Cost

You’ve probably heard it said a thousand times – “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

But you may not have heard this before – at Marshfield Clinic we want to be your partner in controlling health care costs. We’ve done it for Medicare (Read the full story here) and others, and we can do it for you.

Episode of Care

Episode of care is the total cost of resolving a health problem or injury. You need to look at the total cost of care, not just the fee for an office visit or specific procedure to determine if you’re getting value.

For example, if a patient is diagnosed with high cholesterol, how many visits does it take for the patient to bring their cholesterol to a healthy goal? If an employee suffers a workplace injury, how does the right care at the right time get the person back to work sooner?

This big picture perspective avoids the expense of an a la carte approach to multiple visits and procedures and provides better patient care. It also provides you, the buyer, with a better understanding of what you’re buying and how much it costs. Instead of pricing health care by units of service delivered, the episode of care looks at the total cost of resolving a health problem or injury.

What Marshfield Clinic Is Doing to Reduce Costs

We partner with you by keeping your employees healthy through preventative services and managing chronic health problems. Through Occupational Health Services, we also partner with you to get employees with work-related injuries back to work as soon as possible.

With 40-plus locations across Wisconsin, we’re convenient to access. We’re constantly developing new strategies to improve quality and reduce costs and these innovations are shared across our network.

Prevention

Investing in prevention services is a wise use of health care dollars. Screening is imperative for early detection of potentially serious health problems. When left untreated, these problems can become costly to treat.

Through early identification of risks, education and support for those who choose to manage their health and pursue a healthier lifestyle, Marshfield Clinic can help meet patient needs before they became expensive medical problems.

Chronic health problems

According to the federal government, hospitalizations account for 30% of every health care dollar spent. Our care management programs save money by keeping people with chronic health problems out of the hospital, which also reduces absenteeism and improves employee productivity.

By promoting self-care practices and forging partnerships with health care providers, Marshfield Clinic helps people with long-term diseases assume an active role in managing their conditions.

TeleHealth network

Marshfield Clinic’s TeleHealth Network brings high-quality specialty care and pharmacy services to small clinics and remote sites, saving patients time and money. TeleHealth uses room cameras that show both the doctor and patient.

Special hand-held cameras can zoom in for tight close-ups, while fiber-optic and digital exam tools help recreate the in-person exam. The results are specialty care close to home, faster response times for tests and consultations, and better coordination with the primary care physician.

Additional initiatives

These are additional Marshfield Clinic initiatives designed to help reduce your health care costs:

• Health risk assessments
• Proactive management of employees’ main health concerns
• Mobile mammography
• Mobile audiology
• Educational lunch and learn programs
• Smoking cessation programs
• Behavioral health programs
• Worksite ergonomics
• Occupational therapy
• Occupational health services
• Value purchasing employee education

What Your Employees Can Do to Reduce Costs

Just as there are three elements to the Value Equation – value, quality and cost – it takes full participation by three groups to make it work – purchasers, doctors and the patients themselves.

Your employees can play an important role in reducing health care costs, starting by beginning or building on a relationship with a primary care physician. Patients can turn to their primary care or family care doctor rather than use expensive urgent care or emergency room facilities to manage chronic conditions.

Primary care doctors also recommend and schedule screenings for common health issues to catch potential problems in their early, most treatable stages.

It can be difficult to remember everything before, during and after a visit to the clinic. Before an appointment, patients should prepare by making a list of questions or symptoms to discuss with the doctor. During the appointment, ask for written information about health problems, treatments or lifestyle changes.

Pricing

Sticker shock is one of the all-too-common and unfortunate side effects of medical procedures. You can avoid unpleasant surprises by getting a fee estimate ahead of time.

Get the facts

To get an accurate estimate of a medical procedure you need to know exactly what the physician will do. Even simple problems like varicose veins can be treated in multiple ways, such as endovenous laser treatment, radiofrequency occlusion or vein stripping – all with different fees. Ask the doctor for details or the “CPT codes.”

You’ll also need to know exactly where the procedure will take place. For example, if your primary care physician recommends a colonoscopy, it is not likely that procedure can be done by your primary care doctor at your doctor’s office. Does that mean you need to go to the hospital? Not necessarily— a colonoscopy can be done at an Ambulatory Surgery Center. Factors like this have a significant effect on the total cost of the procedure.

Get an estimate

Once you have identified the exact procedure that will be done and the type of facility where it will take place, you can find out how much it will cost at Marshfield Clinic by contacting a fee estimator.

You don’t even have to be a patient of ours. Our estimators will tell you what charges you would incur for that procedure at a Marshfield Clinic facility. Managed care coordinators will work with you to verify coverage for procedures and diagnostic services.

To contact a fee estimator or managed care coordinator, please contact the Marshfield Clinic Patient Assistance Center at 800-782-8581, extension 9-4475.