New website lets you shop for health-care services in Seattle region

Seattle patients will now be able to shop for health care on a website where they can compare not only the services offered by different health-care providers but also the price and quality of those services.

The new website, called Carol.com, which started in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area earlier this year, is being launched in the Puget Sound region this week.

The site’s services are likely to be especially useful for people who have to pay for services out-of-pocket either because they are uninsured or have high deductible plans.

This is how it works:

Say, for example, you’re a a 35-year-old woman who doesn’t have a medical problem but wants to have a general check-up.  

You go to the website’s main page and type “Annual Exam” in the search box. The search will bring up 29 service packages. To narrow things down, you can then check “Appropriate for Women” in a box on the left.

This reduces the selection to to seven packages.

Two of the seven are tailored specifically for a 35-year-old woman:  one, a Women’s wellness exam (18-39 years) offered by the Everett Clinic for a base price of $260, and, the other, a Preventive care package: women (ages 18-39) offered by Virginia Mason. The Virginia Mason package includes slightly fewer services but also has a lower base price of $223.

Comparing the two packages, you find, for example, that the Everett Clinic package includes a pelvic exam and Pap smear, while the Virginia Mason package provides the exam and test only if it is decided you need them at this time.

If you are still undecided, however, you can use the site to compare the two packages side-by-side.

In this case, for example, you’ll find that, while you may not get as many services as part of the basic Virginia Mason package, you will be seen by a physician and that you have six locations from which to chose.

At the Everett Clinic, on the other hand, you get more services as part of the basic package, but you will be seen by a physician’s assistant and the services are offered only at one location.

Currently four provider groups are offering service packages on Carol.com: The Everett Clinic, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Proliance Surgions and Qliance Primary Care Specialists.

The services are bundled into “care packages” such as:

• Neck and Back Pain Care Package
• Heart Attack and Stroke Prevention Care Package
• Mother and Child Wellness Exam Care Packages
• Surgical Packages including General, Specialist and Orthopedic Surgeries

In addition to learning what services the different providers offer and the costs, you can also see their quality of care rankings as reported in the Puget Sound Health Alliance’s Community Checkup Report. The Alliance is a non-profit quality improvement initiative that includes health providers, businesses, insurance companies, and regional government agencies.

Finally, you can use the site to see if the service package is covered by your insurance plan, what your out-of-pocket costs will be, and make an appointment.

To learn more:

• Visit Carol.com

Tags: Business, Everett Clinic, Proliance Surgeons, Qliance Primary Care, Virginia Mason

Category: Hospital News, Insurance, Prevention, Surgery, Women's Health