Episode 85: Anna Sinaiko on lessons learned from 40 years of consumerism in health care

Listening In (With Permission): Conversations About Today's Pressing Health Care Topics

Listen in as Suzanne Delbanco chats with Anna Sinaiko, PhD, Assistant Professor at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Anna Sinaiko studies patient or individual decision making in health care settings, often referred to as consumerism in health care. She and her colleagues are currently wrapping up a synthesis of evidence from the last 40 years of health care consumerism initiatives. By looking backward at past price and quality transparency efforts and employer-led benefit design programs, Sinaiko hopes to inform future policies aimed at helping patients make informed decisions in today’s complex health care market. The research will be a welcome asset for benefit managers, helping them understand patient attitudes and preferences around health care choices as well as what types of policies have successfully steered patients toward higher-value providers. In the podcast, Anna Sinaiko also speaks to the ineffectiveness of shifting costs to consumers through higher deductibles, a strategy that may be tempting to employers as a way to reduce costs during the current economic downturn but that research shows is ineffective in helping patients be better consumers.