Health Plus Asthma Program To Be Presented At National Workshop
Elizabeth Ahl Will Present Plan For Asthma Disease Management
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Representing Health Plus, Ahl will present the Plan's program for improving the health of its members with Asthma. New York City, the Plan's service area, has one of the highest rates of incidence of Asthma in the nation. As faculty, Ahl will be teaching other health plans from across the country the results of applying the process improvement techniques she learned at the BCAP "Achieving Better Care for Asthma" Workgroup.
We are honored to share our program with other plans. It is a win-win situation for members, who improve their quality of life, and health plans, which save money," said Ahl. "Improving the health of members with asthma is a real team effort and it's tremendous that we are able to contribute to the effort."
The results of the Health Plus Asthma Disease Management Program, which began in 2000, have been extremely encouraging. In its first year, the plan decreased the number of Asthma patients admitted to hospitals by 11%, and decreased emergency room visits for Asthma by 9%. Additionally, through the program, Health Plus increased the number of its members on Control Medicine for Asthma by 20%. Control Medication can avert an asthma attack when taken regularly, and is a crucial preventive measure.
The Health Plus Disease Management Program includes Community Outreach/Health Education in multiple languages and partnerships with neighborhood health education providers to provide multi-disciplinary member education. Health Plus also sends registered nurses and respiratory therapists into the member's home to perform home assessments to determine if any triggers in the home can be alleviated and provide more intense asthma self-management education. Incentives provided to encourage members to participate in the program include free long distance phone cards for answering a health questionnaire, and gift certificates for mattress pad covers and pillowcase covers for members with more severe asthma.
The Center for Health Care Strategies promotes high quality health care services for low-income populations and people with chronic illnesses and disabilities. CHCS awards grants and provides "real world" training and technical assistance to state purchasers of publicly financed health care, health plans, and consumer groups. CHCS projects aim to improve access to care, increase the use of effective preventive care services, prevent unnecessary hospitalization and institutionalization, promote clinical quality, and build organizational capacity to improve managed care services.
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Health Plus, a not-for-profit, multi-cultural organization, is one of the fastest growing managed care organizations in New York City. It was established in 1984 with a commitment to provide coordinated quality health care and improving access to health care for uninsured and underserved families. In its annual review of managed care plans, the New York State Department of Health ranked Health Plus as the top plan for quality in its 2002 and 2003 "Consumer's Guide to Medicaid Managed Care in New York City." Health Plus is New York City's leading provider of Child Health Plus, a New York State Department of Health program that offers parents FREE or low-cost health insurance for children under the age of 19. "CRAIN'S New York Business" magazine ranked Health Plus fifth among the largest health maintenance organizations in the New York area.
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