Engaged Consumers Cost 20% Less

Health care costs are up to one-fifth lower among “activated” patients (those who participate in their health care and engage in self-management behaviors) compared to costs for patients with low activation levels. Activated patients had lower costs even after controlling for severity of condition. Interventions to build skills and confidence among patients at low activation levels have been shown to be effective in increasing these engagement levels. The finding was reported in “Patients With Lower Activation Associated With Higher Costs; Delivery Systems Should Know Their Patients’ ‘Scores” by Judith H. Hibbard, Jessica Greene, and Valerie Overton. The concept . . .