It would be easy to give lip service to consumer engagement, but Aligning Forces is working toward more than just buzzwords. Involving consumers in a meaningful way anchors Aligning Forces communities, resulting in an informed community committed to the initiative’s goals. Meaningfully engaged consumers improve stakeholder satisfaction and reduce attrition. Genuine and effective consumer engagement is critical to AF4Q’s long-term sustainability. Meaningful consumer engagement is:
- Effective—Consumers’ participation has an impact on programs and is an integral part of achieving the organization’s vision and mission.
- Equitable—All stakeholder groups are engaged, including consumers, and stakeholder representation is balanced; consumers are offered equivalent opportunities in activities and shaping decisions regarding the organization’s work.
- Purposeful—Consumers feel the relationship allows them to achieve their respective goals; the organization respects consumers’ interests and uses their expertise.
Successful consumer engagement efforts include recruitment, strategic planning, relationship building, facilitation, support and retention, and evaluation. They involve bringing in consumers at the right time and speaking to them as colleagues, in language they can understand. Consumers, physicians, employers, and other stakeholders should all be called by their first names to level the playing field. By preparing consumers properly for their role in the Alliance and continuing to support them throughout their participation, the number of meaningfully engaged consumers has the best possible chance of increasing.
What are some ways consumers can help improve health care?
Leadership positions and health care activism are a good start
How do I make sure consumer efforts and activity are meaningful?
AF4Q has several benchmarks you can use.
How does working with consumers influence discharge planning?
You increase patient understanding.
What are best practices for displaying comparative reports on public reporting websites?
Consumers prefer clarity
What tools exist to help me become an effective consumer leader?
AF4Q has helpful guidance.
Why worry about hospital readmissions?
They are costly and often avoidable.
- Why do consumers need to know how much things cost?
- How do we help employers maintain their interest and energy in our partnership?
- What role do employers play in improving care quality?
- What frameworks can I use to engage and activate consumers?
- What are the benefits of personal health records?
- What is the Consumer Engagement Leadership Consortium?
- Where should I incorporate consumers into my practice or hospital?
- How do you explain the idea of “high-quality health care"?
- How do I clarify my role as a consumer within my organization or Alliance?
- How do I become a better consumer leader?