News Media Home | Hopkins Medicine Home
February 24, 1994
Media Contact:Joann Rodgers
Phone: (410) 955-5384
E-mail:
jRodgers@welchlink.welch.jhu.edu
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins
Hospital and Atlantic Medical Services Inc. (MAMSI), owner of MDIPA, Optimum
Choice and Alliance PPO, have entered into agreements that will make it easier
for patients to be referred to Johns Hopkins specialists.
Under terms of the contracts, all MAMSI patients have an option to
seek care from physicians on the faculty of the School of Medicine and to
arrange admission to The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Access is assured and adheres
to MAMSI standard procedure for referrals to specialty care.
With more than 950,000 members in the Baltimore-Washington area, MAMSI
is the largest
managed-care organization of its kind in the region. MDIPA is the largest
health maintenance organization, or HMO, in the state. Some 450,000 of MAMSIs
members are in Maryland.
"No matter which health-care reform laws ultimately are passed at the
state or federal level,
managed-care agreements will play a critical role for patients and physicians
in the years ahead," according to John D. Stobo, M.D., senior associate dean
for clinical science and chairman of the Department of Medicine at Hopkins.
"Our goal as always, is to make certain that patients have the widest possible
access to our expertise and our facilities."
The School of Medicine and Hopkins Hospital have been contracting with
selected managed-care organizations throughout the area to assure patient and
referring physician access to specialty care by Hopkins physicians. In
addition to MAMSI other managed-care organizations that routinely refer to
Johns Hopkins for all specialties include Prudential Health Care Plan,
Affordable Health Networks, CAPP Care and CFS Health Group (CareFirst, Free
State, Potomac Health and Delmarva). The Hospital and School of Medicine also
have agreements for selected organ transplant services or other procedures with
numerous other insurers.
For further information about managed-care contracts, call Nancy Bray
(The Johns Hopkins Hospital, 410-614-1780) or Rebecca Kritzler, R.N. (The Johns
Hopkins University School of Medicine, 410-955.9626.)