Is There A Doctor In The House? Yes, Just Use Your Mouse

Bob Hiam of HMSA unveils the nation’s first Website that puts live doctors online to diagnose medical problems and answer questions

Wednesday - January 28, 2009
By Alice Keesing
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Hiam with HMSA staffers (from left) Zachary Creeck, M, Marlene Nakamoto and Ryan N Namba

for work, was there any inkling of an ambition to make it to the top?

“I never had time to think about it very much,” he says. “I started straight out of the University of Hawaii in a management trainee position and just sort of kept my head down and did whatever assignments they gave me and tried to absorb and learn as much as I could. I don’t think there’s anybody that’s 22, at least back then, who walked in and said, ‘Yeah, I’m going to run this company.’”

He laughs, “It’s more like, ‘Where’s the restroom, and where should I park and now what do you want me to do?’ “

Over the years, he did rise through the ranks, learning virtually every facet of the company. In 1995 he stepped into the top job, where he continues to oversee the organization with its annual revenues of $1.6 billion, nearly 1,700 employees and around 700,000 members.

The flack that HMSA receives has come in Hiam’s direction in the form of a perennial string of news stories about his pay, which last year topped $1 million. That reportedly makes him the highest paid non-profit exec in town. HMSA has always taken the position that the CEO’s pay is in line with those of executives of similar organizations on the Mainland. Hiam is clearly frustrated by the exposure and says the complexities of the issue - the way incentives are structured and the way the company manages its financial reserves - aren’t reported.

“Going into 2009, I had recommended no change to mine,” he says. “But what will happen is, we had a long-term incentive plan that was from 2005 to 2007, and it was driven by what the average rate increases were during the period and some other quality things - and we did pretty well during that period. It was paid in 2008; it will be reported in 2009, and so it will be, ‘Well, he got a big increase,’ when in fact the actual earn number went down, but it lags.”

Hiam soon indicates he’d rather talk about other things.

HMSA execs do like to talk about the company’s history of innovation, which includes being the first in the nation to implement a payfor-performance program and also the HI-IQ program, which awards money to hospitals and doctors to help them implement technological solutions to make the healthcare system more effective and efficient.

With Online Care, HMSA makes another trailblazing first.

The run-up to the launch attracted a sizeable chunk of national attention from the media, the medical community and the insurance industry. When Online Care opens its virtual doors on Thursday, there will be plenty of people watching.

With Online Care, you can connect with a doctor right away, with no waiting in waiting rooms or juggling appointment schedules. First, log on to www.hmsa.com and click on the link to Online Care. Choose the doctor you wish to speak with. You can search by specialty, the language the doctor speaks and even review the doctor’s education background and patient-satisfaction ratings. Before logging on, you type the nature of your concern, choose if you want to make your health history available to the doctor, indicate which pharmacy you would like any prescriptions sent to and enter your credit card information. When you’re ready, click connect, and your consultation begins either via videoconference, secure chat or telephone. HMSA members pay a $10 co-pay for a 10-minute consultation (non-members pay $45). During test runs, the 10-minute time block has proven more than ample, says Michael Stollar, HMSA’s vice president for corporate communications. If you want to extend the consultation, another five minutes costs $5 (or $12.50 for non-members).

The system, which is being licensed from Boston’s American Well Systems, allows you to save a recording of the conversation in case you need to review the doctor’s advice at a later time. A copy also can be sent to your primary care physician to ensure continuity of care. - A.K.

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