Collaborative Care

For years, we have seen thousands of patients bounce from one emergency room to another seeking care. The difficult issue for these patients is that they use the emergency room for routine doctor visits or wait until their disease or illness is out of control before seeking medical attention. Many of you who are reading this have a primary care physician and can relate to how important it is to have a doctor help you maintain your health. Many of you may not have insurance or find it difficult to afford to go see the doctor. Whatever your situation, I want to share with you some exciting new things we are doing to help patients in Tarrant County find the care they need at an affordable price.

Before I do that, let me set the scene in our ER for you. Last year, our emergency department treated more than 83,000 patients. That is a lot of patients! One of the biggest challenges is treating this many patients in a 55-bed emergency room. Many of the patients who come to us are very injured or very sick – and they absolutely should visit the emergency room for urgent care.

Unfortunately, we have also seen an upward trend of individuals who use the emergency room like a doctor’s office – which ends up creating more congestion and longer waits in the ER. Even more important than a busy ER, is the fact that using the ER for routine health care is not the best way to maintain your health in the long run. It is not good for your health and it does not allow you to have the consistency in your health care that you need.

So how are we working to solve these issues for our patients? After several years of discussions, we have formed a collaborative care model with John Peter Smith Hospital (JPS) to help those people who do not have primary care physicians as well as those individuals who do not have insurance. Both hospitals recognize that a collaborative spirit is necessary in these current economic times. Rising unemployment and a growing uninsured population are universal challenges for health care systems and our patients both across the nation and here in North Texas. Patients who have to pay their own bill without insurance (“self-pay” patients) will receive a discount on their health care at JPS through JPS’ Connection Program. This program will help provide a medical home for the uninsured.

I want to be clear about the type of patients who can be part of the program. Patients who present to the emergency room at Texas Health Fort Worth with emergency medical conditions will be treated immediately and may not necessarily be a candidate for this program. Patients who do qualify and are not experiencing a medical emergency will benefit from low cost co-pays, cheaper medications and can receive check-ups for as little as $5. More importantly these patients can find a doctor who knows them and who has a history with them.

Soon, Texas Health Fort Worth will become the home to a full-time JPS employee to work with self-pay patients, answer their questions and help them connect with a doctor at John Peter Smith when they are medically ready.

We are proud to provide these medical options for our patients and look forward to developing this service to help our patients. I will keep you posted in the weeks to come.



- Lillie Biggins, vice president of operations
Photo credit: Glen E. Ellman