| Population segments in
a large employer's beneficiary pool |
Examples of subsets that may be amenable
to change |
Components of a program that can compete
effectively with current behavior patterns |
Illustrative strategies to target this
subset |
| Retired beneficiaries |
- Those with a chronic disease needing
ongoing management.
- Most common chronic disease among segment:
cardiovascular disease.
- Frequent concerns of segment: cost and lack of understanding of
how to manage disease.
|
- Eliminate copayments for heart failure drugs.
- Offer free nutrition education, including free to spouses or other
family members who are primary food preparers.
- Provide coupons for healthier foods.
|
- Feature a respected, retired local news anchor
in public service announcements in print media.
- Collaborate with unions on health fairs and cooking classes for
older members with heart disease.
|
| Young workers |
- Those with a chronic disease needing ongoing management.
- Most common chronic disease among segment: asthma.
- Frequent concerns of segment: convenience, preventing disease from
interfering with lifestyle.
|
- Reduce copayments for drugs that can be dosed less often.
- Offer Web-based education about how to respond to disease flares.
- Allow pre-prescription of the drugs needed when a flare occurs to allow
the patient to start treatment without an office visit.
|
- Sponsor a "Living with Asthma" video contest in which people
show how they manage their drug regimen.
- Include as judges both doctors (for content) and patients (for humor).
- Announce winners via a YouTube-like Web site.
|
| Patients with symptoms |
- Those who need surgical intervention.
- Example: a weekend warrior tears a ligament and needs knee surgery.
- Frequent concerns: "I know nothing about knee surgery." "Who
will fix my knee right the first time?"
|
- Provide quality of care data on orthopedic surgeons, emphasizing such
life issues as average time to resume walking, average time to return
to work.
- Offer incentives to use surgeons with better performance ratings.
|
- As this could happen to anyone, use multiple distribution channels—each
more salient to a different subset of patients.
- Do most of the education that comparative data are available before
an event happens.
|