Patient handout describing the benefits of the text4baby service

Text4baby is an innovative and free text messaging service that delivers text messages to new and expecting moms with practical health tips to promote child and maternal health.

Vivacare has published a new patient handout that describes the text4baby service and the benefits of enrolling. This new “eHandout” is an option for display on the practice Websites for ob-gyns, pediatricians and family physicians who enroll for the Vivacare patient education service. Learn more about the Vivacare and text4baby partnership.

“Our enrolled physicians and office staff will be pleased to offer their patients such an innovative and easy-to-use service that promotes maternal and child health”, said Dr. Mark Becker, pediatrician and founder of Vivacare. “Vivacare seeks to make the physicians’ own website the go-to place for health information. The delivery of innovative services, such as text4baby, is an important step in fulfilling that goal.”

Women who sign up for the service by texting BABY to 511411 (or BEBE for Spanish) receive three free SMS text messages each week timed to their due date or baby’s date of birth. These messages focus on a variety of topics critical to maternal and child health, including birth defects prevention, immunization, nutrition, seasonal flu, mental health, oral health, safe sleep, and more. Text4baby messages also connect women to prenatal and infant care services and other resources.

According to the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition, each year in the U.S., more than 500,000 babies are born prematurely and an estimated 28,000 children die before their first birthday. The infant mortality rate in the U.S. is one of the highest in the industrialized world, and for the first time since the 1950s, that rate is on the rise. Research shows Over 85% of Americans own a cell phone and 72% of cell users send or receive text messages.

Text4baby is made possible through a broad, public-private partnership that includes government, corporations, academic institutions, professional associations, non-profit organizations, and more. Founding partners include National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition, Voxiva, CTIA – The Wireless Foundation, and Grey Healthcare Group (a WPP company) and text4baby’s Founding Sponsor, Johnson & Johnson. Federal government partners include the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Defense Military Health System, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Free messaging services are generously provided by participating mobile operators, including Alltel, Assurance Wireless, AT&T, Bluegrass Cellular, Boost Mobile, Cellular South, Cellcom, Centennial Cellular, Cincinnati Bell, Cricket, Metro PCS, nTelos, Nex-Tech Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon Wireless, and Virgin Mobile USA.

Patient Handouts Updated for 2011-2012 Flu Season

With the 2011-2012 influenza season about to begin, medical practices are busy vaccinating patients and preparing for the onslaught of patients suffering from flu symptoms.

In addition to stocking up on the flu vaccine,  doctors are updating their practice Websites with practical information regarding influenza, including reminders about the importance of getting vaccinated.

Physicians enrolled for Vivacare’s “From Your Doctor” patient education service can create personalized and customizable patient handouts that they publish to their own practice Website to help patients and others in the community better understand and manage their health. The selection of flu-related titles has been updated to meet current guidelines and expanded to help practices efficiently manage inquires about the flu.

Multiple patient handout titles have been updated including “Influenza (flu)”, “Flu Shot”, “Intranasal Flu Vaccine”, “FluMist“, “Antiviral Medications”, and “Tamiflu“.

Vivacare also enhances the doctors’ websites with up-to-date links to trusted health resources, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of the Health (NIH), and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Resources include links to flu.gov and a new Flu Surveillance Map showing the outbreak of the influenza virus by region.

The educational content distributed by Vivacare provides patients with health information from the source they trust most…their own doctor. A 2011 survey by Vivacare showed that health consumers were most likely to refer to their own doctor’s Website for health information (65.2%), compared to WebMD (48.7%), insurance companies (18.2%) or pharmaceutical firms (5.4%). This survey complements previous studies that show physicians as the preferred source of health information.

“Flu season returns each year, burdening patients and physicians alike”, said Mark Becker, M.D. pediatrician and President of Vivacare. “Vivacare is pleased to provide its physicians with tools to educate their patients about the importance of getting vaccinated and help reduce the impact of this disease.”

Medical practices enrolled for Vivacare are now eligible to receive additional benefits to help them to educate their patients. Vivacare will provide a Health Promotion Kit at no charge to practices that make their patient educational resources available on their own practice Websites.

Elements of the Health Promotion Kit include waiting room posters that announce the availability of patient educational resources, and “Information Prescription” sheets that direct individual patients to relevant patient handouts.

It’s easy for practices to receive their Health Promotion Kit

Step 1: Enroll for Vivacare’s patient education service.

Step 2: Add Vivacare patient handouts to your Website

• Go to www.vivacare.com/handouts to find a banner or search function.
• Select the color or design option that best fits your Website.
• Add the content to your home page and/or “patient education” section. Or contact Vivacare for assistance.

Step 3: Inform Vivacare of the website that displays your patient handouts

Step 4: Put the Health Promotion Kit to Use

The Kit includes waiting room posters and Information Prescription tear-off
sheets with topics relevant to the practice’s medical specialty, including allergy, dermatology, neurology, pediatrics and primary care.

Start telling your patients…. “Go to our website to learn about your health.”

Doctors appreciate Vivacare’s Patient Handouts for Their Practice Websites

Vivacare provides physicians with personalized patient handouts (“eHandouts”) that can be easily displayed on the doctors’ own websites for convenient access by patients. Following office appointments, doctors tell patients to …”Go to my Website to learn about your diagnosis and treatment options“. Pharmaceutical and medical device firms are provided the opportunity to distribute product information and medication rebate coupons through Vivacare’s patient education platform.

An online survey of 50 physician users of Vivacare was completed in September that showed that over 90% appreciate the patient education service. More than 95% of the doctors stated that the Vivacare service improves clinical care, patient satisfaction, and patient convenience. In addition, over 90% of respondents stated that the information they receive improves medication compliance.

When asked what medication information would be most helpful for their patients, physicians said they would like instructions on how to use the medication (93%) and how the medication works (95%). Importantly, 90% said that rebate coupons regarding the medications they prescribe would be a “helpful” or “very helpful” addition to their website.

“This is one of the best things we have done for our practice”, said Eliot Mostow, M.D. of Akron Dermatology who has made Vivacare patient handouts available on his dermatology practice Website.

“Physicians remain the most trusted source of health information, but often lack the time and resources to consistently educate their patients.” said Dr. Mark Becker, pediatrician and founder of Vivacare. “Vivacare makes it easy for physicians to offer their patients practical and relevant health information that improves clinical care, patient satisfaction and medication adherence.“

60-80% of physicians reported seeing potential for a wide range of physician-patient online interactions with the strongest support for sharing patient handouts with their patients.  When asked about the benefits of online interactions with patients, clinicians most often cited improved access to care, supported by more – and more convenient – communication. One physician summed up his vision of online interactions with patients as the opportunity for “better education, increased compliance, and better outcomes.”

The study also examined physicians’ familiarity with online patient communities. Although many physicians in the study are not well acquainted with online patient communities, two-thirds of physicians who are familiar with these communities say they have positive impact on patients. Almost 40% of these physicians say they already recommend patient communities to their patients and another 40% would consider recommending them. These positive physician views suggest that online patient communities may grow in acceptance by the medical community as more physicians become acquainted with them.

“We suspected there would be low clinician awareness for patient communities, we didn’t realize just how low this awareness would be,” said Mary Modahl, Chief Communications Officer, QuantiaMD. “However, we were encouraged by the favorable views of those clinicians who knew about patient communities, as well as by their high rate of recommendation to patients. Our study suggests that patient communities that generate greater awareness among treating physicians could gain significantly from doctors recommending patients to their sites. This in turn would help patient communities fulfill their promise of improving healthcare.”

The study was authored and conducted by QuantiaMD and the Care Continuum Alliance, an international association for wellness, prevention and care management.

The medical care model continues to evolve with the adoption of EMR, advent of hospitalists, ePrescribing, and use of email with patients. Now the time has come to evaluate whether an in-person visit to the doctor’s office is required every time a clinical decision is made regarding a patient’s treatment plan. This study shows the quality of care is not compromised by managing SELECT patient cases online.

The study, “Patient-centered online management of psoriasis: A randomized controlled equivalency trial” reported that “an online follow-up system for individuals with psoriasis is just as effective as standard in-office follow-up.”

A total of 64 participants with psoriasis were randomized to receive follow-up care either in-office or online over a 24-week period. Patients participating online underwent training on capturing high-quality digital images of their psoriatic skin lesions and securely transmitting these images and history to their doctor. The doctor then performed an online evaluation when it best suited his/her schedule and provided recommendations directly to the patients. Both online and in-office groups showed improvement in psoriasis disease severity as measured by mean improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and Life Quality Index scores. No significant differences existed between the two groups.

Certainly there remains outstanding questions regarding reimbursement, office workflow, and possible erosion of the physician-patient relationship, but there may be significant advantages to both physicians and patients to adopt effective ways of using the Internet. The patient benefits by avoiding drives across town, pulling kids from school, and office wait times. Doctors and practices may benefit by less juggling of appointment times and even more satisfied patients.

Medication Rebates for Dermatology Treatments

Medication rebates and savings cards are now available on the practice Websites of dermatologists for convenient access by their patients.

Over 3,500 dermatologists are enrolled for Vivacare’s Web-based patient education service. They use Vivacare to enhance their existing practice Website with practical health information and other helpful resources.

Now, when dermatologists refer patients to their own Websites for health information, they can also provide them the opportunity to access discounts on commonly prescribed dermatological medications, such as Differin®, Epiduo®, Oracea®, Solodyn®, and Zyclara®.

For instance, the dermatologists of Big Sky Dermatology in Bozeman, Montana provide a link to their medication rebates and savings offering from their practice Website home page.

Dermatologists appreciate being able to offer their patients savings on their prescription medications, but often run out of printed cards or find it difficult to keep them accessible when needed. Now they can provide their patients with convenient access to coupons and savings in the form of up-to-date hyperlinks to the manufacturers’ Websites.

Online access to medication savings is a benefit for the patients and the practice and fulfills Vivacare’s goal of improving clinical care and patient satisfaction.

Nearly 4,000 leading dermatologists have enrolled for Vivacare’s patient education services. The content is available for publishing to a practice Website so that a physician can simply tell his or her patient….”To learn more about your acne, go to my Website”.

Dr. Martin Salm, M.D. of Advanced Cosmetic Surgery and Dermatology in Stateline Nevada has added over 100 patient handouts regarding skin care topics to his practice Website, including references to help his patients manage their acne.

Dermatologists have published patient handouts online that cover a wide range of acne topics, including:

• Types of Acne: Adult Acne, Teenage Acne, Truncal Acne,
• Acne Severity: Mild Acne, Moderate acne, and Severe Acne
• Acne Treatment Options: Acne Medications, such as topical retinoids (Differin, Epiduo, Retin A Micro), isotretinoin and oral antibiotics (minocycline, Solodyn).
• Acne Skin Care: Acne myths, Acne and Diet, Acne Scars

Nearly 80% of people will experience some form of acne during their lifetimes. Acne is the most common skin disorder in the United States, affecting 60 million Americans at any one time, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). The American Acne and Rosacea Society (AARS) has established June as National Acne Awareness Month to increase awareness of the impact of acne on people’s lives and the various acne treatment options that are available.

The management of acne has evolved over the years with recent Acne Management Guidelines emphasizing the importance of early treatment prior to the formation of acne scars and the use of a topical retinoid as a mainstay of acne treatment and for long-term use to keep acne under control. Newer acne treatment options include photodynamic therapy, combination acne medications (Acanya, Epiduo, Ziana), and Aczone, which uses Dapsone, a new active ingredient in the fight against acne.

“Acne is a common skin disorder, and over reliance on over-the-counter medications may be ineffective and lead to the development of acne scars”, said Mark Becker, M.D. “We are pleased to expand our acne education content in support of Acne Awareness Month, because even mild acne can benefit from professional treatment.”

April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month with the goal of educating the public about Parkinson’s disease and support research efforts that will lead to new treatments.

In support of this public effort, neurologists have published in-depth educational onto their Websites to help patients and their family members understand the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and their treatment options.

Information provided by neurologists include overviews of Parkinson’s disease symptoms and summaries of anti-parkinsonian medications, such as L-dopa, Azilect, Comtan, Mirapex, Requip, and Stalevo.

Information is also provided regarding surgical procedures, such as deep brain stimulation (DBS).he science behind Parkinson’s disease and ongoing efforts to develop better diagnostic tools and treatment options.

Neurologists that specialize in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders can use Vivacare to publish their own patient handouts regarding these disorders to reflect their own unique, professional approach to care.

There is presently no cure for Parkinson’s Disease, there are a variety of Parkinson’s medications that can help to alleviate symptoms and other treatments available, such as deep brain stimulation, for advanced cases.

Early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are subtle and occur gradually.

Affected people may feel mild tremors or have difficulty getting out of a chair. They may notice that they speak too softly or that their handwriting is slow and looks cramped or small. They may lose track of a word or thought, or they may feel tired, irritable, or depressed for no apparent reason. This very early period may last a long time before the more classic and obvious symptoms appear.

Friends or family members may be the first to notice changes in someone with early Parkinson’s disease. They may see that the person’s face lacks expression and animation (known as “masked face”) or that the person does not move an arm or leg normally. They also may notice that the person seems stiff, unsteady, or unusually slow.

As the disease progresses, the shaking or tremor that affects the majority of Parkinson’s patients may begin to interfere with daily activities. Patients may not be able to hold utensils steady or they may find that the shaking makes reading a newspaper difficult. Tremor is usually the symptom that causes people to seek medical help.

People with Parkinson’s disease often develop a so-called parkinsonian gait that includes a tendency to lean forward, small quick steps as if hurrying forward (called festination), and reduced swinging of the arms. They also may have trouble initiating movement (start hesitation), and they may stop suddenly as they walk (freezing).

Parkinson’s disease does not affect everyone the same way, and the rate of progression differs among patients. Tremor is the major symptom for some patients, while for others, tremor is nonexistent or very minor.

It is important that you talk to a doctor if you are concerned about symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease in yourself or a loved one.

Rosacea afflicts 16 million Americans, and most of them don’t know it. Now the public can now learn more about this chronic skin disorder from their own dermatologist.

April is Rosacea Awareness Month

The National Rosacea Society has designated April as National Rosacea Awareness Month to alert the public of the signs and symptoms of rosacea and the importance of early diagnosis and treatment.

As part of Rosacea Awareness Month, dermatologists have enhanced their practice Websites with patient education content regarding rosacea. Rosacea handouts cover a wide range of issues, including the four different subtypes of rosacea and rosacea treatment options, including topical medications (Finacea®, MetroGel®), oral medications (Oracea®), surgical procedures, and IPL for rosacea.

The rosacea content includes information about rosacea triggers and a rosacea diary to help those afflicted with rosacea to track their symptoms. Most rosacea handouts include links to the National Rosacea Society so that patients can learn more about this education and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with rosacea.

Rosacea, also called “acne rosacea,” is a non-contagious, chronic skin condition found most commonly in people 30 to 60 years of age. It causes facial redness that becomes more persistent over time. Visible blood vessels may appear and, if left untreated, bumps and pimples may develop. In severe cases, the skin may become swollen and bumpy, particularly on the nose. Eye symptoms can also affect many people with rosacea. The recommended treatment options depend primarily upon the severity and subtype of rosacea.