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Boca Raton, FL, -- (June 23, 2009) -- On the heels of a successful
partnership between MDVIP and Project Access in Palm Beach County, Florida,
MDVIP will now roll out their second initiative to support the uninsured
community in Northern Virginia. In collaboration with The INOVA Health Systems
and Project Access of Northern Virginia (PANV), four of the local
MDVIP-affiliated physicians will participate in a pilot program to provide
services to uninsured patients who have diabetes, cardiovascular disease or may
be considered a high-risk patient for either chronic condition.
Without comprehensive primary care, these patients would be treated
episodically either at a county clinic or an ER for services considered under
the umbrella of primary care management. Project Access is a program designed
to provide medical care for uninsured people in Northern Virginia and reduce
emergency care requirements.
“We wondered what happened to uninsured patients once they were treated and
stabilized after emergency episodes, and we discovered that many are virtually
discharged with no follow-up care. Typically, patients in the Project Access of
Northern Virginia program require a good deal of follow-up and without ongoing
medical treatment, many emergency treatments will become chronic events,” says
Dr. Edward Goldman, co-founder of the MDVIP nationwide network of doctors
specializing in preventive medicine. “Since the program was launched in Florida
eighteen months ago, our participants have dramatically reduced ER visits.
We’re excited to duplicate these results in Northern Virginia.”
The goals of the program are to:
• Best manage the chronic disease of these patients
• Offer early detection and wellness to the at-risk patient
• Prevent or slow the progression of the disease over the long-term offering
the best level of health to these patients
• Free up the resources for true medical emergencies at the INOVA Health
Systems.
While most primary care doctors have 2,000-3,000 patients, MDVIP-affiliated
physicians 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 that predict the diseases a person are most likely to develop, based
upon personal and family history, genetics, lifestyle, habits and occupation.
It includes laboratory testing, an EKG and screenings related to mental status,
exercise, nutrition and sleep; vision, hearing and pulmonary function testing;
and a review of all medication, with a subsequent coordinated wellness plan.
The participants in the MDVIP Project Access pilot group will receive these
services at no charge.
“Project Access of Northern Virginia is very excited about our partnership with
MDVIP, as it will provide additional primary care access points for the most
vulnerable in our community,” said Claudia Tellez, Director, Project Access of
Northern Virginia.
The preventive medicine pilot program will initially serve about 50 Northern
Virginia low-income, uninsured patients in Alexandria and Fairfax Counties.
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.
About Project Access of Northern Virginia (www.panv.net) Established by the
Medical Society of Northern Virginia, it has provided specialty health care to
more than 240 patients in 23 specialty areas since January 2008, contributing
more than $260,000 in pro-bono care to the most vulnerable in Fairfax County
and Alexandria City.
MDVIP, Inc. is a privately-held firm founded in 2000 and headquartered in Boca
Raton, Florida. It is a national network of primary care physicians who
practice proactive, preventive and personalized healthcare. 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. These outcomes include lower hospitalization rates which yield
significant cost savings to patients, employers and the healthcare system.
There are currently more than 300 MDVIP-affiliated physicians providing care to
over 100,000 patients throughout the country. For more information, go to
www.MDVIP.com.
For information for those Northern Virginia residents who have a diabetic or
cardio vascular disease condition and wish to be screened for program
eligibility, call Claudia Tellez, Program Director of PANV directly at
703-934-8818.
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