Backus Hospital and MyHealthDirect Improve Access to Care for Patients

Since 2010, Backus has used MyHealthDirect’s access solutions to book follow-up appointments online with community-based providers for patients leaving their emergency department in Norwich, CT. This year, Backus partnered with MyHealthDirect to bring scheduling to their inpatient units and a second emergency department.

Patients discharged from Backus’ inpatient units can now obtain follow-up appointments with primary care providers and cardiologists before they leave the hospital. Backus intends to expand this service to additional specialties.

“Our partnership with MyHealthDirect helps us ensure that patients obtain the care they need following a hospital discharge,” said Shawn Mawhiney, hospital spokesman. “This leads to better health outcomes and fewer readmissions for our patients and simplified access to our services for all our consumers.”

Previous success of the initiative has also led Backus to expand use of MyHealthDirect’s scheduling access solution to its emergency care center in Plainfield, CT, which opened in 2012. Patients can now leave the emergency departments in Norwich and Plainfield with confirmed follow-up appointments in hand and avoid having to wait and make phone calls to schedule their care.

In 2013 and 2014, more than 1,200 appointments each year were made for patients through MyHealthDirect’s access solutions before they left the hospital. As a result, patients have been linked with appropriate primary care settings rather than the emergency department.

“We value our partnership with Backus and we are excited that our relationship is growing,” said Tom Cox, President and CEO of MyHealthDirect. “Backus continually strives to improve the patient experience and MyHealthDirect is always seeking to make the process of booking appointments as easy as possible.”

Future plans include using the MyHealthDirect scheduling access solution to improve access to community education programs.

About Backus Hospital

The William W. Backus Hospital, a Hartford HealthCare partner, is a not-for-profit, 213-bed hospital with numerous off-site locations, including several health centers in Eastern Connecticut, the Backus Outpatient Care Center, also in Norwich, and the Plainfield Backus Emergency Care Center.

About MyHealthDirect

MyHealthDirect is the leader in consumer healthcare access solutions, making it easy for consumers to interact with the healthcare system. MyHealthDirect solutions are improving access for over 30 million consumers in partnership with some of the nation’s largest health systems, providers and payors. By providing online scheduling systems, referral management tools and event-driven analytics, MyHealthDirect connects patients with the right provider, at the right time, from anywhere. Founded in 2005, MyHealthDirect is (HIPAA) HITRUST certified and is headquartered in Nashville, TN. For more information, visit www.myhealthdirect.com.