MDVIP Launches Preventive Medicine Pilot Program For Uninsured In Florida

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 17 Jul 2008 - 1:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

When Dr. Edward Goldman heard about Project Access, a program designed to provide emergency medical care for uninsured people in Palm Beach County in late 2007, he wondered what happened to those patients after the emergency episode.

"We discovered that uninsured patients were virtually discharged with no follow-up care once they had been treated and stabilized," says Dr. Goldman, CEO of the MDVIP nationwide network of doctors specializing in preventive medicine. "Typically, patients in the Palm Beach County program suffer from COPD, emphysema, cataracts needing surgery, chronic hypertension, congestive heart failure and related disease, all of which require a good deal of follow-up. Without ongoing medical treatment, many emergency treatments will become chronic events," Dr. Goldman adds.

A few months later, MDVIP partnered with the Project Access health service initiative in Palm Beach County to launch a pilot program to provide not only follow-up care, but also an ongoing healthcare and wellness program for the Project Access patients in Palm Beach County, Florida.

"We believe preventive medicine is not only good for the patients because it reduces health risks but also because it relieves stress on the entire medical process by reducing hospital visits and expensive emergency care," says Dr. Goldman. "We look forward to expanding the pilot program beyond Florida and into other markets where we have MDVIP affiliated physicians."

While most primary care doctors have 2,000-3,000 patients, MDVIP doctors limit their practices to about 600 patients in order to offer more personalized and preventive healthcare. MDVIP patients pay a membership fee of typically $1,500 annually for MDVIP's personalized healthcare, including a comprehensive annual evaluation which includes the identification of risk factors which predict the diseases a person is most likely to develop, based upon personal and family history, genetics, lifestyle, habits and occupation. It includes laboratory testing, EKG and screenings related to mental status, exercise, nutrition and sleep; vision, hearing and pulmonary function testing; and a review of all medication, with subsequent coordinated wellness plan. The MDVIP Project Access pilot group will receive these services at no charge.

"We are pleased to be working with MDVIP physicians who will be donating their time and experience to give back to the community through this new program," stated Jose F. Arrascue, M.D., President Palm Beach County Medical Society Services.

Seven MDVIP affiliated physicians based in Palm Beach County have already screened and placed 25 Project Access patients in their practices. The preventive medicine pilot program will ultimately serve about 200 Palm Beach County low-income, uninsured patients. Additionally, MDVIP plans to develop essential data that shows how this model can reduce costs to the system and improve healthcare for the uninsured, as it has in MDVIP affiliated practices nationally.

The Palm Beach County Project Access was established in 2005 by the Palm Beach County Medical Society to provide uninsured people whose annual income is below 200% of the federal poverty level - $20,800 for one person or $42,400 for a family of four - with access to primary care physicians, specialists, diagnostic facilities and hospitals.

MDVIP, Inc. is a privately-held firm, founded in 2000 and headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. It is a national network of physicians who practice proactive, preventive and personalized healthcare, not just the detection and treatment of disease. With prevention as the cornerstone of its program, MDVIP has proven that it's carefully chosen affiliated physicians provide exceptional care and achieve exceptional outcomes.

http://www.MDVIP.com