Health Dialog

Health Dialog is a leading provider of care management through decision-support and evidence-based medicine – and one of the fastest growing privately held firms in the United States. The company was created to help improve the state of the healthcare system – a system that today is facing double-digit cost increases and significant quality issues. Through their sophisticated analytics, which are grounded in academic research, and the personalized Health Coaching resources, Health Dialog addresses the issues facing the healthcare industry today. The company identifies opportunities for improvement within a population and deliver programs that help individuals better understand their medical issues and become more engaged in managing their healthcare with their physicians.^[2] By identifying and addressing these issues, Health Dialog is able to improve healthcare quality and satisfaction while reducing overall costs to the system.

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History: Thirty Years of Research

In 1967, Wennberg began documenting geographic variation in healthcare. In 1988 he founded the Center for Evaluative Clinical Services (CECS) at Dartmouth Medical School. Wennberg's work has shown that areas that spend more and provide more services often experience worse outcomes than lower-spending areas that provide less intensive care. Through his research, Wennberg has demonstrated that "the Medicare system could reduce spending by at least 30% while improving the medical care of the most severely ill Americans."^[3] Wennberg's recent work has focused on documenting outcomes and communicating outcomes information to patients.

Founded in 1997 by George Bennett and Chris McKown, Health Dialog collaborates with the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making (FIMDM) to address unwarranted variation in healthcare – the subject of more than 30 years of objective, peer-reviewed research by Dr. John Wennberg and colleagues. A privately held corporation, Health Dialog is headquartered in Boston, MA, with Health Dialog Analytic Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary, headquartered in Portland, ME. The company has additional locations across the country and in the United Kingdom as well. Today, Health Dialog is the fastest growing company^[4] in the care management industry and approximately 20 million individuals have access to Health Dialog services.^[5]

“When all is said and done, the people who have been most serious about it rarely think we are underresourced. The evidence to my mind is so strong. More is not better, and it often is very, very much worse.” – Dr. Donald M. Berwick, president of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement^[6]

Unwarranted Variation

Health Dialog’s analytic solutions are built upon the research of Drs. John and David Wennberg and their colleagues to identify and address unwarranted variation in healthcare – the widespread overuse, underuse, and misuse of healthcare services. Unwarranted variation is one of healthcare’s principle cost and quality drivers. Understanding unwarranted variation and its drivers can help to achieve the “right rate” of care for a population, and thereby minimize the widely varying rates of treatments and hospitalizations across the United States. Research suggests that approximately 30 percent of medical costs can be attributed to unwarranted variation in healthcare.^[7]

“The problem is not underuse in low-rate regions and hospitals, but overuse and inefficiency in high-rate regions.” – Dr. Wennberg^[8]

“Practice variation is one of the greatest problems we face in controlling costs.” – Dwayne Davis, MD, medical director of Geisinger Health Care

Shared Decision-Making

In an increasingly consumer directed healthcare environment, it is critical that individuals have the information and support they need to become more involved in their healthcare. Health Dialog is built upon the idea that when individuals are more actively engaged in managing their care with their physicians, they are more satisfied with their care, quality goes up, and costs go down. This concept is what we call Shared Decision-Making and is an approach based on the work of the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making, a not-for-profit entity co-founded by John Wennberg and Albert Mulley. To help engage individuals in their healthcare, Health Dialog provides them with unbiased medical information, teaches them how to prepare for physician visits, and helps them to consider their personal values and preferences in making medical decisions.

"If the consumer is given the evidence behind the outcomes, he will often choose the more conservative path.” – Tamara Hall, senior vp of service delivery for Health Dialog^[9]

Awards

The videos provided by the company have received a wide range of awards, including recognition from the following organizations:
National Mature Media Awards
International Health & Medical Media Awards – FREDDIE Awards
American Medical Writers Association, New England Chapter – Neil Duane Award
National Health Information Awards
Film Council of Greater Columbus – Chris Awards
Health & Science Communications Association – HeSCA Awards

References

1. ^ http://www.healthdialog.com/NR/rdonlyres/BE5978E6-071D-4E20-B86A-5E573951A58C/0/HD_BBJ_2007_FINAL.pdf
2. ^ http://www.healthdialog.com/hd/Ancillary/Aboutus/history.htm
3. ^ http://www.healthaffairs.org/press/novdec0703b.htm
4. ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2003_Nov_21/ai_110378561
5. ^ http://www.healthdialog.com/hd/Ancillary/Aboutus/AboutUs.htm
6. ^ http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_22/b3986001.htm
7. ^ Fisher E.S., Wennberg D.E., Stukel T.A., et al. The implications of regional variations in Medicare spending. Part 1. Ann Intern Med. 2003; 138: 273-287.
8. ^ http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_22/b3986001.htm
9. ^ http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_22/b3986001.htm