Medication Rebate Coupons on Physician Websites Improves Medication Adherence

Physician and patient surveys completed by Vivacare Inc. show that medication rebate coupons and medication brochures delivered via physician Websites may improve medication adherence.

Vivacare provides medical practices with the From Your Doctor patient education service. Enrolled practices receive a variety of practice-branded, Web-based patient education tools, including a Patient Education Library and Patient eNewsletter function.

From January to March 2009, 255 online visitors to a dermatologist’s Website completed an acne survey. Of these, 46% (152) reported actively taking an acne medication, and 58% of those (88) reported taking a medication that required a prescription. When asked what would help them to get their acne medicine from the pharmacy and take it as prescribed, 69% reported that access to medication rebate coupons would be helpful.

In a separate survey of 21 physicians, 86% reported that medication rebate coupons would be a useful addition to their practice Website, and 76% reported that they would benefit from making branded medication brochures available online for their patients.

In response to the needs of physicians and patients, Vivacare has made medication rebate coupons available as part of its online service to medical practices.

Vivacare is used by over 2,000 dermatologists and has recently expanded its services to support the needs of 12 medical specialties, including primary care. You can read the full story about medication rebate coupons and medication adherence.

Find a Dermatologist Updated with 2,000 dermatologists

The Find a Dermatologist directory of skin care experts provides an online directory of over 2,000 leading dermatologists who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of skin conditions, such as acne, psoriasis, rosacea, skin cancer and aging skin.

People seeking a dermatologist can refer to this recently updated dermatology directory to find skin care experts in their region. Participating dermatologists are the top level experts in skin care and value patient education.

The directory, managed by Vivacare Inc., has been recently updated to include a variety of health tools of value to skin care patients, including medication rebate coupons.

Cleveland Area Dermatologists Use Vivacare

Dr. Eliot Mostow, Helen Torok, M.D., Monique Cohn, M.D. and  other Cleveland area dermatologists,  use the FromYourDoctor patient education service provided by Vivacare Inc. Their goal is to provide their patients with convenient online access to skin care information in order to improve patient care and satisfaction.

For instance, Dr. Mostow’s Library includes over 100 patient handouts and clinical images that help his patients understand their treatment options for, acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, skin cancer, and aging skin. Some of the health information authored by Dr. Mostow is highlighted on other Websites managed by Vivacare, including www.beauty-doctors.com and www.acne-doctors.com.

Find a Dermatologist Directory

Find a Dermatologist is an online directory of over 2,000 U.S. based dermatologists. Dermatologists are physicians that have received additional medical training in the diagnosis and treatment of skin conditions, such as acne, aging skin, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, rosacea, and skin cancer. Many dermatologists also perform procedures, such as Botox and Laser resurfacing, to help their patients maintain a youthful appearance

People seeking a skin care experts can query the Find a Dermatologist database to locate dermatologists in their area.

The Directory is part of the FromYourDoctor service that provides a variety of patient education tools to dermatology practices.

Beauty Doctors: Skin Care Experts Provide Cosmetic Tips

The newly launched Beauty-Doctors Website provides skin care information from the most authoritative and trusted source, dermatologists. It’s practical advice is authored by skin care experts with professional devotion to cosmetic dermatology.

Beauty-Doctors.com is part of the FromYourDoctor service from Vivacare Inc. The FromYourDoctor service enables physicians to easily create their own customizable patient education resource for their practice, including a Patient Education Library with patient handouts and clinical images, and a Patient eNewsletter. Physicians can use the service to provide their patients with convenient access to helpful health information that reinforces key clinical messages.

For instance, Nelson Lee Novick, a dermatologist in New York City published a summary on regarding non-surgical nose jobs on Beauty-Doctors.com with a link to more in depth handouts that resides on his own patient education library.

Acne Information from Skin Care Experts

Acne information, authored by skin care experts, is now available at Acne Doctors
The content includes a wide range of practical and up-to-date acne related topics, including acne treatment, retinoids for acne, accutane, acne scars, and acne skin care.

The Acne-Doctors Website is part of the FromYourDoctor service from Vivacare Inc. The FromYourDoctor service enables physicians to easily create their own customizable patient education resource for their practice, including a Patient Education Library with patient handouts and clinical images, and a Patient eNewsletter. Physicians can use the service to provide their patients with convenient access to helpful health information that reinforces key clinical messages.

For instance, Gerald Goldberg, M.D., a dermatologist in Tucson Arizona, uses the FromYourDoctor service to publish his handouts and medical photographs online. His acne handout provides details regarding his personal approach to acne care.

The Acne Doctors Website highlights those dermatologists that use the FromYourDoctor service who have written particularly helpful information for their patients regarding acne. For example, Jeffrey Dover, M.D., a dermatologist in Chestnut Hill, MA and author of ‘The Youth Equation’, wrote a particularly in-depth summary of acne scars that is published on Acne-Doctors.

Why Every Physician Needs Vivacare

“Patients forget most of what you tell them less than 6 minutes after walking out the door.” – Duane Cady, M.D., President AMA Foundation

Numbers do not lie:

• 81% of U.S. physicians report that they have difficulty providing appropriate paper-based handouts to their patients during office visits.
• Over 63% of American adults have Internet access and 80% of them seek health information online, but they would prefer to get the information from their own doctor.
• 47% of patients report that they were non-compliant with therapy due to a lack of understanding about the benefits of treatment.
• 14-21% of patients never fill their original prescription.
• 66% of physicians who provided tailored patient educational content reported an increase in patient compliance and 38% reported a reduction in patient calls regarding therapy.

Your patients are becoming increasingly responsible for making their own healthcare decisions. They need more information to understand their diagnosis and treatment options…and they want that information from you, their own physician.

They want know why you put them on Drug A instead of Drug B when Drug B has such an appealing television ad.

They want to know when not to worry, and when it is appropriate to call your office.

They want to know what that test result means.

But you don’t have time to answer every question or review every page they have downloaded from the Internet.

You need an easy and effective way to provide your patients with the information they need to better manage their own health. You need Vivacare.

Physicians need Vivacare… here’s why

The new doctor-patient paradigm – How the shift from the “physician as wise parent” model to one of more shared responsibility is playing out in the exam room.

By: Gail Garfinkel Weiss
Medical Economics

“The Norman Rockwell image of the doctor-patient bond, typified by an all-knowing, paternalistic doctor focusing on an admiring patient, has evolved into something very different. Now it’s a relationship in which patients, empowered by Internet-acquired information and buffeted by frequent changes in insurance coverage, have few qualms about challenging medical advice or moving on to the next physician. And no one has noticed this transformation more than doctors themselves…”

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