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Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center and UHealthSolutions Kick Off Patient Communications Pilot Project
Nov 16, 2012
The Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center (CHC) and UHealthSolutions, a nonprofit affiliate of UMass Medical School, have launched an innovative effort to transform how patients connect with their local community health center. Earlier this year, the two organizations announced that they would work collaboratively to develop a suite of services addressing the needs of community-based health care organizations.
Since last month, patients calling to see their doctor or dentist at Kennedy CHC facilities in Worcester or Framingham have had their calls answered by UHealthSolutions. The company is partnering with the Kennedy CHC on a pilot project to manage patient calls for appointments and other inquiries — a partnership unique among community health centers in Massachusetts.
“This initiative has been many months in the making,” said Toni McGuire, President and CEO of the Kennedy CHC. “We believe the project, when fully implemented, will help improve access to care for our patients and help the health center as we manage the anticipated growth that will result from continued health care reform at the state and federal levels.”
This pilot project has been developed in collaboration with the Commonwealth Purchasing Group.
The goals of the project are to:
Improve access to primary and preventive care
- Enhance and improve the quality of patient experience
- Improve scheduling efficiency
- Increase the completion rate of outbound patient calls
- Decrease hold times and dropping of inbound calls
The Kennedy CHC chose to work with UHealthSolutions because of the company’s culturally and linguistically competent workforce, as well as its robust and technologically advanced call center infrastructure.
This change will allow the health center to focus more on direct care of patients, while at the same time continuing to provide high-quality customer service through UHealthSolutions’ state-of-the-art call center facilities located in Worcester. Underscoring the organizations’ mutual goal of providing a smooth transition in fielding patient calls, many former call center staff from Kennedy CHC were hired to work at UHealthSolutions, bringing their expertise and institutional knowledge to help ensure the project’s success.
“We could not be more pleased to be working on this important project with the staff and patients of the Kennedy Community Health Center,” said Susan Levine, Chief Operating Officer of UHealthSolutions. “This is a great initiative because it allows each organization to do what it does best. For the Kennedy Community Health Center, that means providing first-rate patient care, and for UHealthSolutions, it means using our expertise and technology to make connecting patients to that care as seamless as possible.”
About the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center
The Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center is a private, non-profit community health center serving over 24,000 patients from throughout Central and MetroWest Massachusetts. With offices in Worcester, Framingham and Clinton, the Health Center’s family practice model of care includes preventive care, management of acute and chronic illnesses, dental care, behavioral health services and many medical specialties. At Kennedy CHC, we help people live healthier lives.
For more information on the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center, visit http://www.kennedychc.org/
About UHealthSolutions, Inc.
As a nonprofit affiliate of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, UHealthSolutions, Inc., takes a different approach to developing innovative, effective, and cost-saving business solutions for health care clients. We use evidence-based methods and a clinical focus to assess the needs of health care organizations. Formerly Public Sector Partners, UHealthSolutions is a §501(c)(3) nonprofit health care management and consulting firm. Since 2001, the organization has been committed to improving health care services, offering a full array of third-party administration, patient communication, program management, technology, and consulting services.
For more information on the products and services offered by UHealthSolutions, visit http://www.uhealthsolutions.org/.
For Media Inquiries:
Contact: Tom Lyons
508.856.2115
thomas.lyons2@umassmed.edu
Contact: Marcy Ravech
617.817.2286
Marcy.Ravech@kennedychc.org
Update: 11/21/2012:
Read an article on this collaboration on the Worcester Business Journal Online.
UHealthSolutions Branding and Marketing Request for Proposals
Jun 22, 2012
WORCESTER, Mass. — UHealthSolutions is seeking proposals from vendors interested in providing branding and marketing services to commercialize a series of on-line training programs related to developmentally disabled populations, created and tested by clinicians at UMass Medical School’s Shriver Center.
Through this Request for Proposal, UHealthSolutions intends to (1) develop an overarching umbrella brand for this series of on-line training products and (2) create a tactical plan to execute initial product launch - building momentum for other products in the pipeline.
Click here to download the Request for Proposal document which specifies instructions and the timeframe pertaining to this request. For further information, contact Allison Langhill at alanghill@uhealthsolutions.org or at (508) 421-6151.
About UHealthSolutions, Inc.
As a nonprofit affiliate of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, UHealthSolutions, Inc., takes a different approach to developing innovative, effective and cost-saving business solutions for health care clients. We use evidence-based methods and a clinical focus to assess the needs of health care organizations.
Formerly Public Sector Partners, UHealthSolutions is a §501(c)(3) nonprofit health care management and consulting firm. Since 2001, the organization has been committed to improving health care services, offering a full array of third-party administration, patient communication, program management, technology and consulting services.
Worcester Telegram and Gazette: UHealthSolutions Opens Call Center as Part of Care Accessibility Pilot Program
May 21, 2012
UMass Medical School - affiliated UHealthSolutions has opened a call center to take patient calls from the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center as a pilot program aimed at boosting the accessibility of quality healthcare, the Worcester Telegram reports. Services available through the new call center have cut the time patients wait to have their calls answered to less than a minute. The call center is available to take calls from the health center's patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and offers service in Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic and Nepali as well as English. Click here to read the full article.
UHealthSolutions to Provide Patient Communications Services to Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center
Apr 24, 2012
UHealthSolutions, Inc. is piloting enhanced patient communications services for community health centers through a new partnership with the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center (Kennedy CHC). The two organizations will work collaboratively to design and develop a suite of services targeted toward the needs of community-based health care organizations.
UHealthSolutions, a nonprofit company that manages business operations for health care organizations, will provide the Kennedy CHC with after-hours answering services, patient scheduling, and outbound appointment reminder calls — giving the Kennedy CHC clinicians and support staff more time to engage with patients and provide patient care. UHealthSolutions is committed to promoting a culturally competent and linguistically diverse workforce to ensure an engaged experience for patients. Click here to read the full press release.
UHealthSolutions Premium Billing Request for Applicants: Response to Vendor Questions
Oct 27, 2011
UHealthSolutions, Inc. has responded to vendor questions for the Premium Billing Request for Applicants. Question and Answers can be found by following this link: RFA Number 2011-PB-019 Q&A
UHealthSolutions intends to establish a list of vendors of Premium Billing Systems who will be eligible to enter into contract(s) with UHealthSolutions to assist UHealthSolutions in providing quality services to its public and private sector clients. Since UHealthSolutions provides services to a variety of clients, it is contemplated that multiple contracts with multiple Qualified Vendors may result from this Request for Applicants. UHealthSolutions hopes to utilize the expertise of a wide variety of software vendors for both public and private entities. The public entities may include Medicare, Medicaid and other federal entitlement programs, and health-care and human services related initiatives that UHealthSolutions is performing in various states.
For further information, contact Maura Armstrong at Maura.Armstrong@uhealthsolutions.org or at 508-421-5878.
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