About the campaign

Consumer Reports and the National Business Group on Health have partnered to launch a new consumer health communications campaign. It has kicked off with a program to provide Business Group members with a series of compelling reports on critical health issues.

The first series of reports is based on some of the most successful articles published in Consumer Reports magazine in recent months. These are updated and tailored for use by Business Group members. In conjunction with the release of each report, the Business Group organizes a one-hour webinar for members featuring speakers from the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center and external experts to introduce the topic and answer questions from participants. In addition, representatives from member organizations are invited to share relevant experiences with approaches to keeping employees healthy.

The overall goal of this partnership is for large employers to disseminate these reports to employees and dependents so that they can become more engaged consumers of health care, empower themselves with unbiased, evidence-based information, and ultimately make better decisions that help them get appropriate, safe and affordable health care.

Campaign materials

Each PDF file may be read here, printed or downloaded to the user’s own device.

Collaborators

Dozens of NBGH member companies participate in the program and are distributing these Special Reports to their employees.

Methods

Through this partnership,  the following Special Reports will be released to Business Group Members, for distribution to their employees:

1. Hospital Infections — Special Report, “Deadly Infections” (December 2011), includes top and bottom hospital performers, listed by state.
2. Heart Health — Special Report, “The Business of Healing Hearts” (February 2012), includes the heart tests patients do and don’t need, and heart surgery group Ratings, by state.
3. Nutritional Supplement Safety — Special Report, “Dangerous Supplements” (May 2012), includes a list of ingredients to avoid.
4. Doctor-Patient Relationships — Special Report, “What Doctors Wish Their Patients Knew” (July 2012), includes guidance on finding the right doctor and advice on communicating more effectively with physicians.

Case studies

This project will allow for two employers to work directly with Consumer Reports to develop a targeted communications campaign for its employees and their dependents, collaborate on strategies to maximize the reach and impact of that information, develop appropriate versions for employees who need easy-to-read content, content in other languages, or other innovative communications channels, and measure results with a goal of improving and sustaining the program.

There will be no cost to the employer to participate in this demonstration; in addition, Consumer Reports will be able to support employers with cost-effective printing solutions if they wish to disseminate print rather than digital copies of the reports.

In exchange, the employer will aid Consumer Reports in measuring the effect of the reports on increasing awareness and changing employee behavior. Examples include:

• Total report downloads
• Number of copies distributed
• Anecdotes detailing employee use or satisfaction with the articles (e.g., comments to HR inbox)
• Increase in desired medical utilization – (e.g., medication adherence, preventive care, traffic to top rated providers)