A recent report by two national non-profits, the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute and the Catalyst for Payment Reform, evaluated all 50 states on health price transparency. Virginia was one of seven states that was graded a “B.” You can learn more about the report in this article from the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

As patients, one step of our research can be to compare data on health care prices in Virginia. The Virginia Health Information Web site lists the average cost of over 30 common procedures and compares prices based on the facility where it is performed. For example, the data compares the cost of having a screening, such as a bone density scan, in a hospital as compared to a doctor’s office. According to the data, having a bone density scan at a doctor’s office is on average 61 percent less expensive than having the scan at a hospital.

One part of our mission at Virginia Women’s Center is to offer convenient access to other services that complement the OB-GYN care we provide. For this reason, we have expanded beyond traditional OB-GYN care to offer our patients services such as urology care,  high-risk pregnancy care, OB genetic counseling, ultrasounds, in-office procedures, mammograms, bone density scans, psychology and onsite labs. Originally, we started to offer these services because it was convenient for our patients. Since integrating these services into our practice, we have found additional benefits. Some patients have less anxiety and are more likely to seek these services when they are already familiar with Virginia Women’s Center. In addition, our electronic health records allow for coordinated care across our five locations and many service lines.

As more employers are offering high-deductible health plans, we are beginning to realize another benefit for our patients: cost savings. While some procedures need to be performed in the hospital, many are able to be performed in the office and at a much lower price tag.

Research is an important step for all of us to become more informed health care consumers. What resources have you found helpful in your research?

Virginia Women’s Center is an advertiser on Richmondmom.com

Beginning Monday, January 7, 2013, Virginia Women’s Center health care providers will have the Tdap vaccine available for our patients who have never received it before. Pregnant patients who wish to receive the Tdap vaccine will be vaccinated at an appointment after 20 weeks gestation.

What is pertussis? 

Pertussis, also called whooping cough, is a highly contagious disease that causes severe coughing. People with pertussis may make a “whooping” sound when they try to breathe. In newborns, pertussis can be a life-threatening illness. It can be prevented with a vaccine called Tdap.

Who should receive a Tdap vaccine?

• Women who are pregnant and have never received a Tdap vaccine before should receive it after 20 weeks gestation. The Tdap vaccine will protect the mother and baby from serious illness and the complications of pertussis.
• Women who did not receive the vaccine during pregnancy should receive it immediately after the baby is born.
• Women who are breastfeeding and who did not receive the vaccine during pregnancy or immediately postpartum.
• Women who have never received a Tdap vaccine before and who are planning pregnancy or who may become pregnant.
• Family members and/or caregivers of newborns who have never received a Tdap vaccine should receive it at least two weeks prior to having contact with a baby.
• Patients with an unknown or uncertain Tdap vaccination status are considered unvaccinated and are therefore eligible to receive the vaccine.

What are the risks of pertussis in infants?

In 2010, 27,550 cases of pertussis were reported in the United States; 3,350 of those cases were in infants younger than 6 months of age – 25 of those infants died. Studies have shown that when the source of pertussis was identified, mothers were responsible for 30 to 40 percent of infant infections.

Pertussis can cause serious and sometimes life-threatening complications in infants, especially within the first six months of life. In infants younger than one year of age who get pertussis, more than half must be hospitalized. The younger the infant, the more likely treatment in the hospital will be needed. Of those infants who are hospitalized with pertussis, about one in five will get pneumonia and one in 100 will die.

How can pertussis be prevented in infants?

There are currently no pertussis vaccines licensed or recommended for newborns at birth. The best way to prevent pertussis in a young infant is by vaccinating the mother during pregnancy. When a mother is vaccinated with Tdap during pregnancy, her infant will gain pertussis antibodies during the most vulnerable time – before three months of age. Infants are able to be vaccinated against pertussis at two months of age.

Virginia Women’s Center is an advertiser on Richmondmom.com

http://www.lva.virginia.gov/

Join us for “A Woman’s Place Is in . . . the Voting Booth!”: A History of the Woman Suffrage Movement at noon on October 3 at the Library of Virginia.

The Library of Virginia, Maymont Foundation, and the League of Women Voters team up for a rousing rally that’s sure to inspire everyone to cast their vote on Election Day. Costumed interpreters bring the struggle for woman suffrage to life as Dr. Sandra Treadway, Librarian of Virginia, describes the victories and setbacks of the determined female citizens who sought the right to vote during the 19th and early in the 20th centuries.

In addition, documents and materials related to the League of Women Voters’ predecessor—the Equal Suffrage League—will be on display. This program complements our exhibition You Have No Right: Law and Justice in Virginia. Style Weekly is the media sponsor for programming for You Have No Right: Law and Justice in Virginia.

A voter registration drive will be held after the program from 1:15 to 2:00 PM.

The Library of Virginia is located at 800 East Broad Street in historic downtown Richmond. There is free parking for this talk in the Library’s underground deck, which is accessible from either Eighth or Ninth streets.