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| Did You Know? |
MyGreatWest.com has a Treatment
Cost Estimator tool that gives you the Average
Out-of-Pocket Costs for a variety of medical
procedures in your geographical area
MyGreatWest.com has a Hospital
Quality Comparison tool that can help you Evaluate
the Quality of area hospitals based on specific
inpatient procedures
78% of the public thinks retail/ minute
clinics could provide a fast, convenient way to receive
basic medical services1
More than 60% of elective surgeries in the U.S. are performed as outpatient surgeries2
A poll of ER visitors published in October by the California
HealthCare Foundation found that 46%
of the respondents admitted their problems could have
been handled by a primary care doctor3
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Take Our Quiz |
Communities with high emergency department use
have higher numbers of uninsured and noncitizen
residents.
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Reducing emergency department use for nonurgent
medical care could help lower health care costs
and improve patients’ experiences with the
health care system.
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The average time spent waiting in an emergency
room is more than three hours.
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Your Road Map to Health
Care Services |
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Choosing a health care provider
or facility isn’t as simple as it used to be.
Consumers now have options ranging from outpatient surgical
centers, to inpatient hospital treatments, to retail
or “minute clinics.” This issue of Driver’s
Seat covers the basics about the various types
of providers and facilities and how your choices affect
your costs. |
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GPS – Good
Place to Start |
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Your primary care physician is usually
the best starting point for diagnosis. Your doctor can
provide many treatments – even minor surgical
procedures – in the office. |
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Short Cut |
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If you need to see a doctor but can’t
get an appointment as quickly as you need, ask if the
office has a physician’s assistant (PA) or nurse
practitioner (NP) on staff. These licensed professionals
can perform most of the same tasks as doctors but are
often more readily available – and sometimes less
expensive – to see. |
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Emergency Vehicles Only |
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Using emergency rooms for non-life-or-limb-threatening
conditions is an expensive and time-consuming route:
The typical ER visit costs about $150, versus the average
doctor’s office visit charge of around $60 (before
insurance discount, based on 2005 Great-West Healthcare
data). And ER patients are usually treated in order
of severity of injury, which could mean hours spent
waiting in the emergency room just to be treated for
something simple. If you feel your injury or illness
is not an emergency but you do need care as soon as
possible, consider going to an urgent care facility.
Go to MyGreatWest.com
to locate the urgent care center nearest you. |
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Express Lane |
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Another option for nonemergency but
quick or last-minute medical care is a retail clinic
or “minute clinic.” These facilities are
like taking the express lane to health care –
patients can be seen by a PA or NP, receive basic medical
care, including any necessary prescriptions, and be
out the door in about 15 minutes. The clinics do have
a limited scope of practice (for example, they don’t
treat chronic conditions such as diabetes). But if you
need something simple such as a strep culture or treatment
for seasonal allergies these clinics might be the perfect
medicine. Visit MyGreatWest.com for a list of Great-West
Healthcare, now part of CIGNA, participating retail clinics. |
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Detour This |
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One antacid tablet for nearly $14?
Four acetaminophen tablets for $16? Charging hefty prices
for common medicines is common among hospitals because
they must offset their costs for quality control and
they fear liability for medication errors. Some hospitals allow patients
who undergo certain procedures to bring their own medications,
if their doctor provides a written order and the hospital
can verify the drugs before the procedure. Discuss this
option with your doctor and the
hospital as far ahead of time as possible and be sure
all medications and dosages are properly documented
and recorded. |
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The Ins and Outs of Patient
Care |
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have an upcoming surgery or procedure, ask your
doctor if it can be done on an outpatient basis. |
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Inpatient means you must be admitted to a hospital for
a procedure – usually so you can be closely monitored
during the procedure and during recovery. The length
of your hospital stay depends on the procedure. And
the longer your hospital stay, the higher your out-of-pocket
costs can be.
An increasing number of surgeries can be done on an
outpatient basis. That means the procedure may be done
without hospital admission – for example at an
ambulatory surgery center, or sometimes within a hospital
but without an overnight stay. In these situations,
patients are monitored after their procedures but can
then recover in the comfort of their home. And outpatient
treatment typically costs less than inpatient treatment:
| Source: Milliman Medical Index,
2006 |
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