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V O L . X X I I N O. X I H E A LT H Y B U S I N E S S 8 through telemedicine at the workplace" in cooperation with Tufts Medical Center. " at's been wildly successful." Essentially, Patient Advocates off ers connections and an overall understanding of the medical com- munity that evolves with up-to-date information. at bird's-eye view means the company can continually negotiate on behalf of the client in a shifting environment. And they can think outside of the box for care that will keep rates down. Take, for example, the Saturday mammogram preventive screening program Patient Advocates negoti- ated with a number of Maine hospi- tals on behalf of their clients. " e facility isn't usually open on a Saturday, but the hospital still has the costs, so what we say is, 'Tell us how many people you can process at your mammogram unit and give us a fi xed price, and we'll fi ll it," Ward says. " e hospital is happy because it's getting revenue. And for the employer it's a win-win, because the cost is about half what it would normally be, it doesn't take time out of the patients' workday, and more of their employ- ees are getting regular breast cancer screenings at a time when the num- bers have been declining nationally." Long-term relationships with pro- viders are key, says Ward. "For example, with cancer patients, we will get them immediately to a world-class cancer treatment center like Massachusetts General Hospital or Dana Farber," says Ward. "We've worked with those organizations for close to 20 years. We can get patients in quickly." ose relationships are then built into advantageous health insurance plans that Patient Advocates helps companies develop with their insur- ance providers. "For example, we can help a com- pany craft a plan that pays 100% of the cost at these facilities, with no deduct- ible, and patients will be reimbursed for their travel," says Ward. " e plan will cost less than if the client devel- oped it themselves, with savings, on average, 20% below market rates." Such savings are possible because, often, higher volume and latest tech- niques mean urban centers can pro- vide superior services at a fraction of the cost of local services, he says. " e fact is, inpatient hospitaliza- tion at a leading medical center in Boston is about half the cost of what we would encounter in Maine — and we can get them in faster," Ward says. Fast-growing profession Patient Advocates is part of a fast- growing profession, according to Baldwinsville, N.Y.-based Alliance of Professional Health Advocates founder and Executive Director Trisha Torrey. " e presence of an advocate can contribute to a reduction in the rate of absenteeism and 'presenteeism,'" says Torrey. e latter is when an employee is at work but not working due to time spent — such as calling a doctor — on behalf of a sick family member. "Presenteeism is sometimes cited as more of an expense to employers than absenteeism. Absent people are tak- ing their sick days or not being paid. Present people are being paid but not doing their work." APHA is one of two professional organizations in the nation to provide continuing education and support to patient advocates. e National Association of Health Advocacy Consultants provides support for advocacy itself, such as guidance for best practices. APHA provides busi- ness support for the legal, insurance, fi nancial and marketing concerns of private, independent advocates. An educated estimate of the number of privately paid professional advocates is about 350, expected to double over the next decade. ere aren't enough advocates to meet demand. Although cities in the Northeast and areas with large senior populations are fueling the increase, most areas know little about patient advocacy, Torrey says. "If you go to Maine or Syracuse or the Midwest, except Chicago, people say, 'What's a patient advocate?'" she says. "So it's growing, but not as fast as we would like." A variety of factors are fueling growth, including the Aff ordable Care Act, says Torrey. "It used to be, people called visited the doctor, got a prescription and went home," Torrey says. "Now people are How long can you ignore the elephant in the room? Address healthcare costs at your business today by becoming a member. c o l l a b o r a t i o n . v i s i o n . c h a n g e . mehmc.org/mainebiz If you haven't seen Oxford Networks lately, you haven't seen Oxford Networks! • 1-800-520-9911 • oxfordnetworks.com • New 2,000-Mile Fiber Network • New Managed Cloud / Backup & Recovery Solutions • New Hosted Phone Solutions • Colocation at Five New England-wide Data Centers Oxford Networks! • New 2,000-Mile Fiber Network Phone • Colocation at Five New England-wide Data Centers See for yourself at OxfordNetworks.com / WhatsNew » C O N T I N U E D F RO M PA G E 6 Seventy percent of Seventy percent of Seventy percent of Seventy percent of Seventy percent of Seventy percent of Seventy percent of Seventy percent of Seventy percent of Seventy percent of Seventy percent of Seventy percent of Seventy percent of Seventy percent of medical claims could medical claims could medical claims could medical claims could medical claims could medical claims could medical claims could medical claims could medical claims could medical claims could medical claims could medical claims could medical claims could be avoided if people simply took better care of themselves. That number has been consistent for 30 years. — James Ward, president, Patient Advocates

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