Media Contacts:
Valerie Foster, Harrison Edwards PR, 914-242-0010
vfoster@harrison-edwardspr.com
Ted Herman, Hudson Health Plan, 914-372-2204
therman@hudsonhealthplan.org

 

HUDSON HEALTH PLAN AND HEALTH INTEGRATED PARTNER TO ENHANCE SERVICES FOR HUDSON’S CHRONICALLY ILL MEMBERS


Hudson Uses ‘Care Coaches’ to Help Members Manage Their Health More Efficiently

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2010

(Tarrytown, NY)…KAlmost half of all Americans live with at least one chronic illness, and if you factor in the psychological or social challenges many of these same people face, it’s easy to understand why their health care expenses keep escalating even as their quality of life slips downward.

Hudson Health Plan, a Medicaid managed care organization, found that this is an issue for many of its members. To help tackle this challenge for its members living with chronic illness, Hudson has partnered with Tampa, Florida-based Health Integrated, Inc., to provide the right care at the right time, thereby improving the health of these members and controlling the cost of that care over time.

“With Health Integrated’s Synergy Targeted Population Management program, we will be taking an innovative, integrated approach to improving the health status and quality of life for our high-risk member populations,” says Georganne Chapin, President and CEO of Hudson. “This will mean better care for all of Hudson’s members living with co-morbid illnesses often complicated by behavioral health conditions.”

The program includes specially trained Care Coaches, who are helping Hudson’s members understand and adhere to physician treatment plans; identify and remove barriers to care; and address behavior change that can improve their quality of life, health status and care utilization patterns, such as keeping appointments and reducing or eliminating trips to the emergency room. Hudson’s members participating in the program receive guidance, support and actionable strategies, all tailored to their specific needs and individual health goals.

With the Synergy program, Hudson expects:

  • To accurately identify its members who will benefit most from the Synergy program;
  • Use more consumer-friendly strategies for reaching these members, including local outreach, which will ultimately make the members active participants in their care;
  • Set benchmarks to measure members’ progress;
  • Refine existing programs and processes.

“Using a unique blend of Care Coaching, education and motivational techniques, our programs empower an important patient base to be more knowledgeable about their own health, more adherent to their physician-directed treatment plans, and more able to establish and achieve goals to better health,” says Sam Toney, MD, vice chairman and chief medical officer at Health Integrated. “The integration of Synergy with Hudson’s programs enables and empowers their members to better manage their conditions in the context of their lives, while improving their health status.”

Adds Ms. Chapin: “We deliver excellent, award-winning health services to all the communities we serve, which is why we chose the Synergy program from Health Integrated. It was important to us to select a health management solution partner that is aligned with our philosophy on care management.”

For more information, the public is invited to visit www.HudsonHealthPlan.org.

About Hudson Health Plan

Founded in the mid-1980s by a coalition of community health centers, Hudson’s mission statement is "to promote and provide access to excellent health services for all people." The Tarrytown-based not-for-profit organization provides comprehensive medical and dental coverage to more than 100,000 members in New York’s Hudson Valley. Hudson has been driving health care innovation by developing technology to support clinical quality initiatives and to streamline the enrollment process for Medicaid Managed Care, Child Health Plus, and Family Health Plus. According to A Consumer’s Guide to Medicaid Managed Care in the Hudson Valley, it has earned the highest ratings in overall satisfaction among Medicaid Managed Care members in the Hudson Valley region every year since 2003.

Hudson Health Plan is the winner of the 2010 Platinum Award for Overall Case Management from the Case Management Society of America’s Case in Point Magazine; the Case Management Society of America 2007 Award for Excellence in Medication Adherence Management; the 2006 Poughkeepsie Journal Diversity in the Workplace Award; the 2005 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Corporate Award for Diversity from the YWCA of White Plains and Central Westchester; the 2005 Advancements in Health Care Award from Hudson Valley Life and Hudson Valley Parent; and the 2003 Community Leadership Award from The New York Health Plan Association. Visit Hudson on the Web at www.hudsonhealthplan.org.

About Health Integrated

Health Integrated is the leading innovation partner for health plans, providing evidence-based solutions to accelerate achievement of health management goals for clinical outcomes, quality measures and cost containment. For more information, visit www.healthintegrated.com.

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