More Information
- About the Health Card
- Downloadable Materials for Clinicians
- Implementing the Health Card into Your Practice
- Field Evaluation
ABOUT THE HEALTH CARD
Many people are not being screened early and often enough for major chronic diseases according to the guidelines established by the American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, and American Heart Association. In addition to general education about the importance of screening and early detection, consumers and healthcare professionals need tools that will facilitate action regarding the scheduling of key preventive services.
We have designed a "health card" intended to be used in a clinical setting to facilitate an exchange between a patient and a healthcare professional in an effort to:
- increase a patient's knowledge of appropriate screenings;
- increase the public's understanding about the clinical role for prevention; and
- increase the number of people being screened.
Ideally, this card would be made available to patients in a clinical setting in which a healthcare professional could provide a brief overview of the card and the importance of screenings and early detection. As part of that conversation, the healthcare professional would identify the appropriate screenings with the individual, discuss risk factors, and identify options for getting the recommended tests.
Back to TopDOWNLOADABLE MATERIALS FOR CLINICIANS
Back to TopIMPLEMENTING THE HEALTH CARD INTO YOUR PRACTICE
As far as implementing the card, these data suggest a high level of receptivity among healthcare professionals; a desire to incorporate the card into practice with little negative impact on patient flow anticipated. These factors combine to create a situation in which the health test card can have both a positive impact on raising awareness about the various screenings and leading more patients to get appropriate screenings.
Based on these data from our field evaluation, the health card will have maximum impact if:
- Incorporated into practice in an active way – the card must be given to patients.
- The card is given to patients prior to them entering the exam room so they have a chance to review prior to seeing the healthcare professional.
- Healthcare professionals initiate discussion with patients about the card.
- Healthcare professionals take an appropriate action (i.e., refer, recommend or administer a screening; discuss risk factors; or provide additional information about steps patients can take to stay healthy).
FIELD EVALUATION
Phase I: Individual Interviews
During Phase I, individual interviews were conducted with the following objectives:
- Assess the effectiveness of the health test card to inform consumers about appropriate health screenings
- Understand how the cards would impact consumers and their interactions with healthcare professionals
- Evaluate the design and language used in the cards to make them as user-friendly as possible
- Determine the best methods for distributing these materials to consumers
Phase I: Results
- Respondents reacted very favorably to the card and tear-away sheets.
- The card was preferred over the tear-away sheets, but respondents agreed that the latter, if handed to them by a healthcare professional, would provide a good reminder of recommended tests and motivation to receive the test.
- Respondents expressed a willingness to pick up the cards and explore them independently, but do expect to have a conversation with a healthcare professional about which tests are right for them.
Phase II: Field Evaluation
During Phase II, we conducted a field evaluation to learn the best practices for the distribution and use of the health card in a clinical setting (i.e., convenient care clinic, hospital, community clinic, etc.). Our objectives were to:
- Determine the best utilization methods
- Understand the impact of the card's use on patient flow
- Evaluate the card's ability to prompt conversations between patients and their healthcare professionals
- Increase screening test awareness
- Encourage patients to receive the necessary screenings
Phase II: Results
- The card improved communication between patients and their healthcare professionals.
- Nearly all healthcare professionals said they are likely to incorporate the card into their practice on a long-term basis, as the card rarely or never impacted their ability to maintain timely adherence to patient flow protocols.
- The card was very or somewhat easy to use when explaining recommended screenings to patients and it prompted them to recommend and administer those screenings.
- Healthcare professionals indicated that an active distribution method, where an appropriate staff person at the clinic has the role of pointing out the cards to patients, inviting them to review its contents and then ask questions during their exam, would be most effective because the patient would be asked specifically by the healthcare professional if they reviewed the information on the card and if they had any questions.
- Patients who received the card at an active distribution clinic were more than twice as likely as those who received the card at a passive distribution clinic to ask questions about the card.
- Nearly all patients report being able to find their age group quickly and say it was easy to understand the information about the screenings.
- Most patients who reviewed the health test card say they plan to take some action as a result of reviewing the card including:
- finding out more about their risk factors for chronic diseases,
- seeking additional information about one or more of the health tests presented on the card, or
- making an appointment to receive one or more of the tests recommended on the card.
