Nov. 27 Webinar to Address How Retail and Urgent Care Clinics Can Be a Win-Win for Health Plans and Their Members - WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, Sports

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SOURCE: Atlantic Information Services

Experts will discuss how retail and urgent care clinics can promote cost savings for health plans and be a convenient, effective model for members in a Nov. 27 webinar sponsored by Atlantic Information Services.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) November 15, 2012

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina recently announced an investment in FastMed Urgent Care, the largest urgent care company in North Carolina. In “Retail and Urgent Care Clinics: A Win-Win for Health Plans and Their Members,” a Nov. 27 webinar from Atlantic Information Services, a leading executive from BCBSNC and a consultant with extensive experience with retail clinics and urgent care will discuss how retail and urgent care clinics can promote cost savings for health plans and be a convenient, effective model for members.

Retail and urgent care clinics are attracting great attention from health plans searching for new ways to divert plan members from expensive emergency room care for nonemergency services. BCBSNC’s investment in FastMed exemplifies how insurers are changing the provider-plan dynamic to control medical costs and coordinate patient care more effectively. But new challenges exist for health plans entering this marketplace.

During this Nov. 27 webinar, Susan K. Menendez, director of strategic provider relationships at BCBSNC, and Tom Charland, CEO of Merchant Medicine, LLC, a research and consulting firm helping hospital systems, will address the following questions:

• How do partnerships between health plans and urgent care or retail clinics work?
• What opportunities are available to insurers in the current marketplace? What are the key differences between retail clinics and urgent care centers that health plans need to know about?
• How should a health plan factor in patient satisfaction, employer engagement and overall plan satisfaction with each of the care models?
• How does the payment model work in these nontraditional care settings?
• Will health plan engagement in shared programs with retail clinics or urgent care centers affect the plan-provider relationship? If so, what will be the impact?
• How effectively can retail clinics and urgent care be incorporated into accountable care? What are the risks and rewards of doing so?

Visit http://aishealth.com/marketplace/c2m41_112712 for more details on and registration information for “Retail and Urgent Care Clinics: A Win-Win for Health Plans and Their Members.”

About AIS
Atlantic Information Services, Inc. (AIS) is a publishing and information company that has been serving the health care industry for more than 25 years. It develops highly targeted news, data and strategic information for managers in hospitals, health plans, medical group practices, pharmaceutical companies and other health care organizations. AIS products include print and electronic newsletters, websites, looseleafs, books, strategic reports, databases, webinars and conferences. Learn more at http://www.AISHealth.com.

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