Now You Have a Diagnosis: What's Next?

Transcript

Now You Have a Diagnosis: What's Next?

This is a National Audio Teleconference sponsored by the User Liaison Program, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, conducted in March, 2000.

Suggested lead in 3, 2...

(OPEN):
Receiving a medical diagnosis for a serious medical condition often can be confusing and overwhelming. Where can you go to find information about your condition and possible treatment? To answer that question, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, or AHRQ [pronounced "ark"], and the Kanter Family Foundation today released a new easy-to-understand brochure entitled, Now You Have a Diagnosis: What's Next?

(EISENBERG):
WHAT EVERY AMERICAN NEEDS IS INFORMATION TO HELP MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT HEALTH AND ABOUT HEALTH CARE. BUT YOU CAN'T DO THAT IF YOU CAN'T GET THE INFORMATION. THERE'S GOOD RESEARCH, BUT WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS TO BE SURE THAT INFORMATION GETS TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MAKING DECISIONS—PATIENTS AND THEIR CLINICIANS. AND THIS BOOK TELLS YOU HOW TO DO THAT.

(BRIDGE):
Joseph H. Kanter, president and CEO of the Kanter Family Foundation, says that his foundation is committed to helping the public put the results of health care research to work for them.

(KANTER):
THIS PAMPHLET AND THE PARTNERSHIP ARE THE FIRST STEPS TOWARDS REALIZING MY VISION OF A NATIONWIDE OUTCOMES DATABASE THAT HELPS PATIENTS AND DOCTORS TO USE RESEARCH TO DETERMINE WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN'T WORK.

(CLOSE):
You can order free copies of Now You Have a Diagnosis: What's Next? by calling 1-800-3-5-8-9-2-9-5, or by visiting w-w-w-dot-a-h-r-q-dot-gov. This is Mike Weiner reporting.