2006 Healthcare Communications Forum Exposes the Critical Value of Transparent Communications
September 22, 2006– Boston, MA – The second annual Healthcare Communications Forum (HCF) was held at the Harvard Club in Boston on September 11-12, 2006. Participants and exhibitors demonstrated a tremendous interest in the information design issues emerging from the healthcare industry as a whole and a number of key findings emerged from the event.
The forum was organized by Insight Forums, LLC. Platinum Sponsors included Art Plus Technology, Personix and Kodak, with additional sponsorship from the International Institute for Information Design (IIID), the Communication Research Institute, OutputLinks and sixteen other corporations and associations.
This year’s conference focused specifically on how to empower the healthcare consumer with the necessary tools to make informed, logical, and fiscally sound decisions regarding health care, insurance, pharmaceutical coverage, and the like. Speakers and forum participants discussed the critical value of transparent communications and effective information design. Speakers offered methods for harnessing the power of the Internet and other rapidly emerging media outlets for communicating effectively with various audiences.
Key themes that resonated through multiple presentations included:
The need for cost transparency: Presenters such as Brad Holmes of Forrester Research, Louise Lavere of HealthNow New York, David Lenihan of CareGain and Kathleen McCormick of HSA Bank referenced the lack of transparency of healthcare costs from insurers and providers. According to Elizabeth Gooding, President and CEO of Art Plus Technology, “Consumer Driven Health Plans can’t reach their full potential if consumers don’t have the necessary facts to make informed decisions. In many cases the provider at the point of care may not know the actual cost that has been negotiated with a particular insurer.”
The state of American Health Literacy: Marisa Scala-Foley of The National Council on the Aging stated: “Health literacy impacts an individual’s ability to sign up for benefits and to use the benefits they have.” Health literacy is defined as “the ability to obtain, process, and understand health information and services to make appropriate decisions.” In a 2003 National Assessment of Adult literacy, 43% of participants demonstrated lower than basic skills in understanding simple prose; 34% showed lower than basic ability to fill out documents; and 55% had lower than basic skills in doing simple quantitative tasks (basic arithmetic). Adding to the challenges of an aging population is an average literacy score of 18-36 points lower per category for older adults (65+).
Health, finance and an aging America: Several sessions referenced the impact of changes in health and benefits structure on the growing population of older Americans. Tuesday’s keynote presentation by Elizabeth Gooding and Kathleen McCormick pointed to a statistic from a study done by Johnson and Penner, The Urban Institute, October 2004. The study showed that by 2030 out-of-pocket health expenses for older unmarried adults will take up 30.3% of after-tax income, up from 17% in 2000 (and 35% vs. 16% for couples).
The need for Information integration: A variety of case studies highlighted the need for better integration between insurers, providers, payor organizations, plan sponsors and healthcare consumers. A.J. Melaragno, Assistant Vice President of Interactive Operations at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, presented his case study of how his organization enhanced its online healthcare offering to provide online patient access to their records, including the ability to schedule their own appointments and renew prescriptions online.
The keynote speaker, Dr Joyce Flory, Principal, Communications for E-Business and Health, set the tone of the conference by addressing trends in health care communications ranging from personalization, globalization, simplicity, and relevance. Her lively and informed address paid special attention to the education of the consumer through the explosion in Internet communications, next-generation search and delivery options, proactive participation in making informed choices, and technology in general. Over the course of two days, speakers and panelists explored these themes through case studies, thematic presentations, and panel discussions.
Feedback on this second annual event has been overwhelmingly positive:
Laura Palmer, Member Innovation Leader, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida said, “I thoroughly enjoyed the conference.It was one of the better conferences I've attended in quite some time!”
“This is the kind of best-practice/ process presentation that is invaluable to health plans,” (referring to BCBS presentation “How BCBS of Florida Developed Their Personal Health Report), said Louise Lavere, Senior Director, Corporate Communications & Affairs, HealthNow New York.
The available presentations from the event may be accessed at: http://www.insightforums.com/. The next conference will be the Financial Communications Forum, to be held April 11-12, 2007 at the Harvard Club in Boston. You may also access the call for speakers for this event on the Insight Forums website.
About Insight Forums, LLC
Insight Forums, LLC, based in Boston, produces conferences and other educational events, including the annual Financial Communications Forum and the Healthcare Communications Forum.