Effective communication about effective care

George C. Halvorson CEO, Kaiser Permanente		William D. Novelli, M.A. Former CEO, AARP

Patient-Clinician Communication: Basic Principles and Expectations

Communicating with Patients on Health Care Evidence

Social Networking Sites and the Continuously Learning Health System: A Survey

Issue. Communication is central to transforming how evidence is generated and used to improve the effectiveness and value of health care. Progress toward medical care that reflects the best evidence depends on better understanding among patients and consumers. Recent trends suggest emerging consumer interest in accessing and using information to guide care decisions—over half of American adults now seek health information from sources other than their doctor or other clinician, and, by some estimates, most patients prefer to be offered choices and asked their opinions in treatment decisions. Yet, the dynamic context for these activities—the quickening pace of change in diagnosis and treatment options and in the supporting evidence base; the complexity inherent to medical information; the challenge of varying levels of health literacy; and the emotional nature of many health decisionsunderscores the need for efforts to ensure clarity, consistency, and effectiveness in communication evidence with patients and with the public. Progress in patient safety, effectiveness, satisfaction and value all depend on progress in communication.

Collaborative. An ad hoc convening activity, under the auspices of the IOM Roundtable, the Evidence Communication Innovation Collaborative (ECIC) explores strategies, obstacles, and feasibility for collaborative communication efforts to improve patient engagement in health care decision-making. This requires improved public understanding, appreciation and discussion— between and among patients and providers—on the nature and use of evidence to guide clinical choices and public health programs.

Participants. Individuals with relevant expertise from organizations with active, public and patient-oriented health communication efforts. The aim is for an inclusive Collaborative—without walls—and participation in individual projects is structured according to interest, need, and practicality.

Activities. Projects under way or under consideration by ECIC include:

• Core principles of patient-clinician communication. Cooperative development of a set of foundational principles and basic expectations for effective patient-clinician communication throughout the care process. ( joint, with the Best Practices Innovation Collaborative)
• Environmental scan of existing efforts on evidence communication. Scan commissioned by pooled resources from participants to provide a picture of the issues and approaches of different sectors and their leading organizations with activities aimed at reaching the public and patient communities directly with information and advice to promote clinician-patient discussion of evidence for clinical decisions.
• Cross-sector messaging synergy to improve patient-clinician shared decision making based on evidence. Development of key message elements that might be tailored to the needs of sponsoring organization, in a fashion that would simultaneously meet agreed upon criteria, play to the intent of the organization, and offer synergy with similar messages from other sectors and sponsors.

Previous Meetings:
July 9, 2013
January 14, 2013
June 7, 2012
October 28, 2011
March 8, 2011

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