All Articles In 'Consumer-Driven Health Care'
Patient Engagement to Lower Health Costs and Improve Outcomes
It’s not uncommon for a patient to be confused or overwhelmed by a diagnosis or treatment plan. Complicated medical procedures or decisions can overwhelm patients to the point that they feel that they cannot, or should [...]
Electronic Patient Communication: Recommendations to Promote Patient-Centered Tools that Improve Care
Communication with patients is at the heart of new primary care tools and models that improve outcomes and lower costs, such as patient-centered medical homes (PCMH) and interactive preventive health records (IPHR). Often, communication means electronic [...]
Price Transparency in Health Care: Guidelines for Healthcare Purchasers from Catalyst for Payment Reform
Opaque prices – the norm in U.S. health care – in a key driver of inefficient, ineffective medical care and rapid cost increases. Transparency of health care prices – public reporting of prices – is an [...]
Health Insurance Satisfaction: Consumer-Directed Health Plans vs Traditional Health Plans
The number of people choosing consumer-directed health plans continued to grow in 2011, reaching 7 percent of people with private insurance. Consumer-directed or consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) are high-deductible plans paired with health savings accounts (HSAs). [...]
Interactive Preventive Health Records: Handbook for Primary Care Physicians on Tool to Increase Preventive Care
A new, highly personalized online resource for patients increases the delivery of recommended preventive services. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has published a handbook for primary care physicians interested in launching a web-based portal where [...]
Shared Decision Making by Physicians and Patients: Actions for Employers to Improve Health and Reduce Costs
Employers should encourage shared decision-making – which involves patients in health care decisions – as a way to reduce medical costs and improve health outcomes among employees, argues a recent brief from the National Business Coalition [...]
Healthcare Quality and Cost: Engaging Employers as Change Agents in Lowering Costs and Improving Quality
As the second-largest health care service purchaser, employers have an opportunity to use their substantial market leverage as a means to augment quality. If mobilized and motivated, employers could act as a key change agent by [...]
Health Opportunity Accounts: Results of Medicaid Health Opportunity Accounts Demonstration Program
Following a five-year demonstration, a new report examines the Health Opportunity Accounts Demonstration Program created by the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA). The law allowed up to 10 states to test the use of Health Opportunity Accounts as an [...]
Medicaid Transformation Grants to Help States Modernize Medicaid Programs
In the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), Congress authorized the new $150 million Medicaid Transformation Grant Program to help states design and implement reforms to increase quality and efficiency of Medicaid. This is a unique opportunity to [...]
Patient-Centered Care: Orienting Health Care to the Preferences and Needs of Patients
Patient-centered care – one of the new buzz phrases in health care – is all about aligning the delivery of medical care with the needs and preferences of patients. Research shows that the practices and tools [...]
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