How food marketers can help consumers eat better while improving their bottom line

ScienceDaily (Oct. 11, 2012) — Food marketers are masters at getting people to crave and consume the foods that they promote. In this study authors Dr. Brian Wansink, co-director of the Cornell University Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition and Professor of Marketing and Dr. Pierre Chandon, professor of Marketing at the leading French graduate school of business, INSEAD challenge popular assumptions that link food marketing and obesity.
Their findings presented last weekend at the Association for Consumer Research Conference in Vancouver, Canada point to ways in which smart food marketers can use the techniques that peak consumer appetite for calorie-dense fast foods to help people eat better -- and improve their bottom line as well.
"People generally want food that tastes good while being affordable, varied, convenient and healthy -- roughly in that order. Our research suggests that consumption of healthy and unhealthy food respond to the same marketing tactics, particularly price reduction. In this study we present food marketers with a 'win-win' situation in which they can turn the tables, compel consumers to eat healthier foods, and maintain profitability. For example, marketers can steer consumers away from high-calorie sugary drinks by offering meal discounts if a person buys a diet drink -- or by offering a healthy habit loyalty card when consumers opt for milk, juice or water instead of sugary drinks. "When all sides win, no one resists," Wansink said.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Cornell Food & Brand Lab, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:
Pierre Chandon, Brian Wansink. Does food marketing need to make us fat? A review and solutions. Nutrition Reviews, 2012; 70 (10): 571 DOI: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2012.00518.x
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Doctors who go digital provide higher quality healthcare: Study says electronic health records help physicians provide better care

ScienceDaily (Oct. 17, 2012) — The use of electronic health records is linked to significantly higher quality care, according to a new study by Lisa Kern and her team, from the Health Information Technology Evaluation Collaborative in the US. Their work appears online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, published by Springer.

Electronic health records (EHRs) have become a priority in the US, with federal incentives for 'meaningful' use of EHRs. Meaningful use entails tracking and improving specific patient outcomes, as well as gathering and storing information.

Kern and colleagues examined the effect of EHRs on ambulatory care quality in a community-based setting, by comparing the performance of physicians using either EHRs or paper records. They assessed performance on nine specific quality measures for a total of 466 primary care physicians with 74,618 patients, from private practices in the Hudson Valley region of New York.

The quality measures included: eye exams, hemoglobin testing, cholesterol testing, renal function testing for patients with diabetes, colorectal cancer screening, chlamydia screening, breast cancer screening, testing for children with sore throat, and treatment for children with upper respiratory infections.

Approximately half of the physicians studied used EHRs, while the others used paper records. Overall, physicians using EHRs provided higher rates of needed care than physicians using paper, and for four measures in particular: hemoglobin testing in diabetes, breast cancer screening, chlamydia screening, and colorectal cancer screening.

The authors conclude: "We found that EHR use is associated with higher quality ambulatory care in a multi-payer community with concerted efforts to support EHR implementation. In contrast to several recent national and statewide studies, which found no effect of EHR use, this study's finding is consistent with national efforts to promote meaningful use of EHRs."

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Journal Reference:

Lisa M. Kern, Yolanda Barrón, Rina V. Dhopeshwarkar, Alison Edwards, Rainu Kaushal. Electronic Health Records and Ambulatory Quality of Care. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2012; DOI: 10.1007/s11606-012-2237-8

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