Healthcare Webinar How to be compliant and engaging with your - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Healthcare Webinar How to be compliant and engaging with your member communications. Ensure even the most legal content is customer experience-driven. With guest speaker Prof. Christopher R. Trudeau, JD. 01. Introductions 02. Key findings of
Ensure even the most legal content is customer experience-driven. With guest speaker Prof. Christopher R. Trudeau, JD.
Introductions
Key findings of the 2019 Health Insurance Report
complying: Why clear communication is vital in healthcare
Q & A
ˇ ˇ
Evelyn Wolf CMO @ VisibleThread Evelyn.wolf@visiblethread.com
Christopher R. Trudeau, JD, is an Associate Professor at the University of Arkansas Little Rock, Bowen School of Law. He also leads the Regulatory Knowledge & Support function for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ Translational Research Institute.
Professor Trudeau is a recognized expert on clear legal communication, informed consent, and health literacy. He is the first lawyer to be appointed to the US National Academies’ Roundtable on Health Literacy and the Food & Drug Administration’s Risk Communication Advisory Committee. He frequently speaks on creating clear legal documents that people can understand on reducing organizational risk and while increasing compliance. He is also the author of the first U.S. study to focus on the public’s perception of legal communication. In 2018, he published a follow-up study with an international focus. Both of those studies can be found here: The Public Speaks: An Empirical Study of Legal Communication The Public Speaks, Again: An International Study of Legal Communication
insurers communicate clearly?
PDFs
ˇ ˇ
86.6% of insurers surveyed are not communicating with their target audience
The National Center for Education measured health literacy in 2003. They found that 51% of adults aged 65-75 have a basic or below basic health literacy level. We recommend a reading grade level of 6 for this age bracket to ensure everyone can easily digest information.
Only 6 out of 30 insurers have an acceptable complex word density
Complex Simple accrue add, gain advantageous helpful heretofore until now is in consonance with agrees with, follows pertaining to about, of, on remainder rest therefore so validate confirm
https://plainlanguage.gov/guidelines/words/use-simple-words-phrases/
We recommend a level of complex language of 1 or lower. Complexity Example: The patient is required to notify us. VS The patient needs to tell us. VS You need to tell us.
ˇ ˇ
1/3 of insurance companies communicate in academic tone
Passive voice levels should be at 4% or lower.
ˇ ˇ
Health insurers use 2x the recommended level of long sentences.
Firms should aim for 5% long sentence use or less. Our research reveals and average score of 9.98% If you choose Original Medicare, you can purchase Medicare Supplemental Insurance plans — also called Medigap plans — to help you pay for care not covered by Parts A and B. 1 Sentence – 31 Words, 15.5 Grade Level You can purchase Medicare Supplemental Insurance plans with Original Medicare. These plans are also called Medigap. They will help you pay for care not covered by Parts A and B. 3 Sentences – Grade level of 7.6
ˇ ˇ
2/3 of insurers produce content more difficult to read than Moby Dick
Associate Professor of Law, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, Bowen School of Law; University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Translational Research Institute
Source: Weiss BD. Health Literacy: A Manual for Clinicians. American Medical Association / American Medical Association Foundation, 2003. p. 7.
Below Basic: Identify how often to have a medical test, based on info in clearly written pamphlet Basic: Give 2 reasons a person with no symptoms of a specific disease should be tested for the disease Intermediate: Find the age range for child to receive a vaccine, using a chart Proficient: Find information to define a medical term by searching through a complex document
14% 22% 53% 12%
Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7474271
An anecdote from a patient of Dr. Rebecca Sudore at UCSF:
https://www.accenture.com/t20151003T033201__w__/us-en/_acnmedia/Accenture/Conversion- Assets/DotCom/Documents/Global/PDF/Industries_17/Accenture-Happy-Patients-Healthy-Margins.pdf
“A superior customer experience doesn’t just strengthen patient engagement — it also correlates to 50 percent higher hospital margins.” “[A] hospital system earning $2B in revenue would have to cut 460 jobs (assuming a loaded salary of $100K) to achieve the same 2.3 percent margin benefit that improving the consumer experience might bring through revenue growth.”
http://www.thescanfoundation.org/person-centered-care-todays-health-care- environment-business-case-stronger-ever-issue-brief
“For the person receiving care, PCC results in a greater sense of empowerment, a focus on wellness and quality of life, and a better care experience. There is also evidence that it improves the job satisfaction of health care providers, who enjoy connecting meaningfully with patients and working as a team.” “[For older adults], Medicare pays the hospital a certain amount for a hospitalization based on the person’s diagnosis, regardless of length of stay. . . . [W]hen the PCC program shortens stays, the hospital receives the same compensation but has lower costs and it realizes a return on its investment in PCC.”
“Everytime someone calls us, it costs $15, at it takes time out of the caller’s day.” – Chris Carlson, VP at United Health At $15 per call, United Health had a clear incentive to focus on clear communication with its customers. One useful resource for everyone:
https://www.justplainclear.com/en
Chris Carlson, p. 51-52
https://www.nap.edu/download/25068
“Engage individuals and families as partners in their care by incorporating patient and caregiver preferences; using clear and productive communication strategies; improving the experience of care for patients, caregivers, and families; integrating health literacy principles; and promoting patient self- management.”
Manual, Appendix W, at C-0320 (2015).
https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and- Guidance/Legislation/CFCsAndCoPs/homehealth.html
This consent must be in “clear and plain language” for the given individual. “When seeking consent, [orgs] should ensure that they use clear and plain language in all cases. This means a message should be easily understandable for the average person and not only for
statements full of legal jargon.” “Given that children merit specific protection, any information and communication, where processing is addressed to a child, should be in such a clear and plain language that the child can easily understand.”
“Informed consent forms that are written by lawyers for lawyers do not increase the knowledge of those who, with their signature, are committing to allow the performance of treatments and procedures that may be associated with significant risks. The typical informed consent form is unreadable for any level of reader.”
THE JOINT COMM’N, WHAT DID THE DOCTOR SAY? IMPROVING HEALTH LITERACY
TO PROTECT PATIENT SAFETY, p. 34 (2007).
Requires the Louisiana Dept of Health to “describe specific reasons for denial in plain language and in sufficient detail to know the denial rationale.”
üPL defined as ”language that the intended audience . . . can readily understand and use because the language is concise, well-
practices of plain-language writing.”
Insurer should use this as a wake- up call
1. That we know anything about health literacy/plain language 2. That we are experts on drafting
drafting isn’t a required class in most law schools. So don’t assume we know anything more than what the law requires.
3. That we know anything about document design
most use Word or Word Perfect (Adobe means a type of native hut to many of us – not design products.)
Enliven Organizational Health Literacy Self Assessment
public health orgs & social service orgs.
for hospitals & provider orgs.
Melbourne, Australia
data & authority.
http://www.enliven.org.au/sites/default/files/Enliven%20He alth%20Literacy%20Audit%20Resource.pdf
Connect with me:
@proftrudeau (Twitter) professortrudeau@gmail.com
ˇ ˇ
ˇ ˇ
To learn more & your additional questions
Download the report Learn about the VT Insights Platform Get in touch with us
https://www.visiblethread.com/ https://www.visiblethread.com/ products/visiblethread-insights/
Demo: info@visiblethread.com Your Questions: evelyn.wolf@visiblethread.com