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L.A. Care Health Plan and Health Integrated Partner to Integrate Medical and Behavioral Support Programs for L.A. Care's Providers

Posted on: Thursday, 18 June 2009, 07:15 CDT

Health plan introduces proven behavioral health programs from Health Integrated to strengthen support for primary care physicians treating L.A. Care Health Plan members with behavioral health conditions

TAMPA, Fla., June 18 /PRNewswire/ -- L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation's largest public health plan, and Health Integrated Inc., a leading Targeted Population Health Management company, are collaborating to improve outcomes for populations being served by L.A. Care Health Plan. The program helps to strengthen services for primary care physicians, and to reduce costs for L.A. Care's Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, Healthy Kids and Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plan members with behavioral health conditions.

L.A. Care will integrate key components of Health Integrated's Synergy Targeted Population Management(R) platform to support primary care physicians in their treatment of members with mild to moderate behavioral health conditions. Through the program, primary care physicians will have hotline access to board-certified Health Integrated behavioral health specialists for consultation on diagnosis, patient management, medication regimens and referral assistance to behavioral health specialists when necessary.

"At L.A. Care, we are constantly seeking innovative ways to help support our primary care physicians and increase the quality of care for our members," says Elaine Batchlor, Chief Medical Officer of L.A. Care. "This program gives doctors the support they need to strengthen the integration of physical and behavioral healthcare in a primary care setting."

In addition to consultation services, other program elements include care management, assessment tools and educational resources. Health Integrated will also help primary care clinicians with referral support to California's Department of Mental Health or the PacifiCare Behavioral Health Network as appropriate for their patients.

"L.A. Care is a leader in supporting providers and their members, helping them to take the necessary steps to optimal health while partnering in their treatment and medication plan regimens," says Sam Toney, Vice Chairman and Chief Medical Officer at Health Integrated. "Using proven behavioral health management strategies, Health Integrated works within the primary care physicians' treatment approach to better provide the support those physicians need to most effectively treat patients with medical and psychosocial issues. By integrating the Synergy platform, L.A. Care will enhance its support of primary care providers and members, thus improving health outcomes while reducing unnecessary healthcare costs."

About L.A. Care Health Plan

L.A. Care Health Plan (Local Initiative Health Authority of Los Angeles County) is a public entity and community-accountable health plan serving residents of Los Angeles County through a variety of programs including L.A. Care's Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, Healthy Kids, and Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plan. L.A. Care is a leader in developing new programs through innovative partnerships designed to provide health coverage to vulnerable populations and to support the safety net. With nearly 800,000 members, L.A. Care is the nation's largest public health plan and has been awarded an Excellent Accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. For more information, please visit http://www.lacare.org.

About Health Integrated

Health Integrated is a Targeted Population Health Management company dedicated to integrating health with life. Driven by a strong entrepreneurial culture, Health Integrated addresses the critical interplay between physical, psychological and social health. Working with healthcare providers, health plans and their members, Health Integrated drives improvements in health status, quality of life and clinical outcomes while reducing avoidable utilization and healthcare costs. For more information, visit http://www.healthintegrated.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Mike Miniati, Health Integrated (813) 388-4030 mminiati@healthintegrated.com Marissa Jimenez, L.A. Care Health Plan (213) 694-1250 ext. 4389 mjimenez@lacare.org

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE Health Integrated

Source: PR Newswire

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