For consumer directed-healthcare initiatives to succeed, we need informed consumers.   Your employees don’t want to go to the emergency room any more than you want to pay for it. By helping individuals better understand and manage their conditions, you help them become more informed healthcare consumers and require fewer services.

This is the crux of realizing successful outcomes of consumer-directed healthcare (CDHC).

With healthcare costs continuing to rise at double-digit rates, companies are looking at CDHC initiatives such as disease management and wellness and lifestyle programs as well as health savings accounts, incentive programs, and other efforts to encourage employees to use their medical dollars most appropriately.

At Cardium Health, we recognize that information without understanding is just data. Increased access to healthcare information on the Internet and direct-to-consumer advertising by pharmaceutical companies often send mixed messages that leave people more confused. Cardium Health primary and specialty health coaches help to interpret the messages people are bombarded with and provide objective, knowledgeable advice and guidance.

We seek to put information in a context that helps people improve their health status and achieve their goals. If a new medical condition arises, or a new treatment or theory is in the popular press, accurate, unbiased information is just a phone call away.

Our assessment process allows us to gauge an individual’s level of health literacy. Our people-centered approach empowers them to become effective self-advocates and take personal responsibility for their health.

In the end, we believe better informed consumers are able to make better decisions about their healthcare choices.