians surveyed by the Texas Medical Association are using an electronic medical record system, up from 27% in 2005. Some physicians worry any system they buy may be incompatible with those used at other physician offices or hospitals, eliminating much of the benefit of having records that can be easily shared. But other medical professionals say they can't imagine working without an electronic record system.
There has been much controversy in Connecticut of late over a landmark bill to open up the state-employee healthcare pool in an attempt to lower insurance premiums for small businesses, municipalities and others. Now some were surprised when Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said there could be two separate pools—rather than one gigantic pool to drive down insurance premiums. The issue is important because the single pool was the linchpin of cost savings, and the potential for two pools raised questions about whether the program would still be attractive to people who don't work for the state.
