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R&J Group Honored With NJ/IABC IRIS Award for Atlantic Health System’s Neuroscience Center Introduction

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:01:42 +0000

February 6, 2004–The R&J Group, New Jersey’s leading healthcare brand building agency, has won a prestigious 2003 IRIS Award from The New Jersey Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (NJ/IABC) in recognition of its national public relations campaign on behalf of Atlantic Health’s Neuroscience Center, conducted in conjunction with the American Stroke Association.

R&J was honored with a First Place Award of Excellence at the annual NJ/IABC award ceremony on Thursday, January 29, at Headquarters Plaza Hotel in Morristown, N.J.

โR&J’s strategy was to deliver a multi-faceted, multi-media PR program to introduce Atlantic Health’s Neuroscience Center, with the goal of positioning Atlantic Health as a national leader in stroke education, prevention and treatment,โ commented R&J President John Lonsdorf. โWe are pleased that every aspect of this comprehensive program โ” beginning with a major press announcement and Satellite Media Tour from the International Stroke Conference in San Antonio, Texas on through to brand elevation in local communities โ” was so successful.โ

โHospitals and health care systems have repeatedly selected the R&J Group because of our highly-specialized expertise and unparalleled record of success in health care communications marketing and branding,โ continued Lonsdorf. โThis specialization has paid dividends for our clients, including Saint Barnabas Health Care System, Saint Clare’s Health System, Jersey Shore Medical Center, the Bon Secours Charity Health System, and Atlantic Health, to name a few.โ

The NJ/IABC IRIS Award program celebrates excellence in communications. Entries were judged on innovative and effective use of media, overall quality of writing, design, execution, and successful achievement of communications objectives. IABC, the International Association of Business Communicators, provides products, services, activities and networking opportunities to help individuals and organizations achieve excellence in public relations, employee communication, marketing communication, public affairs and other forms of communication.

The R&J Group is a leading brand building agency specializing in hospitals and health care systems. The agency’s experience with well established institutions and brands allows them to develop creative solutions for building sustainable brand equity and increasing market share for a broad range of clients. Founded in 1986 and located in Parsippany, New Jersey, R&J provides complete marketing, advertising, design, media, e-business and public relations services. For more information on R&J, contact Jeff Chase at (973) 331-1070, or visit them at www.RandJgroup.com.

Author: Anonymous
Source: free-articles

DxCG INTRODUCES RxGROUPS 2.0 TO HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY Enhancements to Pharmacy Models Improve Prediction of Future Costs for Contracting, Budgeting and Disease Management

admin — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 10:05:22 +0000

BOSTON, Mass. – May 07, 2002 – DxCGยฎ, Inc., a leading provider of software tools that measure health status and accurately predict health care expenses, announced today the availability of RxGroupsยฎ 2.0 predictive models. RxGroups, which were co-developed by DxCG and Kaiser Permanente, are the only commercially available models that use pharmacy data to predict total medical expenses. RxGroups 2.0, which includes several enhancements to RxGroups 1.0, helps health plans, their employers and consultants better predict costs for financial, actuarial and medical management.

RxGroups comprehensively classify National Drug Codes (NDC) based on pharmacological functionality. RxGroups 2.0 features up-to-date NDC codes, as well as an all-new reporting capability, and an easy-to-use graphical interface. It also features a model that allows plans to project total medical expenses based on pharmacy usage. Capital Health Plan, one of the nation’s top 10 HMOs in customer satisfaction, is among the first health plans to receive RxGroups 2.0.

“The RxGroups predictive models let us use readily available data from pharmacy claims to help us understand the needs of our population-whether that be identifying cases for medical support or evaluating financial factors,” said Eric Smith, CIO of Capital Health Plan. “We feel the accuracy of the RxGroups models and the readily available reports support our goals and offer an affordable solution.”

“As our population ages, health care costs will continue to escalate. It’s critical that the various constituents in the health care industry better identify the sickest people and manage their care efficiently,” said Arlene S. Ash, Ph.D., founder and senior scientist of DxCG. “Similar to DxCG’s Diagnosis-based Models, RxGroups provide health plans, actuaries, underwriters, employers, consultants and pharmacy benefit managers clinical validity and high predictive power. The enhanced functionality of RxGroups 2.0 will help these organizations improve medical and financial management.”

DxCG offers two variations of RxGroups models. One uses demographic and RxGroups only to predict total medical costs. The second uses inpatient diagnoses classified using the multiple condition the Diagnostic Cost Group/Hierarchical Condition Category (DCG/HCC) classification model in addition to RxGroups and demographics.

About Capital Health Plan

Established in 1982, Capital Health Plan is locally operated and physician-directed, with more than 300 area physicians in its network. More than 2500 area employers offer Capital Health Plan coverage to their employees. Since its founding, Capital Health Plan has successfully insulated its members from many of the problems and concerns experienced nationally in health care delivery.

About DxCG, Inc.

DxCG promotes fair and efficient health care by providing software tools to more accurately plan, budget and evaluate health care management programs. More than 120 clients, covering more than 40 million lives, use the company’s Diagnostic Cost Group and RxGroups predictive models to negotiate health-based payments, identify opportunities for disease management, profile physicians and evaluate managed care programs. DxCG clients include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente and Pacific Business Group on Health. Recognized by leading independent researchers as the most proven models available, DxCG’s methodologies are used by the federal government to set payment rates for the Medicare+Choice program. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.dxcg.com.

Nelson’s sellout on health won’t play in Nebraska

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:59:08 +0000

Who knew that it would take Ben Nelson to make Mary Landrieu look like a high-minded negotiator?A month ago, Sen. Landrieu got $300 million in Medicaid funding for her home state of Louisiana in exchange for her vote for what’s left of the president’s health plan.Republicans called it the “Louisiana Purchase,” saying she sold the rest of the country down the river in exchange for preferential treatment for her own state.But her deal had the merit of frank simplicity.Landrieu had objections to the part of the plan that included a new government health insurance entitlement.Liberal Democrats want the government to raise taxes and give the money away in the form of health care. Moderate Democrats want to make the government into a manic-depressive insurance agent: They want to force you to buy a policy, but feel guilty about this strong-arm tactic, so they’ll help you pay for it by stealing from other clients.A “public option” (which will go down with “undocumented worker” and “enhanced interrogation” as the worst political euphemisms of the decade) isn’t a point of debate for conservatives, who hate the plan for its expansion of government power, not any particular means of delivering it.Conservatives don’t want the government in the process. No peeking into your tax returns to make sure you’re paying for coverage. No asking your doctor if you looked too wobbly to own a gun or if you’ve been puffing Dominican cigars or eating too much pistachio ice cream.But on the Left, no one minds the idea of the government being in charge of health care; it’s just a debate between the socialists and the crony capitalists in the Era of Obama.Landrieu is assuredly on the crony capitalist side of that argument, hailing from a state in which cronyism is as common as alligators. But Louisiana has also become more Republican.Obama got less than 40 percent of the vote in the Pelican State last year. Landrieu’s support for his hugely unpopular health plan is not a political freebie for her.But she knows her state. All of the national scorn heaped on her shakedown played well in Baton Rouge. Louisiana voters still expect their representatives in Washington to bring home the bacon, and a vote for a watered-down bill in exchange for some cold cash is no scandal. Since she’s been in office, a former governor and a congressman from her state have been sent to prison on corruption charges.Nebraska, though, is a different place.Nelson, an insurance executive, got elected governor in 1990 by hammering a Republican incumbent for raising taxes. Once in office, he reinstated executions at the state penitentiary and slashed the state sales tax.But it’s not just that Nebraska is conservative, it’s that the state has a strong, nonpartisan idealistic streak stretching back to William Jennings Bryan and beyond.Pro-war Democrat Bob Kerry and anti-war Republican Chuck Hagel have both represented the state in the Senate, and current Republican Gov. Dave Heineman is the only governor to succeed a member of his own party since 1955.The last big political scandal in the state was in 2003, when the state treasurer got caught writing and then voiding $300,000 in checks to keep the cash away from last-minute budget cuts. She had to quit and plead guilty to a misdemeanor. In Louisiana, she would have been commended for not stealing the money.Even so, in the health care negotiations, a senator from the land of good government conducted himself even more crassly than his colleague from the swampland of corruption.Nelson is part of a pack of Democrats who said they would never vote for a bill with a government insurance program. He stood out because of his ardent and oft-repeated objections to any federal dollars subsidizing insurance policies that covered elective abortions. Landrieu and other moderate Democrats raised strenuous fiscal objections, but bringing up abortion in the Senate is like announcing that you have a bomb in an airport. People take notice.In the end, though, Nelson treated abortion like any other of the dozens of shoddy little deals that have been the hallmark of the legislation. The final abortion compromise that won Nelson’s support was not substantially different than the one he had despaired of the week before. The change was that Nelson got free Medicare money for his state and some stroking for his own ego.Landrieu, who holds the same Senate seat that Huey Long once did, will fly home to New Orleans with her head held high. I suspect Nelson’s return to Omaha will not be so triumphal.

Health Care Reform Or Not – You Pay the Same Health Care Costs Either Way

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:01:37 +0000

Health policy in the U.S. heavily relies on the strategy of denial. Health care costs eat up over 16% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The typical American works two months out of every year just to cover medical treatment! Or, to put it another way, in 2007 the U.S. spent an average $7,421 per resident for health care. That same year, total medical costs were rising at 6.1% annually – far higher than the rate of GDP growth. What could you do with an extra $7,421 each year for every member of your family?

If you are healthy, you may think this cost does not apply to you. While the cost is an average, think about all the places that health care costs are hiding.

Federal income taxes – to pay for Medicaid, Medicare, and other programs

State taxes – to pay for the state’s share of Medicaid and other programs

Your health premiums – the amount you pay each month to your employer or an insurance company to cover just being insured (if you have insurance)

Your out-of-pocket costs – your part of the bill when you go to the doctor or emergency room, are admitted to the hospital, buy a prescription, or use any other health care service. If you have insurance, notice that every year you likely pay more to get less in coverage.

Part of every purchase – no matter what you buy, from an electronic gadget to clothes, school supplies, a car or bike, or food, health care costs are hidden in the purchase price. Why? For one thing, the seller has to pay taxes too, and part of its taxes goes for health care programs. Second, the seller is likely providing health care insurance to its employees, with a hefty tab skyrocketing year after year. The seller needs to cover those costs somehow, and you’ve been nominated.

Seventy five percent of the costs ($5,566 for you and each family member) go to treat people with chronic illness. In other words, those suffering from high blood pressure, arthritis, diabetes, asthma, Alzheimer’s, cancer, autoimmune disease, skin and eye diseases, sinusitis, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, and more. The painful list goes on and on. Money is only a minor part of the human cost.

Whether or not there is health care reform will make only a tiny difference in the long run. The soaring costs are not sustainable because other parts of the economy simply can’t keep up. If costs keep mounting as they are, engulfing a bigger part of our national resources each year, it won’t matter who pays or how. Because no one will have that much money and the system will slide downhill.

The only way to permanently construct a sane health care plan is to have people make meaningful changes in their lifestyle. This means reducing the risk of getting a chronic illness.

Eating a plant-based diet of whole foods is the single most critical action you can take to lower costs and stay well enough to survive the imploding system. This choice is for you to make, not Congress. Breathe easy that you can stay largely outside the polarizing health care debate and hospitals both if you make the best lifestyle choices. And that is not as hard as you might think.

If you are already ill and need treatment, this may be of little comfort. If we drastically reduced, as a nation, the total cost of health care through better diet and other great decisions (such as quitting smoking), there will be plenty to go around to take care of each and every sick person. We won’t need to skimp on anyone.

Don’t discount the healing power of a whole foods diet. You may feel a lot better even before we get to that long-awaited day when everyone gets the highest quality care.

Will the health care system be public, private, or a little bit of both once we get costs under control? We would have the luxury of debating options at that point because we could afford to! So let’s get out of denial and start building a healthier nation now. It starts with you.

Home Health Care Alternative to do Everything by Yourself

admin — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 06:03:40 +0000

You may be overwhelmed by the pressure of caring the older members of your family who require constant care; but you are not alone. There are millions of adults who finds a hard time taking care of older relatives or parents while working and taking care of their children. Sometimes one is pressed down under the dual pressure of taking care of older members and his own needs; but your work is also as important as taking care of the elder people. If you don’t take care of your own responsibilities, you will land nowhere. When that happens you won’t be able to take care of anyone else.

Using home health care is a good option to get the rest and get relief you need while still making sure that the elder people are getting proper care and protection. Don’t feel guilty if you take some time off to take of yourself and your own family, but home health care is a necessity if you want to continue to care for your loved ones in the future. If you are in a dilemma whether to get the services of home health care, consider the following benefits of using home health care:

Your loved ones are taken care of by trained medical staff- Hiring home health care is far safer than hiring strangers to care for your loved ones. Since home health care workers are trained medical professionals, should an emergency arise in your home, these medical professionals can respond properly.

Social interaction – Every people needs social interaction, even the elder people in your home. Hiring home health care workers even if for couple of days, gives your loved ones the chance to talk with and interact with other people, which will help them stay more connected to the world.

Prescription Support – You may be concerned about the elder people in your home, whether they eat nutritiously, when you can’t be there to give them a meal. You may be concerned whether your loved ones take their medications when they need to, in your absence. If you have a home health care staff then you can be sure that your loved ones are having nutritional diet and having their medications at the right time.

Meeting Obligations – If you hire home health care workers, then you don’t have to worry about meeting your other obligations like your professional work and appointments or taking your loved ones to doctor or parks. You can meet your other obligations knowing that your loved ones are being safely driven wherever they need to go.

These are few of the benefits you will get if you hire home health care staffs. Don’t overburden yourself with responsibilities and obligations to your elder people and work; instead consider hiring home elder care services as an alternative to do everything by yourself.