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Aetna Wins Two National ClearMark Awards from the Center for Plain Language

^{Published on 2010-05-18 11:10:21 - Market Wire}
 

HARTFORD, Conn.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--People dona™t often associate the term aplain languagea with a health insurer, but Aetna (NYSE: AET) has been working to change that. Today, the company announced it has been honored for its efforts with two ClearMark Awards from the Center for Plain Language for clear, reader-friendly communications. The only health insurer to earn a ClearMark Award, Aetna also was the only recipient to capture two top awards. The company received the national honors for a section of its Web site on health and wellness, [ http://www.aetna.com/health-wellness/index.html ], as well as for its employee newsletter on health literacy.

"All of our judges share a passion for the use of plain language"

aWe are very pleased to receive this award,a said Jill Griffiths, Aetnaa™s vice president of market and clinical communications. aClear language is one of the ways we are improving how we communicate with our members and their families. What started as an effort to strengthen health literacy among our members has grown over the past few years to encompass a broader emphasis on using plain language in all company materials.a

Acknowledging that plain language is not something health plans are known for, Griffiths explained, aUse of plain language is the right thing to do. Ita™s also asmart thing to do. Simplifying our communications improves member satisfaction, and it helps us to meet our brand promise. It also saves time and money.a

The ClearMark awards recognize the best and clearest use of language by business, government and non-profits. In giving the honors, the Center for Plain Language described Aetnaa™s two awards as follows.

• Aetna Health LiteracyNewsletter. Category: Original document in the private sector. aProduced by Aetna employees who volunteer to create it, this newsletter has 3,000 subscribers. Using a relaxed, conversational style, the newsletter makes complex health care information easy to understand.a
• Aetna Health and Wellness Web page. Category: Website in the private sector. aThis clean, attractive website contains relevant health information. The information is organized in a practical and easy manner and is simple to understand. Overall, the website is easy to navigate.a

aWe were thrilled to award Aetna two of our first national ClearMark Awards,a said Dr. Annetta Cheek, chair, board of directors of the Center for Plain Language. aThey were a strong contender out of a very competitive field of 160 submissions.a

Judges for the ClearMark Awards consisted of a national panel of plain language experts. The esteemed group included professors, authors, high-ranking officials from several government agencies, and experts in design, as well as senior executives from communications consulting firms. aAll of our judges share a passion for the use of plain language,a noted Dr. Cheek, a former federal employee who has spent more than 15 years working to simplify communications from the government.

Long-term commitment to plain language improves patient care

Dexter Campinha-Bacote, MD is a market medical director at Aetna. aWe have a strong commitment to ensuring that our members understand the language of health and health care. Thata™s why we focus on plain language,a he said. aOne of the ways we do this is by publishing a quarterly newsletter for our employees on this specific topic. Employees are working hard to write and speak in ways that consumers can understand.a

aAetnaa™s commitment to plain language is important for helping to improve health literacy and patient safety, such as ensuring that directions from a nurse case manager to a member are clear,a he added.

According to Dr. Campinha-Bacote, poor health literacy may affect a member's ability to understand health information and use it to make good health care choices. Low health literacy makes it hard for patients to follow doctors' orders, which can lead to poorer health and contribute to rising health care costs.

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nationa™s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 36.1 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see [ www.aetna.com ] and Aetna's Annual Report at [ www.aetna.com/2009annualreport ].

About the Center for Plain Language

The Center for Plain Language is a D.C.-based nonprofit organization that wants government and business documents to be clear and understandable. We support those who use plain language, train those who should use plain language, and urge people to demand plain language in all the documents they receive, read, and use. [ www.centerforplainlanguage.org ].