About Strong Health
How's Your Health, Upstate New York?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is How’s Your Health, Upstate New York (HYHny)?
How’s Your Health, Upstate New York? (HYHny) is a community-wide initiative coordinated by Rochester Health Commission in cooperation with community leaders from health care, consumer groups, businesses, local counties and the City of Rochester. Its purpose is to increase the number of consumers who take steps to prevent and manage their health care problems and conditions. It also provides doctors, other health care providers, businesses and the community with critical information and tools to work together to identify, prioritize and implement opportunities to improve health care in the area.
The HYHny Initiative encourages individuals to visit www.howsyourhealth.org and complete a free, confidential, non-commercial, 10-minute survey. Having completed the survey, individuals are provided with a summary of their responses and are linked to health information focusing on their unique problems and concerns. Participants with chronic diseases will also get a list of important questions to ask their providers. Consumers are encouraged to take their summary “action form” with them to their next doctor’s appointment. The electronic survey information an individual provides is for his/her eyes only. No individual information is stored or shared. Only the individual decides what to do with his/her specific information.
Who may participate in How’s Your Health, Upstate New York?
How’s Your Health, Upstate New York is currently available to individuals of any age (a child’s survey can be completed by a parent or guardian) residing in Monroe, Wayne, Livingston, Genesee, Yates, Seneca, Ontario, Orleans, and Wyoming Counties. The survey varies depending upon the age and sex of the respondent; there is also a survey for those very sick or frail. The survey, action form and health information are all available in both English and Spanish.
Why was the HYH Web site, www.howsyourhealth.org, developed?
The HYH web site was developed to give consumers evidence-based, user-friendly health information to help them become more actively involved in preventing and managing their health care problems. The summary action form provides a snapshot of the individual and his/her situation. It includes information about problems, needs, concerns, health safety practices, medical conditions, family environment, and use of and access to doctors. It also includes the patient’s opinion about whether his/her doctor is aware of specific problems and the nature of any adverse medical experiences.
The HYH web site was also designed to help individuals work more closely with their doctors to take better care of themselves. Often, individuals forget or are reluctant to bring up problems and concerns during their doctor visits, which can have a major impact on their health. The summary action form helps facilitate patient-doctor communications by succinctly conveying a patient’s chief concerns to his/her physician. Research shows that when a physician spends three minutes talking about a patient’s concerns (such as the need to give up smoking) it is much more effective than most other interventions.
The HYH web site, www.howsyourhealth.org, was developed
by Dr. John Wasson while working as a practicing physician
in
the oldest practice-based research network in the U.S., the
Dartmouth Primary Care Research Network.
How will the HYHny Initiative work?
Starting April 27, 2004, area residents are encouraged to visit the web site, www.howsyourhealth.org, complete the survey for themselves or for their young child and bring the summary action form along with them to their next doctor’s appointment. The medical leadership in the community is aware of this effort so that doctors will know to expect this.
What happens when someone is done with the survey?
While individual answers to the survey remain completely private and confidential, aggregate information will be analyzed to help us understand how to improve the quality of our community’s health care services. Doctors’ offices and large businesses will also receive aggregate information to help them better understand the health care needs of their patients/employees and help them manage and prevent conditions, problems, or diseases. Large businesses and doctors’ offices can also choose to get more tools to “stretch” the value of HYH for their employees/patients.
Who owns the data that results from this Initiative?
The repository of anonymous, aggregate data is Dartmouth. After the initial pilot phase, Dartmouth will send aggregate information to those employer groups, physicians’ offices, and hospitals listed in the drop down menus having greater than 50 respondents. RHC will have access to the aggregate information as well.
How are physicians, health care systems, consumer organizations, businesses and other groups choosing to participate in this Initiative?
Physicians’ offices and health care providers are familiarizing themselves with the summary action form that consumers will receive upon completion of the survey. Note that the health information developed by Dartmouth for consumers is compatible with the 19 community-wide clinical guidelines developed by physicians in this area. Doctors’ offices, health care providers, consumer groups and employers have started to request an electronic copy of flyers and other tools developed to help get the word out about this effort.
Who supports this Initiative? Who is overseeing the Initiative?
This Initiative is being coordinated by Rochester Health Commission, an independent organization equally represented by physician, health care provider, consumer and business leaders. A 45 person Group of Advisors has been formed to provide input into the development and implementation of “How’s Your Health, Upstate New York?” and the use of the data and information gathered from it. The Group of Advisors includes leaders from consumer organizations, hospitals, and businesses committed to improving health care in the community.
Are other areas of the country introducing www.howsyourhealth.org?
Mobile, AL, Long Beach, CA, Chicago, IL, Manchester, NH, Milwaukee, WI and the states of New Jersey and Montana have introduced this into their communities. Organizations taking the lead in spearheading efforts in these locales include health care systems, physician groups, chambers of commerce, labor, state governments and large employer groups.
Why should you help?
Individuals who complete the survey will gain access to user friendly, well-tested, evidence-based health information and tools to help them prevent and manage their health care problems. Doctors’ offices will be provided with a summary action form listing specific problems and concerns that their patients are frequently reluctant to bring up or often forget. The action form also indicates whether patients believe that their doctor or nurses are aware of specific problems. Offices may also choose to avail themselves of additional resources to help them operate more efficiently and effectively. Physicians’ offices, hospitals, employer groups, and the community will be able to secure aggregate information to help build a foundation for quality improvement efforts.
Who is providing funding for the project?
The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that supports independent research on health and social issues and makes grants to improve health care practice and policy, is providing financial support for this area-wide initiative.
###
How’s Your Health Upstate New York? (HYHny) is coordinated by Rochester Health Commission (RHC). RHC is an independent, non-profit organization with equal representation from business, consumers and providers. It is dedicated to increasing the value of health care as measured by quality, access and cost and to improving the health of the community. Over the past three years, RHC has lead or coordinated fourteen community-wide initiatives. In 2003, RHC was cited by the Rand Corporation as “one of the top three regional health care coalitions in the country” and in 2004 was one of fifteen community organizations invited to participated in the Crossing the Quality Chasm Summit sponsored by the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academies of Science.
For further information about HYHny visit: http://www.rhealth.org.