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Access Now

2201 W. Broad Street, Suite 205

Richmond, VA 23220

For more information on Access Now, contact the Richmond Academy of Medicine by phone at 804-622-8143 or by email at mnicol@ramdocs.org

Access Now helps the neediest uninsured patients in the Richmond area receive free services from medical specialists and diagnostic experts.

What is Access Now?

Access Now is a community partnership to improve access to specialty health care for low-income, uninsured residents of the Richmond, Virginia metropolitan area. It combines care provided in primary care safety net clinics with donated specialty care in a coordinated referral program led by the Richmond Academy of Medicine. It was created to enhance the work of existing safety net clinics and other community agencies.

VHCF funding helped expand and improve care through Access Now, underwriting the salary and benefits of a full-time case manager.

How do patients get referred to Access Now?

Richmond area free clinics, community health centers and public health departments refer their patients who are in need of special diagnostic tests or specialty care to Access Now.

Who could be eligible to receive specialty care through Access Now?

Patients must be uninsured, have incomes below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level  and be referred to Access Now by a participating Richmond-area health safety net provider, such as a Free Clinic, Community Health Center or Health Department office.  Access Now then reviews the patient's information and determines if he/she is eligible.

How does the Access Now program work?

Eligible patients receive a membership card that functions much like an insurance card.  Access Now coordinates care, manages records and measures outcomes.  As needed, Access Now schedules the patients' appointments with specialty physicians or community hospitals.

Who benefits from this program?

Since all referrals are channeled through a central hub, a formerly fragmented system is replaced by a streamlined approach that operates much more efficiently. With structured access to specialty care and prescription medicines, more people will get the help they need and everyone benefits:

	Eligible participants get the care they need to treat their conditions, avoiding unnecessary hospitalizations and removing the worry of potential bankruptcy related to the cost of care.
	Free Clinics and other health safety net providers get specialized treatment for their clients without having to plead each case individually with doctors or hospital administrators.
	Doctors are able to carry out the ideals of the medical profession while sharing the cost of free care with hundreds of other physicians.
	Hospitals reduce the number of uncompensated emergency room visits and the lengthy hospitalizations brought on by delayed care.
	The community gains the economic benefit of a healthier, more productive work force.

The Richmond Academy of Medicine stresses that Access Now is not the answer to the problem of the uninsured, rather it is one part of the comprehensive approach required by a problem of such size and scope.