Doing the right thing for patients can improve care while helping employers keep their health care costs down.

  • Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin SpineCare Program is a great example of how doing the right thing for patients can help employers keep their health care costs down.
     
  • Emergency visit follow-up calls are one way Froedtert Health shows how the right care can lower costs.
     
  • Our Workforce Health program knows that good health is an economic advantage. A cardiac risk reduction program saved one employer money by preventing illness down the road.
     
  • Since opening the state’s only adult Sickle Cell Clinic, Froedtert & the Medical College have reduced 30-day readmissions by 30 percent, emergency department visits by 23 percent and inpatient admissions by 35 percent.

Reducing Cost by Avoiding Unnecessary Tests and Procedures

Consumer Reports and physician groups are aggressively identifying tests and procedures that are overused or unnecessary. Froedtert & the Medical College patient care protocols have long avoided tests and procedures that can drive up costs for patients and employers. These include:

  • Chest X-rays: Reducing the number of routine chest X-rays in our intensive care units has saved $1.5 million in X-Ray charges in a two-year period.
     
  • Imaging for low back pain: Our SpineCare Program employs imaging only after a patient is evaluated by a physiatrist, and then often only when specific red flags are present.
     
  • Stress cardiac imaging: Our Heart and Vascular Center has implemented guideline-driven decision-making for preoperative testing, avoiding unnecessary imaging for patients undergoing low-risk, non-cardiac procedures.
     
  • Cancer screening: To avoid unnecessary colonoscopies, the standard of care among our primary care physicians is to follow the American Gastroenterological Association guideline to not repeat colorectal cancer screening for 10 years after a negative colonoscopy in average-risk individuals.