Health Dialog to Provide Nurse Line Services to L.A. Care Health Plan Members

BOSTON, March 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Dialog, a leading provider of population health management solutions, announced today that it has signed an agreement with L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation's largest publicly operated health plan. The agreement gives L.A. Care's direct lines of business members in Los Angeles County access to Health Dialog's Nurse Line, a professionally staffed telephone support system with direct access to Registered Nurse (RN) Health Coaches 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Health Dialog's Nurse Line provides guidance and information to help people make informed decisions about their medical care and avoid unnecessary and costly emergency room visits. Using evidence-based clinical data, experienced Registered Nurse Health Coaches assess the urgency of symptoms and direct members to the appropriate level of care for their specific condition. They also prepare members for physician visits and help them understand medication side effects. Health Dialog's Nurse Line is certified by the National Committee for Quality Assurance and has served more than 65 million patients. According to a 2013 member survey, 90 percent of members would recommend the Nurse Line program to family or friends.

The agreement also allows L.A. Care members to access the Health Dialog Nurse Line service from 141 Rite Aid locations in the Los Angeles County area. Other services L.A. Care members can expect at these Rite Aid locations in conjunction with the Nurse Line service include translation support, immunization evaluation and support, smoking cessation programs and medication consultation with a pharmacist.

"L.A. Care's mission is to provide access to quality health care for Los Angeles County's vulnerable and low-income communities," said L.A. Care CEO John Baackes. "Like L.A. Care, Health Dialog puts people first and is accountable, responsive and understanding of the culturally diverse populations it serves. Health Dialog's highly trained Nurse Health Coaches will not only provide expert medical guidance but will do so in culturally competent ways to ensure comprehensive support for all L.A. Care members."

Health Coaches use a variety of resources to support diverse populations where challenges could impact the effectiveness of a Nurse Line call. These resources include bilingual nurses, access to live interpretation services in 200 languages, health information in multiple languages and at appropriate reading levels, and TDD/TTY accessibility for hearing-impaired members.

"For almost twenty years, Health Dialog's Nurse Line has been helping people access the right level of care at the right time and empowering them to make better health care choices," said Health Dialog CEO Web Golinkin. "We are committed to providing individualized care and meeting members where they are. Our Health Coaches transcend language, cultural and income barriers to support all members to successfully navigate the healthcare system, develop more effective relationships with their physicians, and live longer, healthier, happier lives."

About Health Dialog:
Health Dialog Services Corporation is a leading provider of population health management solutions. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Rite Aid Corporation RAD, the company works with the nation's largest third-party payers, employers and providers—as well as with its parent company Rite Aid—to improve the health and wellness of their members, employees, patients and customers while reducing costs and improving performance in key quality measures, such as NCQA's HEDIS and CMS' Stars ratings. Health Dialog's unique capabilities include data analytics, a multi-channel coaching platform, shared decision-making tools and a 24/7 nurse line. For more information, visit www.healthdialog.com.  

About L.A. Care:
L.A. Care Health Plan is a public entity and community-accountable health plan serving residents of Los Angeles County through a variety of health coverage programs including L.A. Care Covered™, Medi-Cal, L.A. Care Cal MediConnect Plan, L.A. Care's Healthy Kids and PASC-SEIU Homecare Workers Health Care Plan. L.A. Care is a leader in developing new programs through innovative partnerships designed to provide health coverage to vulnerable populations and to support the safety net. With more than 1.8 million members, L.A. Care is the nation's largest publicly operated health plan.

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SOURCE Health Dialog Services Corporation