IU Health aims to increase clinical care

A partnership between IU and IU Health will make health care easier to access through an initiative to assist IU employees, retirees and their families, according to a press release.

The initiative, called the Integrated Clinical Care Service pilot, will provide more opportunities for those covered by an IU-sponsored health plan to have greater access to health care at the lowest possible cost, said Mark Land, associate vice president for University Communications.

“The point is to help provide more health care options and options that work better for our employees,” he said.

More walk-in appointments will become available at up to four locations in the Bloomington area, Land said. These locations have yet to be determined.

“We don’t want to leave people with the impression that we are building new clinics,” he said, affirming that all locations already exist.

Nurse care managers, who can help patients with chronic or complicated medical conditions with the management of their care, will be added as well.

Land said this is particularly important because those with such conditions account for the majority of health care spending.

This will hopefully maximize the quality of care and lower costs, according to the release.

“That’s going to be a big piece, is doing what we can to help those folks get better care and also bring the cost of that care down,” Land said.

The third aspect of the pilot will establish a medical records system, which will allow an easier medical information transfer among different doctors’ offices, he said.
This phase of the pilot is set to begin by the end of the year, Land said.

The second phase, which will launch next year, aims to expand the program to include pediatrics and to extend care to surrounding areas, he said. 

“The health care environment is very challenging,” he said. “We’re constantly looking for ways to find the balance between good care and the lowest possible cost.”

— Kourtney Liepelt