Maternity Disease Management Helps Meet Positive Expectations
Most women tout pregnancy as one of the most rewarding experiences of their lives. For those with pre and post-natal difficulties, however, the greatest reward may come at a great cost. Expenses associated with premature births, high-risk pregnancies and resulting complications make the process increasingly labor-intensive for hospitals and health plans as well.
Manasquan, NJ (PRWEB) December 21, 2005
Most women tout pregnancy as one of the most rewarding experiences of their lives. For those with pre - and post-natal difficulties, however, the greatest reward may come at a great cost. Expenses associated with premature births, high-risk pregnancies and resulting complications make the process increasingly labor-intensive for hospitals and health plans as well.
Acknowledging the interaction of physical and psychological components in disease, healthcare organizations are inventing new programs to detect risk for postpartum major depression (PMD), which affects one of every 10 women, and other pregnancy complications. “Maternity Disease Management: Assessments, Guidelines and Monitoring to Meet Positive Expectations,” an October 5, 2005 audio conference on CD-ROM sponsored by the Healthcare Intelligence Network (HIN), highlights early intervention as a means to control cost and minimize complications associated with pregnancy. During this 90-minute audio conference on CD-ROM, expert panelists explain how early risk identification can improve pregnancy outcomes from the hospital delivery room to the living room at home. For more information, please visit http://www. hin. com/cgi-local/link/news/pl. cgi? maternitycd (http://www. hin. com/cgi-local/link/news/pl. cgi? maternitycd).
“There is a link between the reproductive status and depressive illness,” said Christy L. Beaudin, corporate director of quality improvement at PacifiCare Behavioral Health, who spoke at the conference. “It is estimated that of approximately four million births occurring annually in this country, 40 percent are complicated by some form of postpartum depression or mood disorder.”
What happens after delivery has important implications for what will happen in the future. Postpartum depression is a traumatic condition with lasting effects on a woman's self-confidence as a mother and on her infant's development. In most cases, risk for PMD can be identified during pregnancy so that appropriate follow-up treatment can be proactively put in place to minimize the fall-out.
“Enhancing prenatal care can be labor-intensive with personnel driving most of the cost,” said Joseph Stankaitis, chief medical officer, Monroe Plan for Medical Care, who also spoke at the conference. “But when you assess aggregate program costs over time the savings are obvious. Our program saved us $3.5 million from 1997 to 2004.”
Stankaitis and Beaudin were joined at the conference by Tom Smith, director of medical care management, Health Management Corporation. Together, these speakers offer multi-dimensional insight into maternity management programs, highlighting:
How to identify members at risk for high-risk pregnancies; How to reduce pre-term births; How to conduct evaluations to identify mothers suffering from post-partum depression; Outreach programs that work; Incentivizing participation in the maternity management program; Program results; and Partnering with OB-GYNs.
“These programs enable us to identify and more intensively manage high-risk pregnancies,” said Tom Smith. “Through maximal communication and understanding of healthcare choices associated with pregnancy, we can take proactive measures to combat disease.”
This 90-minute audio conference on CD-ROM benefits CEOs, medical directors, disease management directors, managers and coordinators, health plan executives, care management nurses, business development and strategic planning directors.
Also included are detailed outlines of the panelists’ presentations, a printed transcript and a live question-and-answer session on the CD-ROM in which panelists open the floor for discussion. For more details on related products and upcoming audio conferences, visit http://www. hin. com/cgi-local/link/news/pl. cgi? maternitycd (http://www. hin. com/cgi-local/link/news/pl. cgi? maternitycd).
About the Healthcare Intelligence Network---HIN is the premier advisory service for executives seeking high-quality strategic information on the business of healthcare. For more information, contact the Healthcare Intelligence Network, PO Box 1442, Wall Township, NJ 07719-1442, (888) 446-3530, fax (732) 292-3073, e-mail info@hin. com, or visit http://www. hin. com (http://www. hin. com).
Contact: Jennifer Millman
Phone:(732)528-4468
Fax:(732) 292-3073
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