Wellmark Foundation Grant to Support Statewide Health Care Campaign Promoting Patient-Provider Communication

October 8, 2007

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Contact:
Angela Feig
515.245.4551
feigab@wellmark.com

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Wellmark Foundation awarded a $50,530 grant to the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative in Des Moines to develop a statewide health care campaign promoting improved patient and provider communication.

The MedCard: A Simple Tool to Improve Patient-Provider Communication will strive to increase health literacy by improving the ability of patients and health care providers to communicate, share and understand information related to medication use, says Tom Evans, M.D., president of the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative.

“This campaign will promote improved communication through the use of the MedCard, a folded information sheet housed in a billfold-sized plastic sleeve. The MedCard helps patients record the name, purpose and directions of their medications. The card is designed to help patients keep track of their medications and to encourage more frequent and effective communication with their health care providers,” says Evans.

According to Evans, 150,000 cards will be distributed and promoted statewide through a variety of partners, including the Iowa Foundation for Medical Care, Iowa Hospital Association, Iowa Medical Society and the Iowa Pharmacy Association. For more information about The MedCard: A Simple Tool to Improve Patient-Provider Communication, contact Evans at (515) 288-1955 or evanst@ihaonline.org.

The Wellmark Foundation has provided more than $12.77 million to fund 374 health-related grants in Iowa and South Dakota since 1997, including a total of $1,854,175 to date in 2007. “The Wellmark Foundation works to improve the health of Iowans and South Dakotans,” says Matthew McGarvey, director of The Wellmark Foundation. “The MedCard is a great tool to help patients effectively manage their medications and communicate with their health care providers.”