Tufts University Medical School
Summer Institute
Digital Strategies for Health
Communication
July 24th, 2014
Tara Montgomery
Senior Director, Health Impact
Consumer Reports Health
Health at Consumer Reports
Health Impact Program
• 2003: Consumer Reports begins
• Consumer Reports’ founding
expansion of health
charter in 1936 emphasized
quality of life and a goal to
• 2008: Consumer Reports starts
health service Ratings
"maintain decent living standards
for ultimate consumers.”
• 2011: Consumer Reports launches
Health Impact program to reach
and empower diverse consumers
• Health has been an integral part
of how the organization has
• 2014: Health Impact Partner
Network reaches over 100M
served consumers ever since.
consumers per year
Consumer Reports Health
Health Organization
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Chris Meyer, VP of External Affairs
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Tara Montgomery, Senior Director
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John Santa, Medical Director (outgoing)
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Doris Peter & Health Ratings team (Lisa
Gill, Steve Mitchell, Teresa Carr, Ginger
Skinner, Lisa Luca, Kathleen Person,
Kristina Mycek, Matthew Van Voorhis)
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Dominic Lorusso & Health Partnerships
team (Beccah Rothschild, David Ansley,
Pamela Austin, Lane Rasberry)
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Lesley Greene, Health Programs
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Claudia Citarella, Health Impact
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Ellen Kunes & Health Content team
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DeAnn Friedholm & Health Advocacy team
Health Initiatives
• Health Advocacy & Policy:
• Reform; Patient Safety; Costs
• Health Content Development:
• Consumer Reports; CR on
Health; ShopSmart; CR.org
• Health Impact:
• Health Ratings Center
• Health Partnerships
• Health Impact Campaigns
• Projects with grant support:
• Best Buy Drugs
• Choosing Wisely
• Patient & Family Engagement
• Delivery System Reform
Health Impact Partner Network
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Consumer Reports Health
Health Vision
• Consumer Reports aspires to be the consumer champion of high
value (safe, high-quality, affordable) and sustainable food,
wellness, health-care and medical products and services that
support optimal physical, mental and community well-being.
Consumer Reports Health
CR Health Role
CR empowers a movement of diverse consumers by educating them about the
risks and costs of today’s complex and costly health and food marketplaces and
enabling them to become effective advocates for their own well-being as both
patients and shoppers.
CR’s experts collaborate with other trusted organizations to develop and provide
independent, evidence-based, personalized information, resources, Ratings and
tools to activate consumers to participate in their health care at relevant points
in their decision journey.
CR supports consumers in identifying and choosing high-quality, high-value,
products and services, and optimizing their health and wellness. CR advocates
for public policies and marketplace changes that allow and promote fair, just,
and high-value health and food systems.
Helping Consumers Become “Health Consumers”
Consumer Experience
Changing Landscape
• Acute need for paradigm shift
• Compliant patients > Informed health consumers
• Affordable Care Act expansion of coverage = inexperienced
consumers entering marketplace and navigating the system
• Doctor-patient relationships weakening
• Consumers vulnerable—without strong advocate in the system
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Consumer Experience
Changing Landscape
• Rising costs, providers consolidating, insurers transferring more
costs to consumers
• Shift to greater out-of-pocket costs… consumers have to better
evaluate budget tradeoffs for their care
• Consumers face very high up-front and out-of-pocket
costs…barrier for both insured and uninsured to access medical
system
• Consumers becoming more involved in their own decision-making-relying on self-diagnosis, self-care, alternative approaches
(providers, medicine, supplements)
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Consumer Experience
Lack of Transparency
Meeting Consumer Needs
Consumer Needs
Information, Tools, Regulation, Access
Access to:
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Adequate networks of providers
Insurance or single-payer
A safe food supply
High quality, high value providers, services, products, and foods
Safe providers, services, products, and foods
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Consumer Needs
Information, Tools, Regulation, Access
Regulation to protect them from:
• Faulty or ineffective dietary supplements
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Safety hazards in foods
Unsafe doctors, hospitals, and products
Manipulation of cost and price
Conflicts of interest
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Consumer Needs
Information, Tools, Regulation, Access
Timely, actionable, accessible, and objective information about:
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Costs of insurance, services, products, treatments
Quality and safety of health treatments and services and food
Conditions and treatment options and their risks & benefits
Doctor and hospital quality
How to use all aspects of the health care system
Claims made in advertising and on labels
Nutrition and food safety
What is, and is not, regulated
Whom to trust
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Consumer Needs
Information, Tools, Regulation, Access
Tools to help them make decisions or take action:
• Make choices about providers, services, insurance, and food
• Access and manage their health records
• Decide when to see a doctor and when to access other avenues
for diagnosis and treatment
• Maximize the effectiveness of interactions with providers
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Consumer Engagement
Awareness
• We’re on the cusp of major change
• Patients used to be “patients”!
• Consumers want to be safe!
• How can they be effective consumers when they are misinformed and
confused?
• Where is the community of health consumers, conscious of
cost/quality?
• Who is making them aware of what’s changed, what this means, and
why they should care?
• What does it take to raise awareness?
Consumer Engagement
Activation
• Aware consumers are activated to take control of navigating
the system and getting what they need
• What questions to ask and how to ask them
• How to get the right care (not too much/little)
• How to protect themselves e.g. stay safe
• How to choose the right products and services
• How to save money by shopping smartly
• What you can do to advocate for change
• Few independent players are on their side
Consumer Engagement
Action
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Activated consumers can play a more effective role in decision-making
Comparison-shopping for products and services
Using Ratings of doctors etc.
Evaluating quality, cost, and value
Considering prices
Finding the best value products and services
Choosing safer products and services
Shopping for healthy lifestyles that actually work
Individual consumer willingness to pay is limited
Intermediaries (payers/providers) recognize value of tools
Players building tools have data and reach but lack trust and
engagement, creating partnership opportunities
• Advocacy is key to driving transparency and better value
Consumer Reports Health Impact
Awareness, Activation, Action
• Health Reform Guide
• Best Buy Drugs & Drug Fact Boxes
• Summary of Benefits
• Health Law Helper
• Getting Healthcare Right
(delivery system reform)
• Tax Credit Tool
• What’s A Fair Price?
• Choosing Wisely
• Doctor Ratings
• What To Reject When
You’re Expecting
• Engage With Health
(Doctor-Patient
communications)
• Hospital Ratings
• Insurance Ratings
• Preventive Services Ratings
Consumer Reports Health Impact
Awareness, Activation, Action
• Brochures
• Social media
• Article reprints
• Microsites
• Custom publishing
• Videos & PSAs
• English
• Infographics
• Spanish
• Messages
• Posters
• Webinars
• Wallet cards
• Events
Choosing Wisely
5 Questions Poster
5QUESTIONStoAsk Your Doctor Before You
Get AnyTest, Treatment, or Procedure
1 Do I really need this test or procedure? Medical tests help you and
your doctor or other health care provider decide how to treat a problem.
And medical procedures help to actually treat it.
2 What are the risks? Will there be side ef ects? What are the chances
of getting results that aren’t accurate? Could that lead to more testing or
another procedure?
3 Are there simpler, safer options? Sometimes all you need to do is
make lifestyle changes, such as eating healthier foods or exercising more.
4 What happens if I don’t do anything? Ask if your condition might get
worse —or better —if you don’t have the test or procedure right away.
5 How much does it cost? Ask if there are less-expensive tests,
treatments or procedures, what your insurance may cover, and about
generic drugs instead of brand-name drugs.
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Choosing Wisely
2-Page Brochures
Consumer Reports Health Tools
Choosing Wisely: NBCH & PBGH Employer Toolkit
www.nbch.org/Choosing-Wisely-Employer-Toolkit
Consumer Reports Health Tools
Choosing Wisely: NBCH & PBGH Employer Toolkit
Employer Materials
(Creating strategy; planning campaign)
Employee Materials
(Ready for use by employers)
Consumer Reports tip sheets
(New set of Choosing Wisely Tips!)
All Consumer Reports resources
(Over 150 articles and tip sheets)
Consumer Reports Health Tools
Consumer Resources to Engage Employees
www.ConsumerHealthChoices.org
Consumer Reports Health Messages
Literacy, Communication & Storytelling
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Trusted messenger
Avoid being boring
Avoid being depressing
Push awareness messages
Use relevant tools at point of
decision-making
• Aim for personalization
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Entertainment and humor
Relatable stories
Safety first
7th grade literacy
Visuals and infographics
Self-monitoring and games
Cultural relevance
Consumer Reports Lessons
About Consumer Engagement
• They don’t necessarily trust their employer
• They might not trust you
• Some people will never be engaged
• Practice what you preach
• It’s about the conversation
• Measurement is hard
• Clinical, economic, behavioral
• Behavior change interventions
• Cultural relevance
• Be patient with culture change
• Experiment
Consumer Reports Challenges
Increasing our Impact through Partnerships
• Collaborating with partners
• Sustaining our mutual commitment
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Meeting real consumer needs
Being where consumers are
Innovating and creating
Refining our messaging
• Optimizing new outreach opportunities
• Exploring new business opportunities
• Sustaining and funding our work
• Reaching new audiences
• Maximizing reach
• Measuring impact
Consumer Reports Action Items
Things HR Leaders Can Do NOW!!
• We want to learn from you!
Tara Montgomery
@TaraCRHealth
tmontgomery@consumer.org
Facebook: Consumer Health Choices
Learn More: ConsumerHealthChoices.org