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Tommy G. Thompson, Former U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services, to Chair MDVIP Committee on Cost Reduction Through Preventive Healthcare

Posted on: Wednesday, 6 July 2005, 12:01 CDT

MDVIP, Inc., the national leader in concierge medicine, announced today that former U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson will serve as Chairman of the MDVIP Committee on Cost Reduction through Preventive Healthcare. As Chairman, Secretary Thompson will direct the development and implementation of MDVIP policy initiatives focusing on the essential role of preventive care in reducing national healthcare expenditures.

The Committee will support MDVIP programs emphasizing the need for expanded utilization of preventive care services, such as those provided by MDVIP affiliated physicians, by patients, corporate employers and insurers as key tools in reducing morbidity and mortality from disease, enhancing quality of life, improving delivery of healthcare and lowering overall healthcare costs.

"It is essential that our nation reorient the delivery of primary care to prevent illness at the front end, instead of spending untold billions of dollars for treatment at the back end," Secretary Thompson said. "Our ability to stem the dramatic growth of healthcare costs is directly related to the ability of patients to obtain, and of employers and insurers to provide, far broader preventive care options than those that exist today," he continued. "I look forward to working with MDVIP to continue its development of innovative, cost-effective preventive care solutions that improve both healthcare delivery and outcomes in the United States." As a partner in the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, Secretary Thompson brings his firm's international resources in support of the efforts of both the Committee and MDVIP.

Edward Goldman, M.D., President and CEO of MDVIP, said, "We are honored to welcome Secretary Thompson as Chairman of the MDVIP Committee on Cost Reduction through Preventive Healthcare. The Secretary's commitment to preventive care has been a cornerstone of his exceptional record of public service. His vast understanding of the role of prevention in improving both the lives of patients and the economics of our healthcare system will be instrumental in helping us to communicate the importance of early detection and prevention of disease as a foundation of national health policy."

The National Need for Preventive Care Initiatives

The need for broad preventive care initiatives is well documented. In June 2003, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that only 55 percent of recommended preventive care is administered, and only 52 percent of recommended screening is performed. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States, accounting for seven of every ten deaths and affecting the quality of life of over 90 million Americans. It is estimated that annually in the United States over $33 billion in medical costs and $9 billion in lost productivity due to heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes are attributed to diet. Furthermore, in 2000, healthcare costs associated with physical inactivity were more than $76 billion. Lifestyle change and screening to detect chronic diseases early in their course, when they are most treatable, can save many lives. People who are physically active, eat a healthy diet, do not use tobacco, and practice other healthy behaviors reduce their risk for chronic diseases and have half the rate of disability than those who do not.

"We must immediately start transforming our lifestyles for the better," said Secretary Thompson.

About Secretary Thompson

As the Secretary of Health & Human Services, Secretary Thompson served as the nation's leading advocate for the health and welfare of all Americans. He worked to modernize and add prescription drug coverage to Medicare for the first time in the program's history.

A leading advocate of welfare reform, he also focused on expanding services to seniors, those with disabilities, and low-income Americans. Additionally, Secretary Thompson is recognized for his contributions to the United States' response to the threat of bioterrorism and for his leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the United States and abroad. He currently serves as the chairman of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

He was the 19th individual to head the Department of Health & Human Services, which employs more than 60,000 personnel and had a fiscal year 2004 budget of more than $500 billion.

As governor of Wisconsin, Secretary Thompson was perhaps best known for his efforts to revitalize the Wisconsin economy, for his national leadership on welfare reform, and for his work in expanding healthcare access across all segments of society.

He has received numerous awards for his public service, including the Anti-Defamation League's Distinguished Public Service Award, Governing magazine's Public Official of the Year Award, and the Horatio Alger Award, which is awarded annually to "dedicated community leaders who demonstrate individual initiative and a commitment to excellence, as exemplified by remarkable achievements accomplished through honesty, hard work, self-reliance, and perseverance."

He is a former chairman of the National Governors' Association, the Education Commission of the States and the Midwestern Governors' Conference. Secretary Thompson also served in the Wisconsin National Guard and the Army Reserve. He received both his B.S. and his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Preventive Care Provided by MDVIP Affiliated Physicians

MDVIP was established to assist physicians in providing a dramatically greater emphasis on preventive care than that which can be offered in a traditional primary care setting. In a traditional primary care practice of 2,500 patients, a physician who desired to provide a preventive care physical examination to each patient would spend approximately 2,500 hours, or one year, attending solely to such exams. Logistically, such a practice could not be viable, as the physician would not have time to treat acute or chronic illness, and would further lack the time to develop wellness recommendations based upon the examination results.

In contrast, MDVIP affiliated primary care physicians address this inability to deliver practice-wide preventive care by limiting the size of their practices to a maximum of 600 patients. The reduced practice size allows time for the provision of comprehensive preventive care services to all patients, and also affords the time required to address chronic and acute conditions. These services include an extensive risk factor assessment; a detailed preventive care physical examination, with laboratory testing and screenings related to mental status, exercise, nutrition and sleep; a wellness plan based upon the results of the examination that can be implemented by physician and patient throughout the year; and a mini CD-ROM containing patient history, physical examination summary, lab results, EKG, and other related information.

Preliminary studies of MDVIP affiliated practices have yielded quality of care measurements that far exceeded national averages, with reduction in hospitalization rates of greater than 30 percent relative to national averages. Additionally, an MDVIP study of hospitalization data regarding Medicare beneficiaries and commercial insureds participating in all MDVIP affiliated practices in Florida during 2003 and between January 1, 2004 through August 31, 2004, evidenced significantly reduced cost of hospitalizations and shorter lengths of stay relative to regional averages, notwithstanding above average patient acuity.

About MDVIP, Inc.

MDVIP, Inc., http://www.mdvip.com, is the national leader in concierge medicine, with a growing network of 82 physicians in 14 states who deliver a new level of highly personalized healthcare, focused on prevention and early detection, to more than 25,000 patients. MDVIP provides physicians with the research, technological, operational, regulatory, and administrative resources and support required to establish, develop and maintain these personalized healthcare practices. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, MDVIP currently has offices in Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia.

Source: Business Wire

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