Physicians Urged to Register on FindLADocs.com

(Baton Rouge, LA)
As the 2006 hurricane season approaches, the www.FindLADocs.com Web site will continue to give Louisiana physicians and patients a way to stay connected if storms force them to evacuate again.

More than 900 physicians are already registered on the free site. Before another hurricane creates a crisis, they should make sure their information is up-to-date. Physicians who have not yet registered should consider taking advantage of this secure, non-commercial tool for staying in touch with their colleagues and patients.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita demonstrated the urgent need for maintaining communications within the health care arena when a disaster strikes, particularly when doctors and patients are displaced. In October, Louisiana Health Care Review, Inc. (LHCR), a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of health care, teamed up with Baton Rouge-based MD Technologies, Inc., and several other health care partners to develop a Web-based registry for physicians to log important contact or emergency information. This site includes a search engine for finding physicians who have registered and a Web log for patients and physicians to post messages.

The site also allows physicians to establish a free email account (e.g. DrJohnDoe@FindLADocs.com) that can be used to communicate with patients or other health care providers without the need to divulge private contact information.

Physicians can also use the site as a one-step shop for links to resources that could help them re-establish private practices. LHCR will use it to find out which physicians are willing to serve as first responders in the event of another emergency.

All physician information provided in the private section of FindLADocs.com will remain private and will be used only in a disaster situation by an authorized entity.

FindLADocs.com has been endorsed by a large number of leading health care organizations, including the Louisiana Hospital Association, the Louisiana State Medical Society, the Louisiana Medical Group Managers Association, and the Louisiana Rural Health Association, as well as several parish medical societies.

For more information, go to http://www.FindLADocs.com, or contact LHCR Clinical Liaison Lois Smyth, 225-248-7884 or LHCR Director of Communications Cathy Lewis, 225-248-7062.

Louisiana Health Care Review, Inc. is a non-profit organization working with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to improve the quality of health care for Louisiana’s Medicare beneficiaries. For more information visit www.lhcr.org.

This material was prepared by Louisiana Health Care Review, Inc. (LHCR), the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Louisiana, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy.
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Cathy Lewis
Director of Communications
Louisiana Health Care Review, Inc.
8591 United Plaza Blvd, Ste. 270
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
Phone: (225) 248-7062
FAX (225) 248-7800
clewis@lhcr.org

 

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Page updated: 5/30/06