John Gallagher of the Washington Alliance owns a bed and breakfast, and, according to him, “it’s all about the breakfast.” Three things go into both a great breakfast, and, surprisingly, a consumer engagement campaign: 1) testing everything first; 2) serving it in courses; and 3) making it really enjoyable. First, make sure you’ve tested everything, from recipes to messaging, before putting them out there. Secondly, at the B&B, John serves dishes in courses so they’re memorable; the same can be said for consumer messaging campaigns. Gallagher recommends...
As she sat in the car with her teenage son while he was first learning to drive, Jessica Osborne-Stafsnes felt a familiar mix of excitement and trepidation, much like when Humboldt first embarked upon patient engagement activities. Humboldt tried to go from “zero to sixty” with its patient engagement. “Enthusiasm does not equate to readiness. We tried to scale up our patient engagement activities in an unsustainable way,” she said. Fortunately, Humboldt learned from its mistakes. The Humboldt Alliance took those lessons and created a roadmap to support patient...
More than 7 million children live with asthma in the United States. As a school nurse, Lizzie Cockrell has seen children struggle to control their asthma symptoms. One of her students, Judy, darkened the doorstep of the health room often. “Recess, PE, health—she was spending those times with me in the health room,” said Cockrell. Looking for answers and help, Cockrell remembered the Asthma Ready Program and used its tools and guidelines to coordinate among Judy’s family and her doctor to assess control of her asthma. Judy’s story is one that “...
Quality Field Notes features key lessons learned by regional Alliances of clinicians, patients, and payers in Aligning Forces for Quality communities as they work to transform local health care and provide models for national reform. The latest topic in this series focuses on patient experience. Patient experience surveys, particularly those that use validated questions such as the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare...
Looking for a new doctor? If you live in Massachusetts, it’s easier than ever with HealthcareCompassMA.org. The new consumer-friendly website makes it simple for patients and their families to compare and select a primary care doctor’s office based on quality and patient experience survey ratings. By empowering health care consumers with transparent information about providers, patients are better able to make important decisions about their own care.
