Improving access to care

By David Donovan, Independent Health

Over the past several months, we've focused on what meaningful health care reform requires.  At Independent Health, it means creating new health care solutions to improve quality, access and affordability of health care.  

One way we can improve access is to enable people to receive the right care at the right time and in the right setting.  Your primary care physician should be your first choice, especially when you need treatment for chronic conditions or preventive care like immunizations and checkups.  But in many instances, people aren't sure where to turn when they need urgent medical services. 

Of course, some symptoms simply can't wait for treatment; they need immediate, emergency care. According to the American College of Emergency Physicians, these symptoms include difficulty breathing, fainting, chest pain or pressure, uncontrolled bleeding, poisoning and sudden facial drooping or weakness in an arm or leg.

Unfortunately, studies have shown that emergency room visits and wait times have increased steadily over the past several years.  There could be many reasons for emergency room overcrowding, including the rising number of people without a primary care physician, and the difficulty for some patients to access their primaries after work and on weekends.    

While we've been leading efforts to improve access among primary care physician offices (such as our patient-centered medical home pilot), there are ways today to avoid the emergency room for non-emergent care. 

For example, Independent Health offers 24-Hour medical help line nurses and medical professionals ready to assist and help our members.  It is a great way to get answers to their medical problem when their doctor is not available.   Still, finding and building a relationship with a primary care doctor, however, is the best option (and the least expensive of copayments or out-of-pocket costs).

If your primary doctor's office is closed, visiting an urgent care center may be an option. Independent Health members may use local urgent care centers which can treat problems such as minor cuts that require stitches, animal bites, sudden illnesses or other medical issues that arise when your doctor's office is closed. 

One innovative approach we've taken is by partnering with two orthopaedic groups to provide care to our members for the urgent treatment of broken bones, sprains and other similar urgent care issues.  Excelsior Orthopaedics and University Orthopaedics are two Amherst-based facilities offer orthopaedic urgent care treatment for our members.  Both urgent care facilities provide triage, diagnosis, stabilization and specialized care all in one place. 

Independent Health recognizes that the emergency room is a busy place and many people feel that they have no idea where to turn when they need medical care.  That's why we have partnered with some facilities in the area to take some of the burden off emergency rooms for certain medical situations that may not be life-threatening but also need prompt attention by a medical professional.  As we work to implement real health reform, we will continue to collaborate with providers, physicians and hospitals to improve the access, quality and cost of care.