<< BACK TO AGENDA

ABSTRACT INFORMATION
Title: 'Communicating Needed Follow Up to Medical Home Providers via Provider Access'
Track: 4-Medical Home
Audience: Primary Audience: State Health Department
Secondary Audience: Medical Provider
Tertiary Audeince: Hospital/Birthing Center<
Keyword(s): follow up, marketing, medical home
Learning Objectives: Describe the Web-based tool, Provider Access, for Texas medical home providers. Identify successes and challenges in marketing this tool to providers. Describe methodology for encouraging provider to use tool.

Abstract:

Provider Access is the gateway to comprehensive hearing health records for Texas Medical Home Providers. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is the oversight agency for the Texas Early Hearing Detection and Intervention program’s newborn hearing screening program. DSHS developed this tool to assist Medical Home Providers fulfill their mandated role in caring for patients at risk for hearing loss and to help ensure children receive appropriate follow-up care for hearing loss. The web-based tool allows providers to review their patients hearing health record and highlights needed follow up care. Provider Access was launched in August 2008 to a pilot group of providers. The pilot project provided an opportunity to utilize several marketing tactics to engage the providers in using the tool. After eight months of the pilot project producing limited use of Provider Access, a new marketing strategy was designed. It proved to be both successful and very cost effective at engaging the Medical Home providers in using the tool. In the fall of 2009, Provider Access is being made available to all pediatricians in the state of Texas. This presentation will outline the pilot project successes and challenges, the successful marketing tool that was designed for the state-wide roll out and the training provided for the providers.
Presentation(s): Not Available
Handouts: Not Available
SPEAKER INFORMATION
PRESENTER(S):
Mary Catherine Hess - OZ Systems
     Credentials: MA, BS
      Mary Catherine Hess has been working with EHDI programs since 2002. She is employed by OZ Systems and works as an Account Manager for the Texas EHDI Program and the USVI EHDI Program. Previously, she was the Program Administrator for Rhode Island’s EHDI Program from 2001-2008 and co-chair of the CDC EHDI Data Committee from 2007-2008. She has presented at local, regional and national EHDI events on topics related to newborn hearing screening, data management and data reporting, and most recently standards-based messaging for EHDI programs. She achieved her MA in Linguistics from Gallaudet University and holds a BS in Communication Disorders. She is a certified ASL/English interpreter. Her interests include communication access issues in health care settings, assistive technology and long-term outcomes for deaf and hard of hearing children identified through the EHDI process. She is a yogi, pug lover and fan of NPR and folk music.
Mary Gwyn Allen - Texas State Department of Health Services
     Credentials: D. Min, MA
      Prior to joining the Texas EHDI program as the TEHDI Coordinator, Mary Gwyn Allen, M.A., served as the Project Manager for the Infant Hearing Program (AR EHDI) at the Arkansas Department of Health. She was formerly the Follow-up Consultant for the Infant Hearing Program and a Local Health Unit Administrator for the Department of Health. Prior to this, Ms. Allen was a faculty member in the Psychology Department of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Ouachita College. She has experience in psychology, research, project and grants management, and social work. She has written several publications and her biography has appeared in two volumes of Who’s Who of American Teachers.
 
AUTHOR(S):
Mary Catherine Hess - OZ Systems
     Credentials: MA, BS
      BIO: Mary Catherine Hess has been working with EHDI programs since 2002. She is employed by OZ Systems and works as an Account Manager for the Texas EHDI Program and the USVI EHDI Program. Previously, she was the Program Administrator for Rhode Island’s EHDI Program from 2001-2008 and co-chair of the CDC EHDI Data Committee from 2007-2008. She has presented at local, regional and national EHDI events on topics related to newborn hearing screening, data management and data reporting, and most recently standards-based messaging for EHDI programs. She achieved her MA in Linguistics from Gallaudet University and holds a BS in Communication Disorders. She is a certified ASL/English interpreter. Her interests include communication access issues in health care settings, assistive technology and long-term outcomes for deaf and hard of hearing children identified through the EHDI process. She is a yogi, pug lover and fan of NPR and folk music.
Mary Gwyn Allen - Texas State Department of Health Services
     Credentials: D. Min, MA
      BIO: Prior to joining the Texas EHDI program as the TEHDI Coordinator, Mary Gwyn Allen, M.A., served as the Project Manager for the Infant Hearing Program (AR EHDI) at the Arkansas Department of Health. She was formerly the Follow-up Consultant for the Infant Hearing Program and a Local Health Unit Administrator for the Department of Health. Prior to this, Ms. Allen was a faculty member in the Psychology Department of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Ouachita College. She has experience in psychology, research, project and grants management, and social work. She has written several publications and her biography has appeared in two volumes of Who’s Who of American Teachers.