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Health Net Designs Toolkit to Help Improve the Patient Experience

^{Published on 2010-09-13 05:35:41 - Market Wire}
 

LOS ANGELES--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Committed to building trusted partnerships with its health care providers and members, [ Health Net, Inc. ] (NYSE:HNT) has designed a toolkit to help its contracting health care providers improve the patient experience.

"Using the agenda setting tool, we have been able to provide input for the physicians on how to implement changes. Wea™ve also included all the practice tips, over time, in primary care physician meetings, trainings, and in our provider newsletter. We appreciate Health Neta™s work on developing the tool kit."

aWea™ve identified that patientsa™ health outcomes can improve if the experience with their physician is a favorable one,a said Elaine Robinson Frank, director of Quality Improvement at Health Net. aWe partnered with the California Quality Collaborative (CQC) to design the Improving the Patient Experience toolkit to support our contracting health care providers and help ensure the patient experience is as positive as possible.a

The toolkits, which are available to any Health Net contracting medical group or physiciana™s office in Arizona, California and Oregon, are acreated using processes that can help improve access to care, enhance care coordination and stimulate greater communication between health care providers and patients,a said Robinson Frank.

aOur research shows that there are key elements of the care experience that are highly valued by patients, including communication with physicians and office staff and access to and coordination of care,a said Giovanna Giuliani, senior manager at the CQC, aand we want to help doctors and their staff understand these key elements and how to deliver on them.a

A aWella Balanced Kit

Some inserts of the kit are translated into other languages, including Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese. Contracting physicians can request a DVD that includes physician testimonials on the positive effect that the recommended changes had on their practice and work life.

Some of the tool kit suggestions are:

• Opening same-day appointment slots to improve access to care by making room for urgent appointments and walk-ins.
• Sharing information with patientsa™ other health care providers to improve care coordination. aDuring a given year, a patient may see specialists and have laboratory work completed for various issues,a said Giuliani. aNotifying them of their lab results in a timely manner, reviewing their charts and discussing the outcomes of their specialist visits can contribute to a patienta™s level of trust and confidence, as well as to better overall coordination of care.a
• Good physician-patient communication can result in strengthening patientsa™ sense of personal connection with and trust in their physician. aDoctorsa™ recommendations are more likely to be followed if there is clear and effective communication and if their patients trust them,a added Giuliani.

aWea™ve seen a noticeable difference by using the kit,a said Vicki Medlen, director of Quality Improvement at North American Medical Management in California. aUsing the agenda setting tool, we have been able to provide input for the physicians on how to implement changes. Wea™ve also included all the practice tips, over time, in primary care physician meetings, trainings, and in our provider newsletter. We appreciate Health Neta™s work on developing the tool kit.a

Medical groups and physicians who contract with Health Net in Arizona, California and Oregon may request a toolkit by contacting the Health Net Quality Improvement Department via email at [ cqi_dsm@healthnet.com ].

About Health Net

Health Net, Inc. is among the nationa™s largest publicly traded managed health care companies. Its mission is to help people be healthy, secure and comfortable. The companya™s health plans and government contracts subsidiaries provide health benefits to approximately 6.0million individuals across the country through group, individual, Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE and Veterans Affairs programs. Health Neta™s behavioral health subsidiary, MHN, provides mental health benefits to approximately 5.5 million individuals in all 50 states. The companya™s subsidiaries also offer managed health care products related to prescription drugs, and offer managed health care product coordination for multi-region employers and administrative services for medical groups and self-funded benefits programs.

For more information on Health Net, Inc., please visit the companya™s website at [ www.healthnet.com ].

Cautionary Statements

All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical information provided herein, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements and as such are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on managementa™s analysis, judgment, belief and expectation only as of the date hereof, and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Without limiting the foregoing, statements including the words abelieves,a aanticipates,a aplans,a aexpects,a amay,a ashould,a acould,a aestimate,a aintenda and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially due to, among other things, health care reform; costs, fees and expenses related to the post-closing administrative services to be provided under the administrative services agreements entered into in connection with the sale of our Northeast business; potential termination of the administrative services agreements by the service recipients should we breach such agreements or fail to perform all or a material part of the services required thereunder; any liabilities of the Northeast business that were incurred prior to the closing of its sale as well as those liabilities incurred through the winding-up and running-out period of the Northeast business; rising health care costs; continued recessionary economic conditions or a further decline in the economy; negative prior period claims reserve developments; trends in medical care ratios; unexpected utilization patterns or unexpectedly severe or widespread illnesses; membership declines; rate cuts affecting our Medicare or Medicaid businesses; litigation costs; regulatory issues; operational issues; investment portfolio impairment charges; volatility in the financial markets; and general business and market conditions. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the risks discussed in the aRisk Factorsa section included within the companya™s most recent Annual Report on Form10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (aSECa), and the risks discussed in the companya™s other filings with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any of its forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date of this release.