Health Information Technology
#1 Electronic Prescription Standardization
Challenge: A renowned physician had championed electronic prescription standardization in the U.S. and it had to be communicated to the healthcare community and consumers.
Solution: The VE & Co. team developed a media outreach plan to communicate the new electronic prescription standards developed in the U.S. Championed by Dr. Peter Basch, MD, the medical director of Ambulatory Clinical Systems at MedStar Health, and a coalition of experts including the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), VE & Co. developed and disseminated a news release to the target media on the revised a set of regulations to prevent tampering with printouts of electronic prescriptions for Medicaid patients. This 2007 federal law is aimed at reducing the estimated $100 million per year loss on fraudulent Medicaid prescriptions. The revised anti-tampering requirements focus on utilizing new print technologies that make it difficult to fraudulently reproduce the electronic prescription print-outs, rather than using expensive tamper-proof paper, as originally mandated by Medicaid.
Results: VE & Co. secured media coverage and placements communicating the new standards in major healthcare media and consumer publications.
#2 Telehealth
Challenge: The nation's largest health insurer was going to launch a new national program that brings healthcare technology and medical specialists directly to patients.
Solution: The new program was unveiled in July before lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. and is a large 18-wheel mobile healthcare clinic. The mobile clinic travels throughout the U.S. — to urban and rural locations — to improve our nation's healthcare system and make it easier to see a doctor. Through "telehealth" technology, the clinic can reach any physician directly with its built-in satellite technology capabilities. Patients have their vital signs taken at biometric stations and "meet" with the off-site physicians in a soundproof office via live video conferencing. With the assistance of an on-site nurse, the doctors can also conduct various tests with medical devices onboard the mobile clinic, including digital scopes, cameras, and blood pressure monitors.
Results: VE & Co. supported the launch in metro Washington, DC and the ongoing visits of the mobile clinic throughout the Mid-Atlantic. Members of the media from each community the clinic visits have attended the clinic and reported on it.
