New Product Names
As part of our commitment to be “Easy to Do Business With” we have changed our product names to make them easier to understand.
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Construction Begins on Sentara Princess Anne Hospital
Sentara Princess Anne Hospital will be a 5-story, 120-bed acute care hospital to be located on the Sentara Princess Anne health campus. This state-of-the-art hospital represents the culmination of more than 20 years of planning.
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Blood Pressure Training
A self-study toolkit for healthcare professionals to update their blood pressure measurement skills and their knowledge regarding current guidelines for the detection and evaluation of hypertension is available at no charge by calling 1-800-SENTARA.
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Optima Family Care/FAMIS Goes Referral-less
Effective for services rendered on or after October 1, 2007 the referral process will be discontinued for all Optima Family Care/FAMIS members throughout all service areas in Virginia.
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Sentara Unveils New Cardiovascular Institute
Sentara Healthcare announces the formation of a new research institute dedicated to halting the number one killer of men and women, cardiovascular disease.
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Antidepressant Rates--A Call to Action
Antidepressant compliance rates of Optima Health members are well below the national averages, as are rates for the entire South Atlantic area.
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Get Your Paper Remits Online!
Would you like to receive your paper remits electronically?
If so, Provider Connection's View Remits and Pend Reports is for you!
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Optima ‘Life Coach’ Diabetes Program Wins National Award
Disease Management Association cites improved patient compliance, health
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Optima Health Named Virginia's Top Health Plan for Customer Service
Optima Health has recently been named the 2006/2007 Customer Care Award winner for the state of Virginia.
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Sentara Healthcare 5th Most Integrated Network
Verispan recently ranked Sentara Healthcare for the tenth consecutive year in a row as a Top 100 Integrated Healthcare Network (IHN).
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Optima Health Ranked Among Top 50 Health Plans By U.S. News & World Report
Optima Health is ranked 50th among the nation’s health plans in the second annual survey by U.S. News & World Report and NCQA, the National Committee for Quality Assurance.
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Optima Health Web Site Receives URAC Accreditation
Optima Health announced today that it has been awarded URAC Health Web Site accreditation from the American Accreditation Healthcare Commission, a Washington, DC-based healthcare accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the healthcare industry.
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Sentara Princess Anne, Comprehensive Health Campus
In response to staggering growth and demand for health care services in southern Virginia Beach, Sentara is opening a comprehensive health campus with the Southside’s first free-standing emergency center.
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Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center Opens Thursday, August 17
The new regional medical center offers increased privacy and patient-centered care with larger all private rooms, expanded Emergency, Surgery and Maternity Departments; and advanced diagnostic imaging capabilities.
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Sentara Bayside Hospital Kicks Off Program Aimed at “Building a Better Environment for Safety”
Virginia Beach Vice Mayor Louis R. Jones joined Sentara Bayside Hospital Administrator Larry DePriest and the Bayside leadership team for the kickoff of a new internal program aimed at keeping employees engaged in patient safety efforts at the hospital.
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Expansion at Sentara Port Warwick Now Open
Sentara Port Warwick II—the 2nd phase of Sentara’s outpatient campus off Jefferson Avenue—opened Monday, June 26 with a brand new ambulatory surgery center.
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Optima Health Plans Rank in Top 100 in First U.S. News & World Report Survey
In its first national ranking of health plans, U.S. News & 30 Medicaid managed care programs. Optima Health plans rank in top 100.
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Sentara Health Campus Opens Summer 2006
Private and Sentara physicians are among the dozens of doctors committing to office space at Sentara Princess Anne, the 72-acre comprehensive health campus at the intersection of Princess Anne and Dam Neck Roads.
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Sentara CarePlex Hospital Opens Second Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory
Two fully operational labs offer lifesaving heart treatment to area residents.
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Sentara Heart Hospital
Construction is complete and the doors opened on the region’s only dedicated heart hospital, Sentara Heart Hospital on Saturday, February 25, 2006.
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Obici Hospital Merger With Sentara Healthcare Receives Regulatory Clearance
Obici Health System in Suffolk and Norfolk-based Sentara Healthcare have received clearance from federal and state regulatory bodies and anticipate that their planned merger will become effective April 1, 2006.
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Three Sentara Hospitals Win Awards For Heart Attack Treatment, Surgical Site Infection Prevention
Three Sentara hospitals have received Leadership Awards for Clinical Excellence from VHA.
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Automatic Processing of Miscellaneous Drugs
Beginning April 1, 2006 Optima Health will begin automatic processing of miscellaneous drugs administered in the office (other than oral methods).
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Provider Connection Has A New Look and Feel
Providers who use Provider Connection to conduct health plan transactions with Optima Health will notice a new look and feel.
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Open Access HMO and POS Plans Do Not Require Referrals
A reminder about Optima’s Direct Point of Service (POS) and Direct Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans. These "Open Access" plans do not require a referral for specialist care.
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Optima Health Drug List Available Through Epocrates
Optima Health Providers Now Have Hand-held Access to Optima Health's Preferred and Standard Drug List through Epocrates® References. View Optima Health's Preferred and Standard Drug List while at the point of care through Epocrates Rx®.
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Optima Health Plans Wins A+ from Weiss Ratings Agency
Optima Health Plan joins an elite group of 12 health plans in the nation to earn an A+ rating from the prestigious Weiss ratings agency.
Data from the 4th quarter of 2004 resulted in the only A+ rating among health plans in Virginia.
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Signing In to Optimahealth.com? Check Your Password.
Passwords for optimahealth.com are now case sensitive.
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Obici Health System and Sentara Healthcare
Obici Health System of Suffolk and Norfolk-based Sentara Healthcare have agreed to a merger. The boards of directors of both organizations have signed a letter of intent.
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Sentara Named One of the Most Wired Health Care Systems Across the Nation
For the sixth consecutive year, Sentara Healthcare has been named one of the 100 Most Wired Health Systems in the nation.
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Sentara Healthcare Receives John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award
Sentara’s Culture of Safety initiative has been awarded the 2005 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality award from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and the National Quality Forum.
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Sentara Receives State Approval for Outpatient Surgery Center
Today Sentara Healthcare received approval from the state health commissioner to build a state-of-the-art, outpatient surgery center at Sentara Princess Anne Health Campus.
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Princess Anne Health Campus
Construction begins on one of the area’s most comprehensive and futuristic health complexes—Sentara Princess Anne Health Campus-scheduled to open in mid-2006.
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NCQA Accreditation for 2005
For the seventh year in a row, health plans administered by Sentara Health Plans, Inc. have received an “Excellent” accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).
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Sentara and CHKD Assemble Katrina Relief Team
At the request of the Department of Health and Human Services, Sentara Healthcare and Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters have assembled a 110-person medical team for Katrina Hurricane Relief.
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Important Billing Reminder
When submitting claims for reconsideration, please mark field 19 of the CMS-1500 claim form or the remarks field of the UB-92 claim form with the word "Reconsideration."
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Sentara Hospitals Receive VHA Leadership Awards for Clinical Excellence
Three Sentara hospitals were chosen from among hospitals nationwide to receive the 2005 VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence.
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Optima Family Care Wins Health Award
Virginia’s largest Medicaid HMO, Optima Family Care, has won a community service award from the Urban League of Hampton Roads for a girls basketball program that goes far beyond sports.
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Optima Health Wins First U.S. EPA Award For Asthma Management
Optima Health has received a first-ever award for asthma management from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
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Sentara No. 3 in Nation Among Top 100 Healthcare Networks
Sentara Healthcare is listed third in the nation among large health care networks in the latest national rankings from Verispan, published in Modern Healthcare magazine.
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Vioxx® Removed From Market
Merck Announces Voluntary Worldwide Withdrawal of VIOXX®
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Sentara Chief Medical Officer Receives National Award
Gary R. Yates, M.D., Chief Medical Officer for Sentara Healthcare, has been selected to receive the 2005 Physician Executive Award of Excellence, co-sponsored by Modern Physician magazine and the American College of Physician Executives.
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Optima ‘Partners in Pregnancy’ Program Wins National Award
Optima Health’s three-year-old program to improve prenatal care for women on Medicaid has won a national award from the Disease Management Association of America (DMAA).
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National 'Quest for Quality' Prize Awarded to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital
There are few peer awards more prestigious for a hospital to win than the Quest for Quality prize by the American Hospital Association. This year, that national recognition goes to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
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Sentara Begins Campaign to Urge Colorectal Screenings
“Death rates from colon cancer in Hampton Roads are higher than the national average,” says George Heuser, MD, a Medical Director for Sentara Health Management. “The irony is, it’s one of the most preventable and treatable cancers, if we catch it early.”
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Optima Health: A New Name. A Renewed Commitment To Health.
As of July 1, 2004, all health plan products will officially be unified under the name Optima Health.
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Heart Service at Sentara Norfolk General Ranked Among Top 50 Heart Hospitals
Heart Services at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital
Among Top 50 in U.S. News & World Report
Mortality ratios superior to four of the five top-ranked programs in nation
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Asthma Program Chosen by EPA
Sentara's Asthma Life Coach, a component of Sentara’s Asthma Disease Management Program, has been chosen out of multiple candidates across the country to be highlighted in a special video news release sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency.
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