South by Southwest is this really cool Music, Film, and Interactive Festival.  The interactive part refers to anything new and interesting in the online space and that is where we are headed, we hope, with a little help from the Friends of FairCareMD (please share and forward this post!)

It doesn’t happen until next March but there are 2,800+ submissions and only 200 spots.  In order to decide who gets to present their ideas there is a contest and people vote for their favorite ideas.  Honestly, we probably would have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting voted in but fortunately that is only 30% of our final grade.  Still, every vote counts though so click the button if you can and please vote for us!

The presentation is entitled DIY Healthcare Reform and talks about the collaborative network we are helping to build that connects people and doctors through the whole continuum of care.

Here is the panel description I submitted:

Direct Provider Access Networks: DIY Healthcare Reform NOW!
Description
Doctors, Employers, and most Americans are unclear on how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will work for them but a few million of us are not waiting to find out.  With over 100 million Americans paying directly for a large portion of their care themselves, the need for a better way to Go Direct for care has never been greater.  In the past year over 2 million Americans and thousands of doctors have started using “Direct Provider Access” networks (DPAs) rather than traditional insurance-based medicine alone.  This is because these new websites and physician practice models allow for DIY Healthcare Reform NOW and provide better care at reduced costs compared to insurance-based medicine.  Patients are taking charge of their own healthcare, paying directly, and using insurance for emergencies only.  Doctors love DPAs too because being paid directly lets them put the Care back into Healthcare.  Direct Pay medicine reduces overhead costs by up to 40% allowing them to spend more time on giving great care.  This significant mindshift is changing the healthcare landscape.  In 2010 DPAs have been the fastest growing networks in America and thanks to one of our presenters, they have even been written into the Healthcare Reform legislation!

In a short, interactive play starring some of the leaders of the DIY Healthcare Reform/ Patient Empowerment movement we will show how DPAs are changing the Patient Experience and improving care.  ePatient Dave deBronkart visits the doctor (played by Hello Health University President Dr. L. Gordon Moore.)  PPACA Contributor and Direct Pay Pioneer, Dr. Garrison Bliss, and pricing transparency innovator Dr. Jeff Rice will spotlight how their innovations are enabling the changes we are seeing today.  Former Insurance executive, now DPA thought leader, Gregg Masters explains how it all works from a Insurance company view and Alex Fair, CEO of FairCareMD, one of the fastest growing DPAs, explains how the Healthy Online Patient Experience (HOPE) project integrates and provides the best experience for doctors and patients and why there is now HOPE for everyone.

… and then they will sit down and discuss and take questions

More about HOPE

From the moment that you feel pain – or preferably before then, the healthcare system is intimidating. HOPE NOW! enables patients to connect and create the care they need. HOPE NOW is just a mashup of companies that are all working to improve the Patient Experience by integrating their apps to deliver patients with the best possilble online and off experience. More on this later…

So Please Please Please go vote for us! Thank You!

Oh, and just now Dr. Bliss was on TV talking about the same topic:

Tags: change we can make happen today, Direct Provider Access networks, DPA, innovation in healthcare, Patients in charge