Healthcare Intelligence Network

In Harvard Medical School's Institute of Lifestyle Medicine's online program to teach physicians the basics of health coaching, the virtual patient is a doctor himself, explains Dr. Edward Phillips, founder and director of the institute. Physicians who have completed this training say the background enhances their relationships with patients and relieves stress, since it helps them accept that they are not directly responsible for patients' poor health choices. Dr. Phillips, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School where the institute is based, hopes this subject will one day be covered thoroughly in medical schools. And his message to health plans seeking improved health coaching outcomes: engage the physician in the process, because as the person "sitting knee to knee" with the patient, the physician is ideally positioned to help the patient process all health messages. Dr. Phillips, along with Margaret Moore, CEO of Wellcoaches Corporation, and Dr. Rick Botelho, professor of family medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center described how health plans and disease management companies can enhance physician involvement in health coaching during a May 15, 2008 webinar, Driving Improvements in Health Coaching Outcomes Through Physician Collaboration and coordination.

Margaret Moore, CEO of Wellcoaches Corporation, discusses the effects a physician's health choices and behaviors can have on a patient's compliance with health coaching efforts, the role of a medical fitness coach in primary care, and the impact positive psychology can have on health coaching. Moore, along with Dr. Edward Phillips, founder and director of Harvard Medical School's Institute of Lifestyle Medicine and Dr. Rick Botelho, professor of family medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center described how health plans and disease management companies can enhance physician involvement in health coaching during a May 15, 2008 webinar, Driving Improvements in Health Coaching Outcomes Through Physician Collaboration and Coordination.

Dr. Thomas Atkins, medical director of Sutter Express Care, drugstore-based medical clinics that are part of Sutter Health's network of hospitals and doctors serving northern California, discusses how to establish locations for retail clinics, the sharing of clinic information with PCPs and the impact retail clinics can have on reducing non-emergent ED as well as healthcare costs. Dr. Atkins, along with Dr. Steven Goldberg, corporate medical director at Humana, which includes MinuteClinic in its provider network, examined the strategic implications of retail clinics on healthcare provider and payor organizations and presented two case studies on how their organizations are responding to this growing marketplace trend during a February 20, 2008 webinar, The Role of Retail Clinics in the Healthcare Continuum: Creating Strategies and Partnerships To Meet Consumers' Demand.

Dr. Thomas Atkins, medical director of Sutter Express Care, drugstore-based medical clinics that are part of Sutter Health's network of hospitals and doctors serving northern California, discusses how to establish locations for retail clinics, the sharing of clinic information with PCPs and the impact retail clinics can have on reducing non-emergent ED as well as healthcare costs. Dr. Atkins, along with Dr. Steven Goldberg, corporate medical director at Humana, which includes MinuteClinic in its provider network, examined the strategic implications of retail clinics on healthcare provider and payor organizations and presented two case studies on how their organizations are responding to this growing marketplace trend during a February 20, 2008 webinar, The Role of Retail Clinics in the Healthcare Continuum: Creating Strategies and Partnerships To Meet Consumers' Demand.

MUSC has no shortage of clinicians willing to contribute content for its podcasts and videos, says Dave Bennett, MUSC's director of web resources services. He credits Dr. Linda Austin, a practicing psychiatrist who is also MUSC's assistant dean of communications, with facilitating an "instant synergy" between clinicians and communicators. Most of MUSC's several hundred physicians contribute to the Web site's multimedia tools, which have been heard in more than 150 countries and include a children's health issues podcast sponsored by a national retailer. In an audio interview full of advice for prospective Web 2.0 adopters, Bennett covers the value of social media in driving traffic to your Web site and consumers to your doorstep as well as production issues and analytical tools related to podcast and video creation. Bennett, along with John Sharp, project manager for IT Web services with Cleveland Clinic and Susan Reid, internet marketing manager for UAB Health System, provided in-depth case studies on their organization's Web 2.0 strategy during a February 13, 2008 webinar, Emerging Trends and Opportunities for Healthcare Organizations To Leverage Web 2.0.

John Sharp, project manager for IT Web services with Cleveland Clinic, discusses Web 2.0 technologies and how his organization monitors employee-generated content and encourages participation, and gives recommendations to healthcare organizations just getting started with Web 2.0 technologies. Sharp, along with Susan Reid, internet marketing manager for UAB Health System and Dave Bennett, MUSC's director of web resources services, provided in-depth case studies on their organization's Web 2.0 strategy during a February 13, 2008 webinar, Emerging Trends and Opportunities for Healthcare Organizations To Leverage Web 2.0.

Page views, favorited, embedded...this is the lexicon of Susan Reid, internet marketing manager for UAB Health System of Alabama, which is experiencing so much success with its foray into Web 2.0 technologies that it has reallocated some of its former print communications budget for Internet marketing, video and interactive tools in 2008. UAB Health System has posted more than 100 videos on YouTube, including the frequently viewed "UAB Emergency Room Rap" and a series of patients' "My Story" videos. UAB's recruitment and marketing areas report heightened interest in UAB employment opportunities generated by the YouTube placement. Reid, along with John Sharp, project manager for IT Web services with Cleveland Clinic and Dave Bennett, MUSC's director of web resources services, provided in-depth case studies on their organization's Web 2.0 strategy during a February 13, 2008 webinar, Emerging Trends and Opportunities for Healthcare Organizations To Leverage Web 2.0.

Marketing the medical home to the commercial population will be a challenge, says Dawn Bazarko, UnitedHealthcare's senior vice president of clinical innovation, since it will result in a fundamental change to the healthcare service model. Organizations must name and market the medical home features for members, taking care to distinguish it from the "gatekeeper" HMO approach that many found undesirable and care-restrictive in the past. The medical home approach has much to offer patients, Bazarko explains, including the opportunity to have a genuine service relationship with physicians and to obtain improved coordination of care for clinical and behavioral comorbidities.Bazarko, along with Dr. Lonnie E. Fuller, medical director for the Pennsylvania Medicaid ACCESS Plus Primary Care Case Management and Disease Management (PCCM-DM) program, examined medical home projects in action during a January 29, 2008 webinar, Building an Advanced Medical Home To Improve Chronic Care Outcomes.

The solid relationships that patients build with ACCESS Plus providers and office staff, many of whom live in the neighborhood, keep them coming back in for care, explains Dr. Lonnie E. Fuller, medical director for the Pennsylvania Medicaid ACCESS Plus Primary Care Case Management and Disease Management (PCCM-DM) program. "Road shows" put on by ACCESS Plus's Regional Advisory Committee foster dialogue among consumers, providers and community organizations and provide a running issues list for the organization. Dr. Fuller also notes that disease management and telephone triage line efforts are reducing unnecessary trips to the ER. Dr. Fuller and Dawn Bazarko, UnitedHealthcare's senior vice president of clinical innovation, examined medical home projects in action during a January 29, 2008 webinar, Building an Advanced Medical Home To Improve Chronic Care Outcomes.

Lorraine Larrance, consulting senior manager with Pershing Yoakley and Associates, and Sue Kincer, consultant and certified professional coder with Pershing Yoakley and Associates, discussed the 2008 PQRI measures, the challenges physicians will face and the quality improvements that could result for physician practices. Kincer and Larrance, along with Dr. Bruce Bagley, AAFP medical director of quality improvement, delved into the requirements for PQRI for 2008 and drew upon their past experiences with physician quality reporting to recommend how to succeed in the 2008 program during a January 22, 2008 webinar, Physician Quality Reporting in 2008: What Every Physician Practice Should Know.