Providers

Is your DVR already programmed to record the USA Network’s Royal Pains big wedding special, “Off-Season Greetings,” on December 16 at 9:00 p.m. EST? We’re friends here.

Have you ever trudged to the drug store in the pouring rain, waited in line, and then were not able to pick up your prescription? Or received a message like the one on my phone yesterday? “Mom, I’m at Green Cross. They can’t fill my prescription because some fax didn’t get here. You have to call the doctor’s office and like an insurance company or something because I have to take this to Scotland in like two days.” Arrgh! Does your employer build an extra hour into your day for calls like this? NaviNet really doesn’t.

The demands of summertime are fast upon us…bathing suits, exposed skin, regrets of winter’s bad choices, to name a few. We found the antidote: “The Perfected Self” by David H. Freedman in this month’s The Atlantic headlined “The End of Temptation” in bold three-quarter-inch typeface...”How the creepy science of behavior modification is reshaping our desires.”

What if we could lower the financial burden associated with the top 5% of patients accounting for almost 50% of healthcare costs?1 We believe that such a transformation is achievable through accountable care delivery models like the patient-centered medical home (PCMH), which offers a collaborative, team-based approach with the primary care physician (PCP) at its nexus. One of the most powerful elements in PCMH is that this model financially rewards outcome-based healthcare.

Today's changing healthcare environment presents a lot of questions and options to physicians, who are increasingly turning to online communities for answers, support, and camaraderie. Newly introduced regulations and evolving healthcare models like accountable care organizations (ACOs) make these bidirectional information hubs valuable resource centers. In the past five years, several secure physician-only communities have launched.

We speak with a lot of physicians who are thinking about buying or are in the process of implementing an electronic health record (EHR) solution. A decision to implement an EHR is not just about technology, but about introducing important decision-making and change in a practice to gain maximum benefits.

It’s a tough world to be a patient in today. With family premiums on the rise, looming doctor shortages (especially in primary care), and no easy way to access personal medical records, seeking medical services can be more stressful than healing. Despite these challenges, several studies suggest that most individuals are far from giving up. After all, with education comes empowerment.

•    Monday, April 18th is the big day! Attestation opens to eligible providers and healthcare professionals for Medicare meaningful use qualification and incentive payments.

Physicians are an integral voice in the healthcare industry, responsible for maintaining the critical patient-physician relationship as well as communicating with health plans, which leads them to sit in the center of a complicated web of relationships. Because NaviNet acts as a platform that aids all stakeholders in the continuum of care by integrating clinical, administrative and financial workflows -- including health plans, IT vendors, healthcare professionals and physicians -- we make a point of staying on top of the issues important to physicians.

Listen Now: How the Federal Government is Changing Healthcare and What Providers Can Expect