How's Your Health, NJ?

New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute Initiatives
Initiatives > How's Your Health Introduction > FAQ

What is How's Your Health, NJ?

How's Your Health, NJ? is a unique initiative sponsored by the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce, the State of New Jersey and the Health Care Payers Coalition of New Jersey. The campaign will connect New Jersey residents with a web-based survey designed to help them become better health care consumers. The feedback gathered will allow individuals to become more aware of their own health issues, facilitate clearer communication with their medical providers and be more proactive in keeping health care costs down.

How does the program work?

Beginning January 2004 all New Jersey residents are urged to log onto www.howsyourhealthnj.org to take an anonymous, confidential ten-minute survey. The survey is easy and user-friendly.

What happens when someone is done with the survey?

Immediately upon completion of the survey, each respondent receives a customized education packet on preventative care and chronic illness management. Participants also get a list of important questions to ask their health care providers, questions that will help them improve their health and provide communication with their doctors.

Why was How's Your Health developed?

The nation's health and its health care delivery system are in a state of crisis. Americans are facing record levels of obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases. New Jersey employers and employees alike are struggling with skyrocketing health care costs. One reason costs are so high, according to recent studies, is lack of clear communication between doctors and patients. In response to this crisis, Dr. John Wasson, a researcher and professor at Dartmouth Medical School developed "How's Your Health" to help Americans improve their health and provide communication with their medical providers. Dr. Wasson joined with Dr. Regina Benjamin, founder of Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Alabama and the U.S. recipient of the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights, to use the data provided by How's Your Health to fix the holes in the American health care system. How's Your Health, NJ? is the local roll-out of the campaign, the first statewide implementation of the program nationwide.

What happens to the information gathered on the website?

Dr. Wasson and Dr. Benjamin will spearhead an analysis of How's Your Health, NJ? data to diagnose what's right and what can be improved in New Jersey health care. The New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute will then use the information to develop action strategies to help the local medical community better address the health care needs of area residents.

Will the information I provide on the website be kept confidential?

Yes. The survey is taken anonymously. Neither your employer nor your doctor will ever know how you answered the survey unless YOU tell them. What you choose to do with the feedback is your own business, although it is hoped that you will use the data generated to work with your doctor to improve communications and your health.

Who is behind How's Your Health, NJ?

How's Your Health, NJ? is a group project between the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce, the State of New Jersey and the Health Care Payers Coalition of New Jersey. It is supported financially by the Commonwealth Fund and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, private foundations that support independent research on health issues.

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