Steve Saunders, MD
Medical Consultant, Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services

How is the Medicaid program changing as a result of the implementation of Your Healthcare Plus?
We are trying to focus more on access and quality, so YHP has helped us to really focus on the quality component and also make sure our patients with chronic diseases have access to a primary care physician and a medical home.

Who benefits from the Your Healthcare Plus program?
Both the patients and the physicians benefit from YHP. We feel that the patients benefit because they have a nurse to work with them to help them understand their disease and their doctor’s recommendations, as well as to assist them in being more compliant with their physician’s orders and recommendations. We feel the primary care physicians benefit because they have the assistance of this nurse, who can be a care coordinator who can help with those complicated patients who may not be as compliant as they should be and help them to do what their supposed to do and help them better manage their patients.

How does the CME offered to primary care providers improve patient care to the target population?
We feel this CME opportunity will be valuable for primary care providers. We know a number of providers have lots of opportunity for CME, but we think this opportunity will be focused on some of the issues that primary care providers deal with on a daily basis and some of the conditions that our members with chronic diseases are suffering from, such as asthma, depression, COPD and other chronic disease conditions.

Where can primary care providers find out more about Your Healthcare Plus and how to participate?
The easiest way would be to call the Provider Hotline number that McKesson Health Solutions maintains at 1-800-973-6792.

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