NEWS FACTS:

• Background: ED services are often provided for non-emergent care to individuals who lack the education and/or resources for appropriate primary care. A 2006 report from the Institute of Medicine describes the nation's emergency medical system as "overburdened, under-funded and highly fragmented." Treatment in the ED is estimated to cost at least six times more than care in a primary physician's office, according to a study by the California Institute for County Government at Cal State Sacramento.

• Featured Speakers: Dr. Jim Glauber, medical director for Neighborhood Health Plan of Massachusetts, Dr. Lakshmi Dhanvanthari, staff vice president and medical director at WellPoint State Sponsored Business, and Dr. Karen Amstutz, regional vice president and medical director at WellPoint State Sponsored Business.

• Conference Highlights: Creating teachable moments for non-emergent ED users before, during and after they access the ED inappropriately; engaging cross-stakeholder groups to develop effective ED utilization management programs; examining how specific populations and diagnoses influence ED visits and how this information can help shape your program's initiatives; analyzing the likelihood that high ED utilizers will persist as high utilizers; using member self-care resources to reduce non-emergent ED use.

• Target Audience: CEOs, medical directors, disease management directors, managers and coordinators, health plan executives, care management nurses and business development and strategic planning directors.

• Audio Conference Formats: 90-minute live audio conference on September 25, 2007 includes a 30-minute Q&A; "On-Demand" rebroadcast available September 27, 2007; 90-minute recording on CD-ROM with printed transcript available October 19, 2007. For conference details, please visit http://www.hin.com/cgi-local/link/news/pl.cgi?nonemergentpr

"Costs of indiscriminate ED use are causing many hospitals to close their ED doors. To counter this trend, consumer awareness and education is a key factor in discouraging patients from choosing the ED when a visit to their primary care physician will suffice. With the proper research and consumer training, providers can determine likely candidates for inappropriate ED usage and target educational efforts toward these individuals."

Please contact Patricia Donovan to arrange an interview or to obtain additional quotes.

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