Placement and Distribution Channels for a Quality Report
A well-executed project doesn't end when the report has been printed or the Web site is launched. Unfortunately, you cannot rely on consumers to come to you for the information. While a few consumers actively seek out information on health care quality, most do not—even though they may be receptive to it once they see it.
Consequently, you’ll need to think strategically about ways to get the information in front of your audience. You have to push the information out to them, or at least give them a tug in the right direction.
Getting your information to the people who are most likely to need and use it may be one of the biggest challenges you will face. As one experienced quality reporter noted,
“…We believe we’re reporting measures that consumers want (outcomes and cost) and have framed them in an evaluable way, yet use is low. We are wondering if there are better times and venues to make this information available? Should primary care physicians be our target audience (they’d refer to the specialists who treat patients at best performing hospitals or work with hospitals to improve performance)? Should we build this data into the pre-certification/prior authorization process? When in the decisionmaking process would comparative information be most useful and what are the best methods to accomplish this?” – Cheryl DeMars, President and CEO, The Alliance [1]
This section discusses ways to help your initiative succeed by placing information on comparative quality where it is most likely to be used. To do that, you have to consider:
While there is a growing body of literature on “consumer engagement,” little research has been conducted on these issues in the context of quality report cards. This guidance is based primarily on the lessons learned by experienced sponsors, and draws on the broader fields of social marketing and health care communications.
[1] E-mail communication with Lise Rybowski, TalkingQuality Team, from Cheryl DeMars, President and CEO, The Alliance. September 25, 2008. Reprinted with permission.
