Employers, Health Plans Access High Quality, Cost Effective Hospitals and Providers
June 1, 2009, 12:22 pm EDT--DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Responding to the growing demand among employers, health plans, and other stakeholders for a comprehensive, network of US-based healthcare centers of excellence for medical travel, BridgeHealth Medical today unveiled its initial US system of providers comprised of over twenty superior hospitals and hundreds of health professionals in over a dozen states across the United States. With a focus on serving businesses and individuals for the delivery of exceptional US medical care, BridgeHealth unveiled its World-Class Provider Network™ to expand upon its existing international footprint, offering an extensive range of high demand medical procedures, a wide choice of top hospitals, and options for accessing expert providers at significant savings.
“BridgeHealth selects only top rated hospitals for its domestic network,” says Victor Lazzaro, Jr., CEO of BridgeHealth, explaining that at minimum, each hospital must be in the top decile in terms of overall quality as rated by The Delta Group as well as score highly with other ratings agencies. “By partnering with high quality providers and tracking their outcomes, we can best optimize the utilization of a medical travel program. This focus relies upon the use of both external and internal quality criteria in selecting provider partners for our network.”
BridgeHealth has established stringent evaluation criteria including the review of major areas such as hospital accreditation, patient flow, nurse-to-patient ratios, Quality Improvement programs, staffing and other performance-related activities. It also encompasses benchmarks for travel coordination, including transfers, hotels and other concierge services.
The BridgeHealth World-Class Provider Network™ represents the widest range of choices now available for domestic medical travel, offering patients a vast array of surgical options including:
“BridgeHealth is an established industry leader in medical travel, and now brings to market a nationwide network that delivers high quality care and treatments to Americans traveling within the country as well as for international patients seeking care in the US,” says Lazzaro. “We have built a quality domestic network that offers greater transparency and greater consumer choice while providing significant savings for healthcare stakeholders. This network mirrors our rigorous international standards, with Joint Commission accredited hospitals here in the United States and JCI-accredited institutions throughout the world.”
Patients will benefit from experienced care support through world-class concierge services assisting throughout the HIPAA-compliant process, from the gathering of an individual’s medical history to scheduling procedures, arranging travel and lodging, and coordinating post-surgical, follow-up care. Employers can share in significant healthcare savings and often-increased provider quality over what they may currently have.
In qualifying hospitals and facilities for participation, BridgeHealth utilizes criteria that include:
“These centers of excellence give employers, health plans, and consumers another option for accessing quality care.” continues Lazzaro. “BridgeHealth’s domestic network delivers the same cost savings stakeholders have come to value in international medical travel, with the added benefit of being able to remain within the United States.”
About BridgeHealth Medical
BridgeHealth Medical is the premier service provider in the burgeoning medical travel industry, founded with a vision “to create a trusted bridge to the world of medical care.” BridgeHealth offers both US domestic and international networks and serves health plans, insurance carriers, employers, third party administrators, individuals accessing benefits via voluntary benefits plans, health and affinity card programs or Consumer Directed Health Care Plans (CDHP), and individual consumers seeking medical travel options. Visit www.BridgeHealthMedical.com