Uninsured Find Healthwise® Information Helpful As Frontline Resource for Health Care Partners Health Initiative saves estimated $34.5 million in unnecessary doctor, ER visits

Partners Health Initiative (PHI)used copies of the Healthwise Handbook to save an estimated $34.5 million in unnecessary emergency room and doctor visits during a 30-month period. Of particular significance is that the most frequent users of the Healthwise information were people who said that cost prevents them from getting good health care and they or their children had no insurance.

Healthwise, Incorporated         
Contact: Brenda Foster         
Phone: 208-331-6963            
E-mail: bfoster@healthwise.org    

Partners for a Healthy Community
Contact: Melissa Smith or Kathryn Smith
Phone: 864-375-9190
E-mail: msmith2@anmed.com or ksmith4@anmed.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Uninsured Find Healthwise® Information Helpful As Frontline Resource for Health Care
Partners Health Initiative saves estimated $34.5 million in unnecessary doctor, ER visits

BOISE, Idaho, and ANDERSON, South Carolina, April 4, 2003—For the 75 million non-elderly Americans who were uninsured for all or part of 2001-2002, economic barriers may have prevented them from getting good health care. A recently released evaluation of the Partners Health Initiative (PHI) of South Carolina and Georgia could offer some help. It may not provide a complete solution to this growing problem, but it does offer communities and hospitals an innovative method for helping the uninsured learn appropriate home treatments and understand when to visit the emergency room. PHI used copies of the Healthwise Handbook to save an estimated $34.5 million in unnecessary emergency room and doctor visits during a 30-month period. Of particular significance is that the most frequent users of the Healthwise information were people who said that cost prevents them from getting good health care and they or their children had no insurance.

Weve always believed that given the right tools, people will make good health care decisions on their own. We were thrilled to learn that this project helped so many people feel confident in their ability to practice self-care. These tools help families stretch their health care dollars," said Russell Harris, Partners For a Healthy Community president and CEO.

The communitywide PHI health education program was organized by Partners for a Healthy Community and 28 investing partners, including hospitals, insurers, foundations, and other organizations. More than 160,000 English and 3,000 Spanish editions of the Healthwise Handbook were distributed to residents in Anderson, Oconee, Pickens, and Hart counties. Residents could also call a 24/7 nurse line as well as access online medical information. Special efforts were made to get the Healthwise Handbook to the uninsured and underinsured though distribution at free clinics, health departments, and other social services agencies.

The Partners Health Initiative estimated about 23% fewer doctors office visits and 15% fewer ER visits because of the information intervention. John R. Ureda, MPH, DrPH, of Insights Consulting, Columbia, South Carolina, conducted the independent evaluation.

It is significant that the uninsured or underinsured were most likely to use the information and avoid unnecessary visits. They were twice as likely as people who said cost was not a barrier to save an unnecessary ER visit by using online health information, and nearly half again as likely to save an ER visit by using a printed self-care guide. The information did not replace the need for insurance, but it did provide a helpful frontline resource.

Reported Saving an Unnecessary ER Visit      
-By using the Healthwise Handbook:
*14.4% (No cost barrier) *20.5% (Cost barrier)
-By using the computer:
*3.9% (No cost barrier)   *9.1% (Cost barrier)

Reported Saving an Unnecessary MD Visit
-By using the Healthwise Handbook:
*13.5% (No cost barrier) *34.1% (Cost barrier)
-By using the computer:
*6.0% (No cost barrier) *11.4% (Cost barrier)

Figures from the evaluation corresponded with actual emergency room data. Dr. Ureda charted decreased emergency room use for 29 conditions, including asthma attacks, upper respiratory infections, and hypertension.

There is a real readiness for people to use a handbook of this sort in their decision-making process, particularly among those who face economic barriers to accessing health care services," Dr. Ureda said. The handbook was a huge success. Its a good investment."

PHI operated on a three-year budget of less than $3.1 million. Evaluators of the program estimate $11 in health care cost savings was garnered for every dollar invested in the project. PHI was modeled after the successful Healthwise Communities Project, which took place in southwest Idaho from 1996 to1999. Another Healthwise project is taking place throughout the Province of British Columbia.

The Partners Health Initiatives efforts and these evaluation results clearly demonstrate that providing access to reliable health information helps people make better health decisions and can also save unnecessary expenses at the same time," said Donald W. Kemper, Healthwise founder and CEO.

About Healthwise
Healthwise, Incorporated, is a nonprofit organization that has been helping people make better health decisions since 1975. Every year people make more than 30 million health care decisions with Healthwise handbooks, online content, and nurse call center resources. Healthwise information is the foundation for community health education initiatives in the United States, Canada, and South Africa. For more information, visit www.healthwise.org or call 1-800-706-9646.

###