Podcast interview with MyHealthDIRECT CEO Jay Mason

[audio http://website.guild.im/williams/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2011/07/mason3.mp3]
I first heard about MyHealthDIRECT a year ago when the director of an emergency department in a major urban hospital told me how his staff used the system to guide patients to follow-up care at community health centers and clinics, or in some cases to redirect patients who were arriving with non-emergent conditions. So I was happy when I was offered the opportunity to speak with CEO Jay Mason to learn more.In this podcast interview, Jay describes MyHealthDIRECT as "OpenTable for health care" and touts the utility of the system to providers, patients and payers. He claims that patients in the system have a 65-75 percent show rate for appointments compared with a 3 to 5 percent rate when patients are simply directed to follow up at a clinic. The company's offering is in sync with the imperative in health care delivery to improve access and reduce cost. MyHealthDIRECT can work in standalone mode or in conjunction with other health information initiatives such as the Wisconsin Health Information Exchange (WHIE).