Let’s face it. There’s a lot of health-related information on the internet. Not sure whether that lingering cold needs some antibiotics? Google that and you’ll get bundle of responses, but it’s often not easy to know which source to trust.
Community Health Options offers its Members a solution with access to Healthwise®, which like Health Options, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to your health and wellbeing. Through Healthwise, you can search for symptoms and find solutions that fit your needs. And that search won’t yield questionable results. Instead, you’ll get unbiased, evidence-based and research-driven answers to your most pressing health questions.
You can, of course, search for information about physical symptoms, but you can also search for topics that support your mental and emotional wellbeing. For example, start typing “optimism,” and you’ll be taken to a page with resources to help you work through negative thoughts and anxiety.
Working toward your health goals also requires knowing how and why to use healthcare. To that end, Healthwise offers a section called “Wise Health Consumer,” which includes a range of topics to help you make the right decisions for your needs in partnership with your providers. This section helps you know which questions to ask at an appointment, when you should go to the emergency room, and can even help you create a health and wellness plan that fits your unique goals.
You can find Healthwise under the Health & Wellness tab on the left side of your Member Portal dashboard. If you need help finding it or setting up your Member Portal, please call our Maine-based Member Services team at (855) 624-6463 for assistance.
Earlier this year, a Community Health Options Member gave birth to a premature baby. Thankfully, the newborn received the best possible care at a big city hospital, but Mom and Dad lived two hours away with two more children to care for, putting incredible strain on the whole family, on top of having a new baby with complex medical needs.
Our care managers began looking for a solution to end the family’s four-hour commute. Once the baby was stabilized and doing well, we worked with the family, the hospital and their pediatrician to move the newborn closer to home, transferring his care to the same pediatrician who would hopefully care for him the rest of his long and healthy childhood.