Q     Why should I worry about my health care    costs? 

 A      Health care costs are rising at a rate of 10 to 15% a year. Over the past three years a trend has started where these costs are being passed to you. This will get worse in the coming years. You may end up paying for majority of your health care costs.

With the introduction of HRA (Healthcare Reimbursement Accounts) and FSA (Flexible Saving account) by your employer you will be responsible for more and more of health care decisions that will affect you financially.

Those who understand their health and disease states better will come out as ‘winners’ in this new era of health care.

Q.      But I am healthy? Why should I care?

A.      This may sound strange but it is true. Everyone who is a patient today had the same words to say a few months or a few years ago. Get the message.

Good news is that you are healthy as of today. Question is how to stay healthy that you do not become a patient in the future? That is where we can work with you to help you achieve that goal.

Q.      But I go to a doctor. Why I need ARAM?

A.     Many studies including one from RAND Institute (2004 and then 2006 study), New England Journal of Medicine March 26, 2006 study have shown the same results.

New York State Government HMO Report Card for 2004 and then for 2005 shows that even patients with health insurance that go for care to providers do not get the care they should be getting in over 50% of cases. Data shown has similar outcomes for most healthplans and New York State reflects the National averages (All this shown as bar charts - Summary at our site).

I have never seen odds so negatively stacked against anyone. One in two chance of getting care that may lead to lifelong disability. It is worse than drunk driving and even worse than Russian Roulette where the chances of

suffering a loss are only 50/50!

ARAM will inform you deficiencies in your care and then help you fix those deficiencies so that you can live a happy and healthy life for a long time to come.

Q.      I have an excellent doctor who takes the best care of me. Why do I need ARAM?

A.      Suffice it to say, all those patients mentioned in the studies we quoted may also have believed what you believe. When it comes to my health and the chances are only 50/50 I will pay attention rather than live in a dream world.

Let me clarify. We are not blaming your doctor here. We are blaming you for being naïve and in denial and hiding behind excuses you know will not hold.

The factor for ultimately poor care may be communication barrier where what is said is not fully understood or worked upon by you. Also your doctor may be the best say ‘Cardiologist’ in the world but is he a good ‘Gynecologist’ too? And a good ‘Gastroenterologist’ too? In today’s medicine no one can keep up-to-date with all the branches of medicine. ARAM helps by providing a ‘one common platform’ for you to learn about your health and well being.

Q.      What are ‘gaps’ in healthcare?

A.     Suppose you have high blood pressure. National guidelines define that your pressure should be below 120 / 80. If it is not, this is a gap in your care.

Another example – if you are over 25 years of age and did not have your cholesterol checked or if it is not properly controlled this is a gap in your care.

If you a woman who is say 55 years of age and did not have a mammogram for the past two years this is a gap in your care.

If you are over 50 and did not have a colonoscopy in the last 5 years this is a gap in your care.

Q.      Why is it important to know gaps in care?

A.       Each gap in care can be the end of good life    you have.

In the above example poorly controlled blood pressure leads to increased chances of stroke and kidney failure, poor cholesterol control put you at a higher risk of a heart attack or stroke, missing a mammogram or colonoscopy takes away the advantage of early detection of cancer for you. Managing a late stage cancer is not only expensive it can be debilitating and may even result into death from disease or its treatment.

Q.      How many gaps does ARAM look for?

A.     Based on what is your health status we evaluate you for thousands of possible gaps in your care. With changing guidelines we redefine your gaps and inform you accordingly. We remain up to date. For example – a few years ago a systolic (upper) blood pressure of 130 may not have been considered a gap in care. An extensive study showed that if the blood pressure is between 120 and 140, there are more chances of getting a stroke. So now a blood pressure of 130 is a gap in your care.

Q.      Shouldn’t my provider know about all this?

A.     It takes 8 to 10 years for the message to get through. A landmark study in 1994 - DCCT (Diabetes Complications Control Trial) showed that keeping the blood sugar under control decreases chances of diabetic complications. 12 years later still 70% of diabetics have poor sugar control.

Five years ago American College of Gastroenterology came up with the recommendations for colonoscopy to detect cancer of colon early. 6 years later 70% people still do not have colonoscopy. Over 90% of high risk patients with family history of colon cancer or polyp still have not had their colonoscopy as recommended by the National Guidelines.

10 years ago the recommendations came for mammograms. 30% women still do not have mammograms as required.

We will educate you on the need of removing the gaps from your care, explain to you details about the gaps in your care; help remove the fear factor and encourage you and work with you (and with your permission your provider) to fix these gaps in your care.

Q.      How do I know if there are gaps in my healthcare?

A.     Once you become members with ARAM you will get an opportunity to do exactly that – find out gaps in your care, learn about those gaps and learn as to how to fix those gaps.

Q.      My company provides best insurance coverage. Why I need ARAM ?

        
Whatever amount of money you may spend on your healthcare if gaps in your care are not addressed you are still at risk of developing serious medical problems which no amount of money can correct at a later date.

Q.      I have no health insurance. How can ARAM help?

A.     We are neither an insurance company nor a provider of health services. We are an educational institution that will help you control your health care costs through better understanding of your disease and empower you to make the right decisions that your quality of care can be improved.

If you have no health insurance you need to make the best of your visit to the doctor’s office. Learning how to take care of yourself and what you need to do to fix the gaps in your health care, learning what you need to get done by your provider on each visit to optimize your care may decrease the visits to the emergency room ($900 each) or admission to the hospital ( $12,000 each on an average).

Our program costs pennies to the dollar you may need to spend if you do not fix the gaps in your care.

Q.      Where can I learn more about ARAM?

A.      Visit www.myaram.com 

Q      Can I buy this program for my friend/sister/brother/parents/loved one?

A       Definitely. Our program is totally anonymous. If you need to buy for your relatives and friend give them the user id and password in this sealed envelope provided to you. In compliance with the HIPAA law only one end user can have access to one set of user id and password.