Health Care Consumerism

Q. What is health care consumerism?

A. Health care consumerism is all about changing your behavior—becoming more involved in your health, taking more responsibility for making smart health care decisions and leading a healthy lifestyle.

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Q. What is Sound Living?

A. Sound Living is The Sound Partnership’s approach to health care consumerism—a process that involves breaking old habits and developing new, healthier ones.

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Q. Why is health care consumerism so important?

A. Because, the decisions you make about how you live your life have a tremendous effect on your health. And how you choose to use your health care can have a huge impact on the quality of care you receive and on how much you, and The Sound Partnership, pay for that care. Sound Living provides you with ideas, skills, tools and resources to help you through the process of becoming a more active health care consumer.The focus is simple—we want you to think healthy, act healthy and stay healthy.

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Q. What is an active health care consumer?

A. An active health care consumer is someone who:

• Understands cost implications—considers the true cost of health care when making decisions
• Seeks out how and when to manage health problems on their own
• Communicates with their doctor and shares in decisions
• Demonstrates self care—when appropriate
• Makes thoughtful plan and provider selections
• Manages their own chronic conditions—actively participates in available programs through the health plan
• Practices prevention—knows what to do for early detections
• Pursues a healthy lifestyle—engages in activities to maintain or improve health activities
• Discusses the positive aspects of health care consumerism with others (especially students and co-workers)
• Acts as a role model for co-workers and students—exemplifies healthy behaviors

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