Health Partners of Philadelphia Offers Innovative Ways to Improve Member Care Through MyHealthDIRECT Partnership

BROOKFIELD, Wis., Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- MyHealthDIRECT today announced it has signed a contract with Health Partners of Philadelphia, a not-for-profit health plan, which will use MyHealthDIRECT's web-based scheduling service solution to enable increased access to care and enhanced care coordination for its 170,000 members. The initial launch of the program will include ten physician practices from Health Partners' robust provider network.

MyHealthDIRECT, a technology-enabled health services company, builds and organizes open and available healthcare appointments throughout a provider network—into a searchable and schedulable inventory of healthcare services, including primary and specialty care. Its web-based application is used nationwide by hospitals, health systems, managed care organizations and health information exchanges. MyHealthDIRECT connects people with provider appointments in real time, based on member coverage and preferences, including location, languages spoken and other special needs.

"MyHealthDIRECT will allow us to streamline our process for connecting members with primary and specialty care, which is essential to our overall mission of improving member health outcomes," said Mary K Stom, MD, chief medical officer and senior vice president of healthcare management, Health Partners. "It will also allow for increased operational efficiency, while enabling us to respond to specific member needs, such as language preference, which is critical to our culturally diverse membership."  

Health Partners will use MyHealthDIRECT to assign new members to primary care providers and medical homes and schedule provider appointments with MyHealthDIRECT participating physicians for members following an inpatient hospital stay or emergency room visit.  MyHealthDirect will also enable the health plan to enrich its healthcare delivery and care coordination by identifying member needs for preventive care services and scheduling appointments in real time.

"We look forward to supporting the Philadelphia community through this partnership. The appointment-making process saves time and money and connects patients to the most appropriate provider for the best possible care," said Jay Mason, CEO of MyHealthDIRECT. "I am confident that Health Partners will realize immediate benefits to their health care coordination and delivery, and their bottom line using our web-based scheduling solution."

About MyHealthDIRECT

MyHealthDIRECT is a national health services company that connects hospitals, care management organizations, public agencies and community collaboratives for the purpose of scheduling timely and appropriate health care appointments on behalf of individuals. Founded in 2005, MyHealthDIRECT offers a web-based solution that first builds, then organizes open and available health care appointments in the community into a searchable and schedulable inventory of healthcare services. MyHealthDIRECT promotes continuity of care, reduces unnecessary cost and utilization and ensures that patients are scheduled with appointments that best fit their needs and preferences. MyHealthDIRECT's web-based solution helps healthcare organizations in 11 states improve access to care, facilitate care management and improve quality measures. For more information on the company please visit www.myhealthdirect.com.

About Health Partners

Health Partners is a not-for-profit health plan serving more than 170,000 members in the Greater Philadelphia region. Its HealthChoices Medicaid plan consistently ranks number one in member satisfaction in the area in an annual consumer survey and is rated as "Excellent," the highest level possible, by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). In 2009, the company launched KidzPartners, which provides free or low-cost health insurance to uninsured children and teens through CHIP, Pennsylvania's Children's Health Insurance Program. Founded more than 25 years ago, Health Partners is one of the few hospital-owned health plans in the country and has received national recognition for its innovations in managed care. For more information about Health Partners, please visit www.healthpart.com.

SOURCE MyHealthDIRECT