Grant awarded to adapt Choosing Wisely Campaign® as a tool to enhance doctor-patient communication
HARTFORD, CT – The Connecticut Center for Primary Care was awarded a one-year $45,000 grant to implement Choosing Wisely®, a campaign that has proven successful in helping patients avoid unnecessary and potentially harmful, costly tests and procedures by improving the communication with their doctors in ways that focus in on the specific needs of newly-insured and underserved patients.
ChoosingWisely® is a national campaign led by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation and Consumer Reports, and aims to empower consumers to ask their doctors smart questions about tests, treatments or procedures as they navigate the health care system. The campaign uses a variety of approaches that include educational material and tools to improve the patient-physician conversation. Choosing Wisely has been adopted by Maine, Massachusetts, California and other states.
In Connecticut, eight organizations with a shared interest in the campaign, have formed the CT Choosing Wisely Collaborative® (CCWC) to make more tools, resources and approaches available to assist more patient populations, as well as the clinicians who serve them, according to Nancy Yedlin, chair of the CCWC and vice president at the Donaghue Foundation.
“Empowering consumers to engage in conversations about health care with their doctor has proven successful in other states as we expect Choosing Wisely to benefit Connecticut’s newly-insured and diverse populations,” said Yedlin. “Our collaborative group is also looking to include others who are interested in improving health communication as a way to help patients navigate the health care system.”
CCWC will work closely with Consumer Reports, other experts and patients to develop and test communication strategies and educational material for their cultural and linguistic competency, and their ability to engage and help patients from culturally, ethnically, racially and economically diverse populations. Also, these strategies and materials will be tested in various settings, including clinics and community practices.
“As we continue to enroll new and underserved populations into the Affordable Care Act in Connecticut, it is important for CT Health to support initiatives like Choosing Wisely® whose aim is central to our objective of helping people navigate the state’s health care system,” said Tiffany Donelson, vice president of program at the Connecticut Health Foundation.
OTHER GRANTS AWARDED
- Community Catalyst (Boston) was awarded a one-year $50,000 grant to develop and advance policy options to minimize the incidence of cycling on and off health insurance or among coverage types as a result of income fluctuations.
- Community Health Services (Hartford) was awarded a three-month $75,000 grant to study the feasibility of expansion and partnership to assure that the safety net remains strong in Hartford.
- Connecticut Association of School-Based Health Centers (North Haven) was awarded a one-year $75,000 to support a SBHC in East Hartford and New London to participate in a pilot project with the New York State Coalition for SBHC’s to test a new, integrated care model. The goal is to become fully-accredited comprehensive primary care providers and medical homes in SBHCs to improve students’ health.
- Connecticut Legal Services (Middletown) was awarded a one-year $300,000 grant to serve as fiscal sponsor for Health Equity Solutions, a start-up policy advocacy organization that will focus on advancing public policy and promoting health equity in health care access and delivery.
- Connecticut Voices for Children (New Haven) was awarded a one-year $100,000 general operating grant to monitor and promote health insurance coverage, especially enrollment/coverage in publicly-financed health insurance programs.
- Greater Hartford Legal Aid Services (Hartford) was awarded a two-year $248,000 grant to support a two-year Oral Health Fellow whose work will focus on the integration of oral and physical health services for vulnerable populations through advocacy, policy and systems change in Connecticut.
- Harvard School of Public Health (Cambridge) was awarded a one-year $49,913 grant to conduct a consumer survey of 4,000 persons who are newly enrolled in qualified health plans in Connecticut and Washington. Results will help fine-tune marketplaces to create environments that enable underserved populations to choose health plans that best meet their needs.
- National Alliance of Mental Health Connecticut (Hartford) was awarded a one-year $30,000 grant to support its advocacy efforts to ensure that the State Innovation Model’s plan focuses on the integration of physical health and mental health for children, youth and adults.
- Society for New Communications Research (San Francisco) received a six-month $70,000 planning grant for HealthJusticeCT, a social media project.
President’s Discretionary Grants
- Faithcare, Inc. (Farmington) was awarded a $15,000 grant to support its Community Outreach Program, which will offer health screenings and connections to health services to residents in targeted Hartford neighborhoods.
- Fit Haven (New Haven) was awarded a $10,000 grant to promote health and fitness among women and girls in newly-established community fitness centers in targeted New Haven communities.
- Foundation for Children (Hartford) received a $9,800 grant to support developmental and behavioral health screening in primary care settings for all children up to age 19 on an annual basis.
- Interaction Institute for Social Change (Chicago) was awarded a $9,455 grant to support a planning meeting, specifically facilitation and content expertise, for year-long enrollment/navigation to be implemented by Access Health CT and the Department of Social Services.
- Connecticut Urban Legal Initiative (Hartford), was awarded a $25,000 grant to serve as fiscal sponsor for the Open Communities Alliance (OCA), a new civil rights organization founded to promote access to opportunity for all through education, advocacy, research and partnerships. OCA’s initial and primary focus will be promoting housing integration as a means of reversing opportunity disparities, which includes health.
- The Connecticut Forum (Hartford) was awarded an $18,000 grant to support its Youth Forum, a program that provides opportunities for teens to come together from different towns, ethnic and racial groups to address various health and mental health-related issues, such as violence, peer pressure, racism, and bullying.
About the Connecticut Health Foundation
The Connecticut Health Foundation (CT Health) is the state’s largest independent health philanthropy dedicated to improving lives by changing health systems. Since it was established in July 1999, the foundation has supported innovative grant-making, public health policy research, technical assistance and convening to achieve its mission – to improve the health of the people of Connecticut. Over the past 15 years, CT Health has awarded grants totaling $54 million in 45 cities and towns throughout the state.
In April 2013, CT Health announced its five-year strategic plan to transition to expand health equity as a focus. For CT Health, health equity means helping more people gain access to better care, especially people of color. Better care includes physical, mental, and oral health.
For more information about the foundation, please visit www.cthealth.org or contact senior communications officer Maryland Grier at Maryland@cthealth.org or 860.724.1580, ext. 21.