Frequently Asked Questions

[expand title=” Will it take a lot of people to accomplish your goal?”]

Yes it will. Fortunately, our goal includes employing a lot of people, and that’s a good thing! We will help our nation’s 11 million dual-eligibles better adhere to their care plans by creating 20 million sustainable jobs that pay fair wages for a fair day’s work. We will use PHIER-proofed (specially-trained) health/social workers, mental health professionals and counselors to coordinate care and transportation for high need, high cost patients living with complex health and social issues. This plan will employ and serve people of all ages, races, income, educational levels and identities. By focusing on cities first where there is the biggest need, we will invite health and social workers, mental health professionals, etc. and Community/Safety Net organizations to participate in this project, as well as, qualify for performance-based grants and other incentives to make it worth their while.[/expand]

[expand title=”Will it take a lot of time to realize your vision?”]

No! Savings can begin on health-related goods and services the moment we hit “critical mass”. For this reason, the first step in our launch plan is a membership drive to get people to join quickly. In less than 3 months, every dual eligible we serve will begin achieving better outcomes than nonparticipants with similar conditions. In less than 1 year, every job we create will be 100% self-sustaining and paid for by savings directly attributed to our program, through social impact bonds and grants. In less than 1 year the entire program in each region will be 100% self-sustaining.[/expand]

[expand title=”Where will you find the workers (PHIERmen/women) to deliver on this vision?”]

The ranks of the un(der)employed in the U.S. today. More than 70% of the public health and social safety net workforce has been laid off since the Sequester. Most have only found work in retail and service oriented jobs, since health and hospital systems have started cutting staff and benefits. We will recruit and train health professionals like these to use our health/IT and case management systems to accomplish our vision. We can begin training immediately, and any “PHIER-proofed” (PHIERS certified) worker can promptly begin helping veterans and dual-eligibles better adhere to their care plans, making them marketable. They can also help community organizations migrate to a shared information service to improve patient adherence and outcomes. [/expand]

[expand title=”How can I or my organization participate?”]

To get started, we invite you or your organization to register for the PHIERStorm webinar series. You will learn about upcoming and online VistA and PHIERplace training session(s). This will enable individuals and PHIERStations to play an effective role in this community-based health reform solution. By registering you will also learn more about the community organizations near you that are participating. [/expand]

[expand title=”How will PHIERS and its member organizations get paid?”]

In less than 6 months, every job we “co-create” and every patient we serve who is living with complex chronic diseases will have a positive cost benefit to taxpayers – making us eligible for “social impact bonds”, contracts and grants. The same is true for safety net and community organizations that leverage PHIER-powered resources in the community to improve the health status of their “charges/members”.

PHIERS, the cooperative, will receive small transaction fees from our wholesalers, while guaranteeing the lowest costs to our members and Medicare/Medicaid. We also accept donations and we are launching a crowdfunding campaign to help us raise the funds to officially launch and begin reaping rewards on behalf of the middle/working class and the less fortunate. Finally, we will receive a small fee for training private, fee-for-service-based providers and facilities to get the most out of PHIERS and the connected, VistA-based infrastructure[/expand]

[expand title=”What’s does PHIERS offer job seekers?”]

For skilled laborers: health and social workers, mental health professionals, first responders, child /adult day care and medical transportation providers, etc.:

Free training on VistA and PHIERS web apps
Jobs: training, matching, referral and placement service
Performance-based compensation: living to competitive wages
Deep discounts through the PHIERSale marketplace
Peace of mind knowing you will be compensated fairly for the value you offer others

For unskilled laborers: baby/adult sitters, day laborers, deliveries, house keeping, etc.

Free life skills and basic jobs training
Minimum wage jobs with benefits
Deep discounts through the PHIERSale marketplace
Peace of mind and sense of pride knowing you will gain skills to help you become a contributing member of society [/expand]

[expand title=”What does PHIERS offer Community & Safety Net Organizations?”]

Free marketing, PR and Referral services through the PHIERplace and PHIERSale
Funding and administrative support
- leverage strengths of the community
- coordinated interventions
- performance-based grants, membership rewards and more
Tools, training, resources and staffing support
Benefits begin in Q1/Q2 2017 [/expand]

[expand title=”What does PHIERS offer Patients & Caregivers?”]

Peace of mind thanks to:
- a secure case management and health information record to improve quality and continuity of care when traveling across settings and between providers
- all members of your patient-centered care team having access to the right information at the right time
- Access to a specially-trained case manager / care coordinator to help keep patient records up to date
Support from local providers and facilitators, to to help you (or your loved one) better adhere to their care plan(s) while balancing competing priorities
Deep discounts on health-related products and services.
NOTE: Services in select regions planned for Q2/Q3 2017[/expand]

[expand title=”How are providers found and engaged?”]

Health and hospital systems, behavioral health and safety net programs usually have a preferred list of community service providers that they know and trust and refer their clients to. We will invite them to participate and reap the benefits of the PHIERStorm. Providers who register and use PHIERS to track encounters and outcomes, who participate in community-wide interventions and health fairs, or who collaborate on behalf of shared patients will benefit from free PR and referrals, in comparison with nonparticipating providers.

Why? Because if they don’t share data, they are more likely to jeopardize patient safety and contribute to fragmented and uncoordinated, more costly care.[/expand]

[expand title=”Who coordinates services for patients?”]

PHIERmen/women and PHIERStation staff will coordinate care and transportation for patients who desire this, and other types of support. Our application will enable the Patient to authorize a “PHIER-powered case manager” to access case notes, observations and other various parts of the record to improve the quality, coordination and continuity of care. This is especially important for patients who travel across settings and between providers. Otherwise, the patient (account holder) is responsible. Before and after each encounter with a provider, they will be reminded to update their health record to keep everyone up to date. Our team members are available to help manage / update data as well. This is important for patients unable to, or unfamiliar with digital health and support services.[/expand]

[expand title=”How do providers communicate about a shared patient/client?”]

This will be done automatically, through group access control lists and granular consent built into the HIPAA-compliant PHR / EMR by default. It will notify each member of a patient’s care team according to their role and level of access.[/expand]

[expand title=”What steps are necessary for a user to withdraw from the program?”]

Once an account is deleted all data, privileges, rights, etc. is deleted and rescinded.[/expand]

[expand title=”Why is PHIERS needed if VistaA exists?”]
Although VistA has been around since the mid 90’s, its adoption has not kept pace with commercial systems that have large marketing budgets and contracts with the health care giants. For these reasons, VistA has failed to attract enough users to make it relevant and a contender for the ONC’s plans for a national health information exchange. PHIERS can help.

Today, most safety net organizations use isolated record keeping systems (paper, spreadsheets, etc.) and are unable to collaborate with other community organizations on behalf of shared patients. PHIERworks will train millions to use VistA to care for veterans and duals, while helping community organizations migrate to a community-wide infrastructure to help them function like an accountable care organization – for a fraction of the cost of commercial systems. Without PHIERS, VistA will most likely fade away as privatization takes hold.

With PHIERS, VistA can help organizations that care for the underserved compete with the health care giants. In addition to being the foundation for drug research and validation, it can engage entire communities in studies and ethical clinical trials. It will become a household name as high risk patients learn about it and benefit from its use.

That said, although VistA exists, it has untapped potential that PHIERS.org will use to address issues and deficiencies in other areas. [/expand]

[expand title=”Why should I buy from you instead of places like Walmart, Costco, BJ’s, Rite Aid, GoodRX?”]

Although prices are cheap for the patient, CMS (and taxpayers) pay full price for medications because they are prohibited from negotiating for lower costs. This further jeopardizes CMS’s ability to remain solvent for the future. PHIERS.org will negotiate for lower prices and pass the savings on to our members and CMS through the PHIERSale marketplace- potentially saving trillions over the next 5 years.[/expand]

[expand title=”Can PHIERS survive cuts to entitlements and changes to Health/IT with a new administration?”]

Members of the PHIERS.org team will do our best to remain vigilant and compliant with existing and emerging policy positions, community needs and trends. For example, the 3 ways the new administration could impact Health/IT Regulations are built directly into our solution.

Shift to the private sector: The incoming administration may prefer a private sector-led approach to health IT implementation, reducing the direct role of the government.
Cut funding: The incoming administration might be pressured to reduce federal funding if it needs to reallocate resources to pay for its more sweeping healthcare goals
Focus on cyber-security: A administration would focus on healthcare cyber-security while increasing jobs for Health/IT workers and cyber-security professionals.

In all 3 cases, PHIERS is ahead of the curve and ready to deliver a solution that meets or exceeds requirements (or we will adapt).

[/expand]