Healthcare Intelligence Network

Julie Szempruch, associate vice president for the Midtown Mental Health Center, Wishard Health Services, discusses some key points regarding ER use by mental health patients, including the challenges involved with triaging such patients, effective strategies for educating this population about proper ER use as well as why the issue of ER patients with mental health issues is getting so much attention now. Szempruch, along with Joe Eppling, assistant vice president of post acute and behavioral health services at East Jefferson General Hospital, will describe their organizations' strategies for serving the needs of the behavioral health patient in the emergency room during a July 30, 2008 webinar, Emergency Department Diversion Through Behavioral Health Linkages.

East Jefferson General Hospital (EJGH) is doing things a little differently to try to reduce ER usage among their mental health patients. According to Joe Eppling, assistant vice president of post acute and behavior health services for EJGH, placing a psychiatric nurse in the ER around the clock enables hospital staff to really know the population they are treating, and in turn reduce ER "super users." Eppling also discusses the effect medical homes and transitional care units could have on the mental health population and suggests optimal ER wait times for this population. Eppling, along with Julie Szempruch, associate vice president for the Midtown Mental Health Center, Wishard Health Services, will describe their organizations' strategies for serving the needs of the behavioral health patient in the emergency room during a July 30, 2008 webinar, Emergency Department Diversion Through Behavioral Health Linkages.

In a joint interview, Wes Alles, Ph.D., director of the Stanford University Prevention Research Center, and Yann Meunier, M.D., health improvement manager at Stanford School of Medicine Health Improvement Program, describe the interactions between their individual Stanford programs, the science and methods behind Stanford's health risk and behavior change assessments, and incentives that encourage Stanford employees to complete HRAs and participate in health promotion programs. Alles and Dr. Meunier, along with Gary Smithson, M.D., M.B.A, WorldDoc, will describe how HRAs are evolving and the impact these enhancements are having on both HRA data and results during an August 13, 2008 webinar, New Developments and Enhancements in Health Risk Assessments.

According to Dr. John Draper, director of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, there is a silent majority of suicide survivors who have another message -- suicide isn't inevitable, and it can be prevented.

When it comes to suicide, more often than not, the media focuses too much on the tragedy of the situation and sends the message that it cannot be prevented. But according to Dr. John Draper, director of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, there is a silent majority of suicide survivors who have another message -- suicide isn't inevitable, and it can be prevented. Dr. Draper and Amanda Lehner, technology communications coordinator for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, discuss their latest endeavor, LifelineGallery.org, and how this social network hopes to connect with patients with its use of story-telling avatars. To learn how healthcare organizations are using video, podcasts, blogs, wikis and other Web 2.0 technologies to drive consumers to their Web sites and facilities, please visit: The Business Case for Web 2.0 in Healthcare: Building Brands and Redefining the Patient Experience.

Education is essential to any consumer-driven program, says Alexander "Sander" Domaszewicz, a principal and senior consultant with Mercer Health and Benefits Services, and all stakeholders are encouraged to contribute to laying this foundation. Domaszewicz touches upon this key element, as well as some tips on marketing CDHPs to Generations X and Y. Domaszewicz, along with Kathleen Campbell, head of the insurer's CDHPs and Julie Bunde, director of product management at HealthPartners described the essential elements needed for a consumer-directed health plan to successfully engage consumers in their health and control healthcare costs, and how the elements translate to a consumer-directed benefit strategy for health plans and employers during a June 26, 2008 webinar, Essential Keys To Success for Consumer-Directed Health Plans.

In tracking members' experiences with Aetna's CDHPs, Kathleen Campbell, head of the insurer's CDHPs, notes that more employers are now offering CDHPS and explains why enrollment within these organizations has increased. Campbell also discusses Aetna's suite of CDHP products and Aetna's focus on simplicity within their CDHPs. Campbell, along with Julie Bunde, director of product management at HealthPartners and Alexander "Sander" Domaszewicz, a principal and senior consultant with Mercer Health and Benefits Services described the essential elements needed for a consumer-directed health plan to successfully engage consumers in their health and control healthcare costs, and how the elements translate to a consumer-directed benefit strategy for health plans and employers during a June 26, 2008 webinar, Essential Keys To Success for Consumer-Directed Health Plans.

Some features of HealthPartners' consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) are drawing a younger, healthier population, according to Julie Bunde, director of product management at HealthPartners. She discusses these features as well as how their CDHPs affect their members' lifestyles and how members are handling their healthcare spending. Bunde, along with Kathleen Campbell, head of Aetna's CDHPsand Alexander "Sander" Domaszewicz, a principal and senior consultant with Mercer Health and Benefits Servicesdescribed the essential elements needed for a consumer-directed health plan to successfully engage consumers in their health and control healthcare costs, and how the elements translate to a consumer-directed benefit strategy for health plans and employers during a June 26, 2008 webinar, Essential Keys To Success for Consumer-Directed Health Plans.

Redesigning a practice into one that is more efficient and patient-centered begins with a readiness assessment tool and goal-setting with key organization members, says Dr. John Michos, medical director of the Virginia Health Quality Center. The size of the practice can affect the approach to transformation. Smaller practices may find it easier to implement change, while larger practices may need to launch innovations on a small scale, then foster the spread of that success to other departments. Getting health IT and its associated efficiencies into a physician practice will help transform it into a medical home, but so will mapping communications processes for patient interactions such as phone calls, discharges and other situations. Dr. Michos and Dr. Lonnie E. Fuller, medical director for the Pennsylvania Medicaid ACCESS Plus PCCM-DM Program, described the critical steps in physician practice transformation during a May 29, 2008 webinar, Physician Practice Transformation: Charting a Path Toward Increased Revenue and Improved Efficiency, Patient Satisfaction and Outcomes.

A cultural change must be at the heart of any practice transformation, says Dr. Lonnie E. Fuller, medical director for the Pennsylvania Medicaid ACCESS Plus PCCM-DM Program. Dr. Fuller describes the attitude shifts that must occur and the enhanced patient experience that can result from a practice redesign. Even a practice that lacks sophisticated technology can make some basic improvements, he says, citing a free downloadable disease registry tool that can function as a data repository. Dr. Fuller and Dr. John Michos, medical director of the Virginia Health Quality Center, described the critical steps in physician practice transformation during a May 29, 2008 webinar, Physician Practice Transformation: Charting a Path Toward Increased Revenue and Improved Efficiency, Patient Satisfaction and Outcomes.

According to Marilee Donovan, a big part of pain management is self-management. In this podcast, Donovan, regional pain management coordinator with Kaiser Permanente Northwest, discusses Kaiser Permanente's multi-disciplinary chronic pain management program, as well as the measures she relies on to assess pain in and improve the quality of life for her patients. Donovan and Cheryl Pacellam performance improvement advisor at Masspro, provided the inside details on their organization's efforts to improve pain management during a June 11, 2008 webinar, Managing the Chronic Pain Patient: Strategies to Improve Quality of Life and Reduce Excessive Healthcare Utilization.

According to Marilee Donovan, a big part of pain management is self-management. In this podcast, Donovan, regional pain management coordinator with Kaiser Permanente Northwest, discusses Kaiser Permanente's multi-disciplinary chronic pain management program, as well as the measures she relies on to assess pain in and improve the quality of life for her patients. Donovan and Cheryl Pacellam performance improvement advisor at Masspro, provided the inside details on their organization's efforts to improve pain management during a June 11, 2008 webinar, Managing the Chronic Pain Patient: Strategies to Improve Quality of Life and Reduce Excessive Healthcare Utilization.

As part of Wachovia's Healthy Connections program, employees with PCs receive a 55-second dose of health and wellness-related information each week that is delivered with the company's daily desktop video news program. The desktop videos launch automatically when users turn on their computers, and are replayed in the company's break rooms, common areas and financial centers throughout the day. These offerings are a core part of Wachovia's wellness culture, says Donna Shenoha, the company's vice president and senior consultant of health and welfare. She adds that the company's new Intranet platform offers social networking options as well as the option to "push out" messaging by targeted areas --- either geographically or by employee "affinity groups." Shenoha, along with Heath Shackleford, senior director of marketing and communications at Healthways provided the inside details on the innovative strategies that their organizations use to promote their wellness programs that engage and motivate participants during a May 21, 2008 webinar, Creating a Multi-Channel, Multi-Media Wellness Communication Strategy That Motivates and Engages Employees and Health Plan Members.

When Nashville healthcare firm Healthways decided to offer internally all the health and wellness programs it develops for customers, it provided an opportunity to improve the user experience externally, explains Heath Shackleford, senior director of marketing and communications. In communicating the wellness programs to its own employees, Healthways amplified the message around privacy, underscoring that the company held employees' privacy in the highest regard. In tandem with its internal communications team, Healthways tied its wellness message to the corporate mission: "Creating a healthier world, one person at a time." And Healthways senior leadership went to marathon lengths to support the effort. Shackleford and Donna Shenoha, Wachovia's vice president and senior consultant of health and welfare provided the inside details on the innovative strategies that their organizations use to promote their wellness programs that engage and motivate participants during a May 21, 2008 webinar, Creating a Multi-Channel, Multi-Media Wellness Communication Strategy That Motivates and Engages Employees and Health Plan Members.

Dr. Rick Botelho, professor of family medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, discusses collaborating with health coaches and the impact that has on his practice, patients' responses to this new blend of treatment and the direction that health coaching is headed. Dr. Botelho, along with Dr. Edward Phillips, founder and director of Harvard Medical School's Institute of Lifestyle Medicine and Margaret Moore, CEO of Wellcoaches Corporation, 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.