Vim & Vigor - Spring 2013 - Parrish Medical Center - (Page 3)

Opening ThoughTs Getting Value for Your Healthcare Dollars Make sure you are holding your service providers accountable W hen you pay for something, you want value for your money. The person or business you pay owes you value for whatever it is you’re buying, whether it’s a car, a house, food, running shoes or healthcare. There’s a difference between providing a valuable service and providing value. Healthcare protects and preserves people’s lives, making healthcare valuable on its face. But value as delivered by healthcare providers is the result of actually doing the job for you. That leads to a discussion of a new buzz term now in use in the healthcare field: value-based purchasing. At first glance it might appear to refer to a healthcare organization’s purchasing department that makes sure it’s getting value for everything it buys. What we’re talking about when we say value-based purchasing, however, is you and your money. When you pay for healthcare services, regardless of who or what provides those services, accountability measures are available that you can use to make sure you’re getting the most for your money. Among these are: • The provider’s quality record • Results related to your condition or concern • Cost versus other similar healthcare providers • Attentiveness to you personally • Experience of others who’ve gone to that provider An increasing number of employers locally and throughout the country are already using value-based purchasing or learning about it quickly. They want their employees to be served by healthcare providers—from doctors to hospitals—who are providing value for the money these companies and employees are spending. You can do this individually as well. And we hope you will. Value-based purchasing is about your healthcare providers being accountable to provide value to you. Parrish Medical Center (PMC) and our more than 1,500 care partners (employees, physicians and volunteers) welcome this trend. In fact, we saw it coming a long time ago. We invite you to visit our website at parrishmed.com/awards to see what our care partners have accomplished and how PMC stacks up against other area hospitals. We’re confident you’ll find it to be helpful information about a subject you place great value on: your healthcare and the value you expect from your community hospital, Parrish Medical Center. You’ll also find help to stay healthy and informed as a PMC HealthBridge member. Join for free at parrishmed.com/healthbridge. Being an informed healthcare consumer benefits us all. On behalf of the entire PMC family, thank you for the privilege and honor of serving your health and wellness needs. When you pay for healthcare services, regardless of who or what provides those services, accountability measures are available that you can use to make sure you’re getting the most for your money. Sincerely, J.J. Parrish III Chairman of the Board Spri ng 2013 3 http://www.parrishmed.com/awards http://www.parrishmed.com/healthbridge

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Spring 2013 - Parrish Medical Center

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2013 - Parrish Medical Center
Contents
Tasty Tips
Opening Thoughts
Community Calendar
Your Bridge to Healthcare
A Night of Haunted Elegance
You’re the Star
Heart-to-Heart
Lighten Up!
Have No Fear
Work It!
Diane Keaton
What Are the Chances?
9 Symptoms Never to Ignore
When Allergies Attack
Virtual Health
Learning to Be Healthy
Community Health
Business Black Belts
Foundation Focus
Ask the Expert

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2013 - Parrish Medical Center