Indianapolis Medical Society

Project Health

The Mission

Project Health is an initiative of the Indianapolis Medical Society Foundation to expand access to healthcare for low-income, adult, uninsured residents of Indianapolis (Marion County), in partnership with volunteer physicians, hospitals, community clinics, the pharmaceutical industry and other providers in a system of coordinated, case managed, charity care.

Project Health Goals

• Increase access to comprehensive care for low income, uninsured Marion County residents
• Reduce the burden of charity care on hospital Emergency Departments
• More equitably distribute the burden of charity care among hospitals, group practices and individual physicians

What Project Health Has Achieved

In the first four years 903 volunteer doctors and the three largest Indianapolis hospital systems have DONATED more than $9.5 Million Dollars in health services to Project Health patients. This includes 10 open heart procedures, 4 corneal transplants, 2 brain surgeries, many cancer surgeries accompanied by chemotherapy and radiation, a hip replacement, dozens of gall bladder and cataract removals….and the list goes on.

Since 2004 frivolous emergency room visits have gone from 77% to less than 1% in 2006 and holding.

Non-Urgent ER Visits Dramatically Reduced

Paula Hall, MD

“Project Health boils down to Hoosiers taking care of Hoosiers,” says Paula Hall, MD, Chairman of Project Health’s Advisory Board. “The experts said it could not be done in Indianapolis because we have such a competitive healthcare market. We have proven them wrong many times over. Taking care of a Project Health patient is like helping your neighbor who is a little down on his luck. They are unbelievably grateful, and you feel good for having had the opportunity to help.”

Project Health Participating Hospitals

• Clarian Health – Methodist and IU Hospitals
• Community Hospitals – North, East and South
• St. Vincent Hospitals – 86th Street and Carmel
• St. Vincent Women’s Hospital
• The Indiana Heart Hospital
• The St. Vincent Heart Center
• The Rehabilitation Hospitals of Indiana

Others Donating Services to Project Health

• Mid-America Clinical Laboratories
• Ameripath
• Clarian Labs

How it Works

• Patients are referred to Project Health by their family doctors or the community clinics where they get primary care.
• Project Health screens them for financial eligibility.
• The Marion County Health Department’s Ind-E-App program helps us determine whether the patient has insurance, VA benefits, Medicaid, or Wishard Advantage.
• If the patient qualifies they get a Project Health ID card to show whenever they go to a participating doctor, hospital or lab.
• Project Health makes appointments with participating specialty doctors. If surgery is needed we coordinate with the hospital, radiology, and anesthesiology to make sure everything runs smoothly.
• If the patient needs an interpreter, one is assigned and accompanies the patient at every visit. We have our own group of medically certified interpreters.
• Providers send us claim forms that are entered into our electronic medical record (EMR) system to track the value of donated care. All statistics come from actual claims (not some extrapolation). This EMR was donated and custom changes were made to meet our demographic reporting needs by iSalus Healthcare Solutions in Indianapolis.
• Hospitals, doctors and other providers write off the charges at the end of every month. Nobody gets paid. Everything is donated!

Who are Project Health Patients?

58% work but most are working in low paying jobs where either their employer doesn’t offer health insurance (22%) or they can’t afford the premiums (54%)

86% are clinically obese and 38% have type 2 diabetes. 40% of our minority patients have diabetes.

Project Health patients are atypical. They majority of them don’t visit a physician or clinic at the first sign of illness, because they don’t have the money. These patients wait until their conditions become serious and intolerable before seeking medical help. They present to Project Health with Stage 3 and 4 cancers. Diabetes patients come to Project Health with complications of retinal bleeding, uncontrolled blood sugars, heart damage, vascular compromise, high cholesterol and major stroke risk. Almost ALL of their health problems could have been prevented with early detection. They have worked hard all of their lives; they are humble; they are embarrassed to ask for help; they are losing their homes, retirement savings and virtually everything they have due to medical bills. Currently the leading cause of personal bankruptcies in the U.S. is medical bills.

Still, not everybody without insurance can become a Project Health patient. Not only must they meet the income eligibility guidelines, they must agree to abide by a strict set of rules. Project Health patients have proven themselves to be compliant patients because they know that if they break the rules, they will be dropped from the program. The standards for participation in Project Health are high and the patients rise to meet them.

Patient Responsibilities

• Have a family physician or clinic to provide most of their care. If they don’t have one, we find them one.
• Show up for their appointments on time, and call the doctor and Project Health if an emergency keeps them from making the appointment. Project Health provides bus passes AND interpreters. We have very few no-shows.
• Make all reasonable attempts to avoid using the emergency rooms for non-urgent care.
• Notify Project Health if they move or change addresses.
• Follow their treatment plan, get the tests the doctor orders, and get their medication so that they can get better and need to see the doctors less.
• Make sure to have the doctor’s office precertify any labs, tests or procedures outside his/her office. If they do not do this, the patient will be responsible for the bill.
• Apply for Medicaid or another assistance program at Project Health’s request.

Benefits to Doctors Volunteers

• The doctor decides how many additional charity care patients they can accommodate.
• All you have to do is treat the patient. Project Health handles the rest of case management.
• Project Health also sends medically certified interpreters with the patient when necessary.
• By providing comprehensive care patients get better, need to see you less often, leaving time for other patients.
• You can refer your existing charity care patients to Project Health. They can get very low copay brand name drugs by calling Rx for Indiana at 877-793-0765. Patients can get generic drugs for a $4 co-pay at Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Target, Meijer.

Doctors who want to volunteer should call Carrie Jackson-Logsdon at 262-5625.