People for Quality Care (PFQC), which developed from VGM Advocacy, has launched a Web site and a Facebook page to spread the word about the need for users of DME and complex rehab technology to advocate for themselves.
Among the features available at peopleforqualitycare.com is a video that explains Medicare’s competitive bidding program and how it is expected to impact access and freedom of choice for seniors and people with disabilities.
Kelly Turner, PFQC’s executive director, says of the organization’s goals, “We need to get the message out there that beneficiaries need to be involved.”
VGM Advocacy has created a 30-minute DVD program called “Medicare: What You Don’t Know Will Make You Sick.” The program is airing on cable-access channels and is being distributed to Medicare beneficiaries, state associations and other stakeholders, according to a news release from The VGM Group.
VGM Advocacy also expects to provide DME and complex rehab technology suppliers with informational advocacy packets about the DVD program and grass-roots advocacy on behalf of people who use DME/complex rehab. A second informational packet will focus on competitive bidding and detail the expected impact on DME/complex rehab users. The materials are expected to be available this month.
Turner urges industry members to visit PFQC online and to visit on Facebook. “Both sites allow visitors to take action,” Turner says. “Anything that providers can do to drive patients to the site is appreciated, and we’d like them to include a link to it on their company Web sites.”
