Engaging Consumers through the GetBetterMaine Campaign

To date, the Maine AF4Q alliance has focused its consumer engagement efforts on informing people that quality measures are publicly available and can be used to select a health care provider and educating and encouraging consumers to use information available through the consumer-friendly and popular public reporting website, www.GetBetterMaine.org.  Now, the Maine AF4Q alliance is conducting a statewide, sustained consumer campaign that engages Maine people to take specific actions needed to improve their own health care and health. The individual actions are intended to help people address some of the most common problems that people, through previous research, have reported having with the health care system (e.g. fragmented care, high costs, need to get help to feel better).  Additionally, the campaign seeks to reduce potential consumer concerns about changes put forth by employers and government payers that promote value based purchasing, and help consumers see that other countries around the world have found better ways to improve quality, reduce medical errors, and control health care costs. The goals of the campaign are to encourage consumers to take action to become more involved in their health care to improve quality and control costs and raise consumer’s awareness of the possibilities for health care quality, affordability and access, and a new health care model for Maine.