Healthcare IT News - November 2007 - (Page 34) 34 Healthcare IT News ■ November 2007 pAYERS member retention. “Healthcare communications is the key strategy for retaining members,” he said. “This is a top five priority for managed care CEOs.” While cost benefits are easy to calculate, satisfaction and retention benefits are less certain, said Elizabeth Elizabeth Boehm Boehm, principal analyst with Forrester Research. “Satisfaction is highly dependent on execution,” she said. Plans need to be able to give members the ability to choose which messages they receive through which chan- www.HealthcareITNews.com nels and how frequently they receive those messages. “Determining the root cause of retention – especially for members who are insured through their employers – is very challenging,” Boehm said. Outside forces such as employer choices and cost and benefits differences, as well as members’ changing needs and perceived lack of differentiation, may impact member retention, regardless of satisfaction levels. “Service – even excellent service – is only one piece of the puzzle,” she said. ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: callING 1107 CallINg Continued from page 33 welcome calls played a role in the plan seeing 2,000 fewer claims denials or “pends” per month. Surveys showed that members appreciated the calls and the faster response times, which led to improved member satisfaction. Stan Nowak, CEO and president of Silverlink, said Medica is part of a growing trend of health plans doing more with less in an environment where healthcare administrative costs are rising exponen- tially and consumers are demanding more personalization. Solutions such as automated call programs make it possible to support individuals while keeping administrative costs in check. Compared to other industries, the healthcare industry dramatically under-spends in traditional marketing and communication to members. Yet health plans spend $40 per member per month, or $100 per household – more than $9 billion a year – on operational communication. Nowak said health plans are not seeing member growth and must concentrate on ● SPECIAL ISSUE • DECEMBER 2007 EPrEsCrIBE Continued from page 1 Healthcare IT News is proud to present the December NewsMakers issue, a roundup of healthcare IT industry happenings in 2007. This “reader’s choice” issue aggregates our subscribers’ opinions on the people, products and activities of 2007, including the most newsworthy stories, those who riled up the industry, the most innovative technology and more. The NewsMakers content is currently in development using the following methodology: 1) In each of the five areas, a variety of people, products, activities, news, etc. is chosen by our award-winning editorial team 2) The chosen content is presented in survey format to all subscribers 3) Based on reader choices, the information will be published with editorial commentary THE AREAS COVERED WILL INCLUDE: Top NewsMakers of 2007 As chosen by our readers, the Top NewsMakers will include the industry’s influencers, headline makers and rabble-rousers. This category will cover public figures, vendors, providers and more. Top News Stories of 2007 The most popular headlines of 2007 from Healthcare IT News on topics such as EHR, IRS rulings and big industry mergers. Top Installations of 2007 The top ranked installations, from serviceoriented architecture to personal medicine projects, at hospitals as well as doctors’ offices. These will be based on those that have increased patient safety, patient care or the bottom line. Top Products of 2007 The newest, coolest and most effective hardware, software and gadgets of 2007 chosen by our readers. Movers & Shakers of 2008 Editors and readers name the people making big moves and shaking up the system with this ranking of the healthcare industry’s people to watch in 2008. Space Reservations Due: NOVEMBER 9 Materials Due: NOVEMBER 16 This new special issue will be read by over 50,000 healthcare IT and other senior executives. PLUS, this special issue will include an industry outlook, calendar of events and other compelling coverage. Advertise in the December NewsMakers issue of Healthcare IT News, the industry’s roundup of the best of 2007. For information or to reserve your advertising space, please contact: VP, SALES John D. Payne 207.688.6270 ext. 209 john.payne@medtechpublishing.com NORTHEAST Vincent Biunno, Eastern Sales Manager 201.666.2118 vincent.biunno@medtechpublishing.com SOUTHEAST Cathleen Martindale, Southeast Sales Manager 727.376.2900 cathleen.martindale@medtechpublishing.com WEST Gordon Hunt, Western Sales Manager 949.366.3192 gordon.hunt@medtechpublishing.com MIDWEST Steve Loerch, Midwest Sales Manager 847.498.4520 ext. 3006 steve.loerch@medtechpublishing.com Darcy Giovingo, Account Manager 847.498.4520 ext. 221 darcy.giovingo@medtechpublishing.com 71 Pineland Drive, Suite 203 • New Gloucester, ME 04260 • 207.688.6270 • www.medtechpublishing.com records, or EMRs, said Patrick Miller, manager for e-prescribing. In a state with 1,500 primary care physicians and 2,000 specialists, fewer than100 physicians are e-prescribing. While 40 percent of the prescribers are using EMRs to enter prescriptions electronically, they are not engaging in endto-end e-prescribing. Anthem BCBS of NH, the largest payer in the state, is providing a five-year license for the Web-based system, hardware and a discounted Sprint plan for Internet access. “If you don’t have an EMR, physicians now have a free end-to-end solution,” said Miller. “This is a low-cost way for physicians to get engaged and see the value of the technology and then migrate to EMRs.” Anthem BCBS of NH’s participation is a compilation of two programs, Charles Kennedy said Charles Kennedy, vice president of healthcare IT for WellPoint. The payer is a sponsor of the National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative and also provides “meaningful financial subsidies,” he said. Elizabeth Malko, MD, chief medical officer for Anthem BCBS of NH, said the initiative focuses on the 50 percent of the physicians in the state – most of whom are in small, independent practices that do not have EMRs. “Our goal this year is 300 by the end of 2007,” she said. What makes the New Hampshire initiative stand out is the multi-stakeholder collaboration and strong leadership from Gov. John Lynch, who created NHCHI and has called on all physicians to adopt e-prescribing by October 2008. “The citizen collaboration has been a significant accelerator,” said Malko. “The real value of NHCHI is that this is their initiative. They are helping to make e-prescribing happen. We are supporting them.” Erica Drazen, vice president at First Consulting Group, said that getting the whole state on board and not having a payer-only e-prescribing initiative are big advantages. “Having all the players at the table gives you the right design” for a successful program, she said. “This is a great first step to a broader solution to demonstrate collaboration as we move toward electronic information exchange.” ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: ePreScrIbe 1107 ● http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8049 http://www.medtechpublishing.com http://www.medtechpublishing.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8016
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