MAXIMUS Launches eHealth Literacy Services to Improve Consumer Engagement Through Health Information Technology
-Solutions to Advance eHealth Literacy Among Citizens-
RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MAXIMUS, Inc. (NYSE:MMS), a leading provider of government services worldwide, announced today that it is now offering eHealth Literacy Services to help state and community programs meet the communication and engagement challenges facing consumers and providers using the new health information technology (HIT) infrastructure.
Health consumers have varied levels of literacy, different cultural needs, disparate technological skills and access, and varying familiarity with health care terms and practices. ehealth literacy is the ability of individuals to use technology (directly or with assistance) to find, read and understand health information to make informed choices about their health care.
By advancing ehealth literacy as part of the emerging health IT infrastructure, MAXIMUS will assist government agencies, non-profit organizations and other community stakeholders as they develop and implement programs that are intended to improve citizens' ability to make informed decisions about their health care and well-being.
MAXIMUS leverages its proven health literacy, customer support, community outreach and health IT expertise to achieve this important goal. The Company's Center for Health Literacy provides expertise in developing easy-to-read print materials and easy-to-use Websites that allow governments and public health services organizations to communicate effectively with their consumers. MAXIMUS also offers multilingual customer service specialists that are well-trained and responsive to diverse cultural needs for multiple public programs.
MAXIMUS eHealth Literacy Services include solutions that support education and outreach to consumers and patients by:
-- Promoting "meaningful use" of technology by helping to identify and
address barriers to ehealth literacy so vulnerable and diverse
populations can be actively engaged with these health care improvements
-- Providing plain language content for online tools and resources to help
individuals, their caregivers and providers access timely and
easy-to-understand information and make informed health care decisions
-- Delivering call center support services that help educate consumers and
support their use of online tools and services
Promoting information and resources that advance ehealth literacy among citizens is critical to reaching the goals of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). MAXIMUS is also launching an eHealth Literacy Community on LinkedIn. This new community serves as a space to continue the dialogue about ehealth literacy and consumer engagement. The Company currently helps its government clients reach citizens through social media tools for programs like California Healthy Families (https://socialmedia.maximus.com/cahf).
"A key goal of HITECH is to use HIT as a tool to transform health care and improve the lives of all Americans. However, citizens must be able to access and understand their health information, in partnership with their providers, for the federal government's $22.6 billion investment to succeed," commented Bruce Caswell, President and General Manager of MAXIMUS Health Services. "MAXIMUS eHealth Literacy Services are a natural extension of our Center for Health Literacy services, where we have extensive experience reaching consumers of public health programs. This new service offering helps government agencies and non-profit organizations support medical providers with ehealth literacy solutions that lead to improved quality and lower-cost health care for all."
MAXIMUS has selected health IT and policy expert Shannah Koss as Principal of the new eHealth Literacy Services. She will be speaking at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Multi-State Medicaid HITECH Conference today in Baltimore, Maryland as a participant on the "Meaningful Use (MU) and Patient Engagement through eHealth Literacy" panel at 9:45 AM ET.
About MAXIMUS
MAXIMUS is a leading provider of government services worldwide and is devoted to providing health and human services program management and consulting services to its clients. The Company has more than 6,500 employees located in more than 220 offices in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. Additionally, MAXIMUS is included in the Russell 2000 Index and the S&P SmallCap 600 Index.
Source: MAXIMUS, Inc.
Released May 25, 2011