Multimedia Decision-Support Tool Empowers Patients to Make More Informed Healthcare Decisions

 
BOSTON, Mass. – February 8, 2010 – Health Dialog today announced the Health Crossroads® member website, a multimedia decision-support tool that offers evidence-based healthcare resources to individuals so they can better understand their conditions, ask their physicians the right questions about treatment options, and make more informed medical decisions. The Health Crossroads offering, available to members as part of Health Dialog’s care management programs, further demonstrates Health Dialog’s commitment to Shared Decision Making – providing patients with the knowledge they need to fully understand their conditions and options and participate more actively in a decision making process with their physicians. 

In the past two years 82% of adults aged 40+ have made a medical, surgical, or screening decision and 54% of adults have made two such decisions. According to recent research (M. Couper, 2009), those adults are often making these critical decisions without enough information, resulting in unexpected outcomes and dissatisfaction with the care they receive.

“Right now many patients are in the dark – they don’t have access to the support tools they need to make a well-informed medical decision,” said Bill Brennan, Senior Vice President, Content Services, Health Dialog. “The Health Crossroads website provides individuals with evidence-based, reliable content that enables them to be active participants in a Shared Decision Making process with their doctors and ensures the choices they make are aligned with their personal values and preferences.”

The Health Crossroads website was designed with specific consideration of a diverse member population that faces a broad scope of medical decisions. The multimedia decision-support tool supplies content in a wide range of formats, including text, video, graphics, and animation, supporting different learning styles and literacy levels. Site features include:
•    Resources for 28 healthcare topics including surgery decisions, chronic condition support, and screening/testing
•    Shared Decision Making® feature videos for each topic that feature real individuals and physicians describing healthcare decisions and outcomes
•    Short flash videos of patients describing their personal experiences and physicians and researchers explaining key insights
•    Easy-to-understand animations depicting anatomy, disease processes, and study findings
•    User-tested design, navigation, and architecture

The new website was recently recognized with an Outstanding Achievement Award in the healthcare category by the Interactive Media Council (IMC). The Health Crossroads offering helps individuals gain a clearer understanding of the health decisions they face and the options that are available. More informed patients have more productive conversations with their physicians, make higher quality decisions, and often choose less invasive treatments.  For more information please visit www.healthdialog.com/go/HealthCrossroads.

About Health Dialog:
Health Dialog is a leading provider of healthcare analytics and decision support. The firm is a private, wholly-owned subsidiary of Bupa, a global provider of healthcare services. Health Dialog helps healthcare payors improve healthcare quality while reducing overall costs. Company offerings include health coaching for medical decisions, chronic conditions, and wellness; population analytic solutions; and consulting services. Health Dialog helps individuals participate in their own healthcare decisions, develop more effective relationships with their physicians, and live healthier, happier lives. For more information please visit www.healthdialog.com.

Media Inquiries:  
Kiran Ganda
Health Dialog
kganda@healthdialog.com
617.406.5239