Regence Blue Shield of Idaho has launched a new service that will give its members online access to information about their claims.


Separately, the Lewiston, Idaho-based health insurer, which has almost 10,600 members in Kootenai County, has teamed up with Medem Inc., of San Francisco, to provide online consultations between patients and their doctors.


Also, Regence says its Caring Foundation for Children charity is opening up 40 slots in Kootenai County, and a total of 150 in Idaho, for the children of working families to receive free dental care.


Through the new Internet link to claims-related information, Regence will make available to members through a secure connection such information as claim status; the amount that a provider has charged for a visit, service, or procedure; and how much of the amount that it either has paid or will pay.


It gives you an idea of what youre going to be responsible for, says Regence spokesman Mike Tatko. He says the system will keep members informed betterand will keep Regences member-phone-service lines less busy.


Much of the information members want when they call about claims is basic, and the system will enable them to obtain such information without waiting on the phone, Tatko says. He adds, They can get it at any time.


Further, the Web site will enable members to research how well certain hospitals and physicians match up with their needs, Tatko says. For example, if a member needed total knee-replacement surgery, the site would tell him or her how many such surgeries have been performed at different hospitals that have contracted with Regence to provide care. The system also will tell the member whether the hospital has done better than expected, as expected, or worse than expected in categories such as Had fewer patients with complications and Had fewer patients with infections.


The site also will include news and general articles about health care, a list of health-related events, and a medical encyclopedia.


In a bulletin Regence distributed to employer groups, the insurer described Medem, the company through which its providing online doctor-patient consultations, as a premier online physician-patient communications network . Services through Medem are typically less expensive than an office visit and range from no fee to an average cost of about $25.


The cost is per medical problemone sore throat, one $25 paymentand not for each online consultation, Tatko says. He says the new service can be a good value when compared with the full cost of a visit to the doctor, including the members time away from work, gas, parking, possibly the cost of child care, other incidental expenses, and a co-pay.


My co-pay alone is $20; every office visit is a co-pay, says Tatko, whos insured through Regence.


He adds, Were trying to recruit the doctors now to participate in the Medem link. The patient-doctor link wont be connected to Regences claims or membership systems, but Regence says it believes its new affiliation with Medem will help members and providers become comfortable with using the Internet to supplement conventional doctors visits and will have no adverse effect on Regences rates.


The Journal reported in its Sept. 1 issue that a Medem-founded online personal health-data service called iHealthRecord now is being marketed by an authorized reseller to doctors and patients in Spokane and Kootenai counties.


Meanwhile, Kathy Ellis, Idaho coordinator for Regences Caring Foundation for Children, says that families qualify based on their income for the free dental care provided to Idaho children.


Thirty-five percent of Idaho kids dont have dental insurance, she says. Were trying to fill that need.


The charity says, The dental program helps children achieve complete oral health (up to a maximum of $1,000 per child per calendar year) through a full array of benefits, including preventive and restorative care. It says an open-enrollment program began in July and will continue through the end of the year to fill the 150 additional slots.


Ellis says that three Kootenai County dentists, John Ukich and Thomas Smart, both of Coeur dAlene, and James Robson, of Hayden Lake, provide service under the foundations program, and its working to bring on a Post Falls dentist as a provider.


She says the program currently has 200 children enrolled. Regence provides all of the programs administrative expenses at no charge, so 100 percent of all donations goes to pay for care to low-income children rather than other expenses, she says. The charity says it accepts tax-deductible contributions from individuals, corporations, civic groups, churches, and other foundations.