A short survey to assess health status among older adults

The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of fielding a short survey to a large older population to learn about their self-rated health, compliance with annual flu vaccinations, and willingness to participate in population health programs. 675,772 older adults were contacted to participate in the survey. Responses were linked to eligibility, medical claims, and pharmaceutical data to identify: 1) those who responded to the survey; 2) those whose self-rated health was different than their Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) risk score measured with claims data and; 3) those that reported not having a flu vaccination. The survey response rate was 14%, and 32% of respondents reported no flu vaccination. Among those rating their health as poor-fair, 1/3 had an HCC score indicating they were healthy (HCC<1.0). Among those rating their health as good-excellent, 4% had HCC score indicating they were sick (HCC>2.8). This telephonic short survey outreach to a large population successfully gathered important population health metrics not available in claims data. First, the flu vaccination information can be used to effectively target an intervention for those not vaccinated. Second, using self-rated health to prioritize those being considered for a population health intervention may be more effective than using claims data. Finally, individuals who complete a survey have demonstrated that they are more likely to join a population health program when offered, and therefore given a high priority when determining whom to target for these programs.