CHAT: Choosing Healthplans All Together
As a graduate student in philosophy, Susan Dorr Goold had what she calls "a deep scholarly interest" in theories of justice and the allocation of scarce resources. Medical school intensified that interest, especially as it pertained to health care for the uninsured. And so it was that in 1995, soon after joining the UM Medical Center faculty, Dr. Goold linked up with like-minded colleagues to create an exercise in deliberative democracy, "a method by which individuals could participate in health care planning and rationing decisions." The result of their efforts was Choosing Healthplans All Together� (CHAT�), an education and research tool in the guise of a board game.
Today, Dr. Goold is director of the Medical School's Bioethics Program, and CHAT has been used for policymaking and research projects from North Carolina to California. "CHAT addresses the major obstacles to individual participation in health care decisions, things like apathy, intimidation, fear, and lack of access to information," says Dr. Goold. "By simplifying the technical aspects, making the process fun and enjoyable, and structuring discussions among 'players,' the game increases awareness and stimulates grass-roots dialogue about the problem of limited resources. It makes people aware that insurance is a group product and that it's important to spread the risks and benefits." She notes that the game has broad applications for consumers, researchers, employers, insurance companies, policymakers, medical service providers, and community-based organizations.
CHAT continues to evolve. The board game has been transformed into software, and a web-based version is in the works. An inexpensive, portable edition designed for educators (nicknamed CHAT Lite�) is being used at Loyola University and UM.
Dr. Goold is grateful to Tech Transfer for its assistance with licensing and agreements. "Among other things," she says, "they worked to protect the intellectual property so that, for instance, any data collected will be available to researchers." It's likely that, in the future, Tech Transfer could be involved in licensing the game to an outside vendor.
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