Healthcare Transparency

Posted on January 3, 2012 by jmalone

Surprises at the cash register. The only surprise most people like is when the price of a purchase is lower than we expected. Unfortunately we cannot know the price of some things until we actually get to the register or until after a service has been rendered. This is especially true when it comes to healthcare services. For example, when a doctor sends you to get an MRI, you may not know how much that will cost you out of pocket until you get a bill in the mail. And it could be a large one.

Healthcare TransparencyWe need tools to help us know the cost of a medical procedure or service before we have it performed. In addition to comparing our true out of pocket expense, knowing the provider’s quality ratings and how our social network ranks them would be helpful pieces of information. A tool that would put all of that information in one place for us would help us make a much more informed healthcare decision.

Putting an emphasis on healthcare transparency will be a key trend in the years to come. With so much transparency available today in every other aspect of our lives, the healthcare industry will need to move to accommodate our growing appetite for more information. At the very least, it would help eliminate any unwanted surprises when we open our medical bills.

Visit Prism Services Group website.

Posted in Healthcare Transparency | Tagged | Leave a comment

How Prism Services Group Determined Their Values

Posted on January 2, 2012 by jmalone

Ray Larson, CEO of Prism Services Group, explains how the organization’s values were determined.

Prism Services Group

Posted in Prism Services Group | Tagged | Leave a comment

Doctors Mixed on Health Care Reform 2010

Posted on December 19, 2011 by jmalone

Health Care Reform 2010In a survey released this month by Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, the doctors surveyed had mixed feelings about the health care reform of 2010. Forty-four percent said the law was “a good start,” with another 44 percent saying the law was “a step in the wrong direction.”

The long term impact of the law could bring some tectonic shifts in the medical industry in the United States as three-fourths of the doctors worried about physician shortages with 70 percent believing some would-be doctors wouldn’t go into the profession now, and 60 percent think some physicians might retire because of the law.

With more people having access to health insurance, patients definitely can expect longer wait times and the reduced number of providers. Ninety percent of doctors believed they would be paid less by the insurance companies because of the law, which seems a bleak future indeed.

To help offset the potential dip in revenue, three fourths of the doctors favored tort reform to limit the amount that can be awarded to victims of medical malpractice. This could help lower the cost of malpractice insurance for physicians, but the future is unclear all around.

While on the surface, ensuring everyone can access healthcare service paid for by health insurance benefits, the flood of previously uninsured into the system will have ripple effects that no one could have predicted.

This debate continues to rage, putting the impact of the health care reform in question.

Prism Services Group Website

Posted in Health Care Reform 2010 | Tagged | 1 Comment

Healthcare IT Trends 2011

Posted on November 18, 2011 by jmalone

Healthcare IT trends 2011 discussed by Ray Larson, CEO of Prism Services Group. There is a tremendous amount of disruption and change going on in the healthcare system today.

Visit our website for more information on healthcare IT trends or watch more videos on our YouTube Channel.

Healthcare IT Trends 2011

Posted in Healthcare IT Trends 2011 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Consumerism Healthcare: The Netflix Example

Posted on November 10, 2011 by jmalone

By Adam Johnson, Sales Executive, PRISM Services Group

Netflix capitalized on an industry where movie renting became inconvenient and expensive. Through the innovation of a unique delivery strategy and an adaptation to consumer demands, they brought convenience and savings to people. Their $8 monthly membership for unlimited mail-in or streaming movies led us to consume movies more intelligently and view renting more favorably.

Consumerism HealthcareIn healthcare, consumer driven health plans (CDHP) are inconvenient and expensive for many.  Healthcare, for them, has become difficult to manage and the cost of doctor and hospital visits shock most people (a more acute reaction than the one to Netflix’s rising monthly fee). How does a health insurance plan innovate and adapt to lead people towards consuming health services more intelligently and viewing them more favorably?

Their innovation, like Netflix’s, needs to begin with a better information delivery strategy. Payers need to proactively deliver information to members so they can estimate out-of-pocket liability, search for treatment cost and act on personalized savings alerts before visiting doctors and hospitals. Developing one platform that merges with existing tool sets (provider search, quality transparency, online appointment booking) will meet consumer demands and be utilized more by members.

Plans may view the days of print directories like Netflix is beginning to view the mailing of DVDs (not with a nostalgic grin). But through innovating and adapting, payers can provide convenience and savings to people.  Borrowing a play from Netflix will lead people to consume more intelligently and view the industry more favorably.

Posted in Consumerism Healthcare | Tagged | Leave a comment

Implementing a Consumer Guidance Tool with Prism Services Group

Posted on October 24, 2011 by jmalone

Prism Services Group explains what it’s like to implement their consumer guidance tool from sales to the product launch team. When you partner with Prism Services Group you are not just selecting a great solution you’re choosing to work with a dedicated, passionate committed to delivering for our clients.

Visit our website for more information.

Consumer Guidance Tool

Posted in Consumer Guidance Tool | Tagged | Leave a comment

Consumer Guidance for Healthcare

Posted on October 17, 2011 by jmalone

Consumer Guidance for Healthcare examined by Mark Menton, Vice President, Sales and Marketing of Prism Services Group. Healthcare is transforming their model from Business to Business to a Business to Consumer. Healthcare reform, cost shift to individuals, consumerism, and new benefit plan design are all playing a role in changing the healthcare landscape.

Visit our website for more information.

Consumer Guidance for Healthcare

Posted in Consumer Guidance for Healthcare | Tagged | Leave a comment

Professionals in Healthcare Using Social Media

Posted on October 6, 2011 by jmalone

Professionals in Healthcare Using Social MediaOver the past few years, healthcare consumers have been using the Internet more than ever to find healthcare information online.  This trend is not limited to healthcare consumers; healthcare professionals have also realized the potential benefits of using online resources to improve their practice.  Healthcare consumers and professionals in healthcare use social media to find answers to health questions, and to collaborate with others to make the most out of the healthcare experience.

Large healthcare entities like hospitals have jumped on the social media bandwagon and now many of them have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts to keep their patients updated on the latest innovations that they have to offer, as well as to offer sound medical information that their clients are seeking.  Doctors and other healthcare professionals are also using social networks to collaborate with one another and to share research that can benefit the medical community.

Beyond the popular social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, specialized websites and networks are emerging that are aimed at healthcare professionals.  One example is HealthSprocket.  HealthSprocket provides a unique service to the healthcare community.  It is a home for healthcare lists.  They have created a community of healthcare professionals and make lists available on a variety of topics that these professionals can read, rate, and comment on, as well as post lists of their own.  Lists can be designated as fact or opinion based, and they involve business or clinical aspects of healthcare, health insurance and anything else related to the industry.

As the trend to exchange information online and use social networks continues, sites like this will continue to emerge throughout the healthcare community.  Healthcare professionals can benefit from the unique opportunities presented to share information and learn from each other in ways that were unavailable in the past.

Below we have hilighted a few of our favorites from the HealthSprocket’s  list:

  1. ACO Watch – http://twitter.com/ACOwatch
  2. Action For Better Healthcare – http://twitter.com/act4healthcare
  3. AHIP Coverage Blog – http://twitter.com/AHIPCoverage
  4. Altarum Institute Health Policy Forum – http://twitter.com/Altarum
  5. American Medical News – http://twitter.com/amednews
  6. Marc Chasin CMIOblog – http://twitter.com/CMIOblog
  7. Cyndy Nayer Value-Based Benefit Design – http://twitter.com/cyndynayer
  8. Dark Daily – http://twitter.com/Dark_Daily
  9. Disease Management Care Blog – http://twitter.com/DisMgtCareBlog
  10. Gary Schwitzer’s HealthNewsReview – http://twitter.com/garyschwitzer
  11. Health Business Blog – http://twitter.com/HealthBizBlog
  12. HealthBlawg – http://twitter.com/healthblawg
  13. Bob Coffield HealthLawBlog – http://twitter.com/HealthLawBlog
  14. Healthcare Financial Management Association – http://twitter.com/hfmaorg
  15. iHealthBeat – http://twitter.com/iHealthBeat
  16. Kevin Pho, M.D. KevinMD – http://twitter.com/KevinMD
  17. MCOL – http://twitter.com/M_C_O_L
  18. MedSynergies – http://twitter.com/MedSynergies
  19. The Medical Group Management Association – http://twitter.com/mgma
  20. Milliman, Inc. – http://twitter.com/millimanhealth
  21. Brian Dolan Mobilehealth – http://twitter.com/mobilehealth
  22. Modern Healthcare – http://twitter.com/modrnhealthcr
  23. The New England Journal of Medicine – http://twitter.com/NEJM
  24. Payers & Providers – http://twitter.com/payersproviders
  25. Lindsay Resnick Healthcare Trends – http://twitter.com/ResnickLR
  26. Todd Park CTO HHS- http://twitter.com/todd_park
  27. Vince Kuraitis e-CareManagement – http://twitter.com/VinceKuraitis
  28. William J. DeMarco DeMarcoHealth – http://twitter.com/WJDeMarco
  29. WSJ Health – http://twitter.com/WSJHealth
  30. Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society – http://www.twitter.com/himss

What are your favorites? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook!

Posted in Professionals in Healthcare Using Social Media, Social Media in Healthcare | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Output of Convenience: Informed Healthcare Decisions

Posted on September 26, 2011 by jmalone

By Adam Johnson, Sales Executive, PRISM Services Group

Infromed Healthcare Decisions Recently, I recall one of my friends attempting to show us a brand new search engine on the web, and she naturally used Google to find it. Searching for a search engine is a little unusual but shows that it may be the Internet’s example of a Genericized Trademark (and yes…I searched to find that term).  Free text searching has become the modern shortcut to find the information you need quickly without having to provide a lot of input.  In the absence of referrals, however, healthcare consumers in uncharted medical waters can suffer the negative outcome of a decision made with limited information.

Informed Healthcare DecisionsHealth plans continually enhance member portals to compete with the variety of ways to search for providers on the Internet. The task in increasing utilization has been to replicate the convenience of normal search engines without sacrificing important medical content and direction.  While the use of a search engine can lead a patient towards more understanding of a condition, it also can lead to unintentional compromises, unnecessary anxiety and an absence of key direction that may have led them to a better decision.  Dr. Martin Young on KevinMD suggests in The Trouble with Dr. Google that information from search engines should be used as a reference only.  How is the bridge to be gapped?

Highmark Health Plan in Pittsburgh has developed a free text search, powered by Google, within their provider search platform.  A member searching for “family practice in Pittsburgh, PA” immediately is connected to in-network results and given all the supplemental information to make more informed healthcare decisions. This advancement is one more step towards creating a more personalized healthcare experience.  Health plans need a member’s trust and should innovate to reach members in such a way that their providers become the primary source of information.  In this case, convenient and informed input will lead to better output.  Providers should be “Googlable” but direction needs to be given by the ones who are in charge of covering the searcher.

Visit our website for more information or find us Facebook and Twitter!

Posted in Informed Healthcare Decisions | Tagged | Leave a comment

Generations Online in 2010

Posted on September 20, 2011 by jmalone

People in different age groups use the Internet for different things; this has been true since the beginning of the Internet revolution and in general this trend continues, though there are some notable shifts when you look at the generations online in 2010.

Generations Online in 2010The Pew Research Center has studied online activity by generation over the past few years, and has discovered some interesting findings.  Their studies look at Internet usage in the following areas by age: email, search engine use, downloading podcasts, social network usage, online gaming, reading blogs, blogging, and participating in virtual worlds.

Since 2009, the dominance of the Millennial generation has slipped in many activities.  Millennials remain more likely to access the Internet wirelessly with a laptop or mobile phone, and to play online games and use social networking sites.  However, the most recent survey showed that Internet users in Gen X and older are more likely than Millennials to engage in online activities such as visiting government websites, and getting financial information online.  While the youngest generations are still much more likely to use social network sites than the older generations, the fastest growth in social network usage has actually come from Internet users age 74 and older, quadrupling since 2008 from 4% to 16%.  The biggest trend seen was that, while the very youngest and oldest groups still differ drastically in their Internet usage, certain key Internet uses are becoming more uniformly popular across all age groups, including seeking out health information, purchasing products online, making travel reservations, and downloading podcasts.

So as you move forward developing new sites, online tools and social media pieces, keep these trends in mind.  While the Millennial might be the “obvious choice” for main users, the online population as a whole is beginning to shift.  So make sure your content and usability testing incorporates everyone.

Let us know on Facebook or Twitter how you change delivery for you generational audience.

Posted in Generations Online in 2010 | Tagged | Leave a comment