Nurse Practitioner Diana Miller examines Rose Capen in an effort to work with her and her family in evaluating her health care needs both in and outside of the home.Courtesy Capital Region NP Consulting
By Jennifer Farnsworth
Diana Miller of Stillwater has always envisioned herself on the front lines, advocating for quality health care.
Since the passing of the state Modernization Act, permitting nurse practitioners to work independently, she has been able to turn her vision into a practice. She recently opened a practice that allows her to provide the care she feels so passionately about.
Capital Region NP Consulting in Family Health focuses on providing patient assessments for Medicare Advantage patients and in the comfort of their own home.
Medicare Advantage plans, sometimes called Part C or MA plans, are offered by private companies approved by Medicare. People that join a Medicare Advantage plan still have Medicare. They get their Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) and Medicare Part B (medical insurance) coverage from the Medicare Advantage Plan and not original Medicare.
Miller said the focus area is to provide patient assessments for Medicare Advantage, in order to allow those 55-plus to age healthy in the home, with the objective to measure the appropriate care levels when there are requirements necessitating transition care management.
The state Modernization Act, having taken effect Jan. 1, 2015, is now resonating throughout New York State, with the greatest impact felt in rural areas like northern Saratoga and Warren counties. The legislation eliminated the requirement for experienced NPs to have a written practice agreement with physicians.
As founder/owner of Capital Region NP Consulting, Miller has built the practice into a multi-faceted operation which conducts the initial nurse practitioner home visit, insurance consultations, in-home assessments and care management.
Miller said allowing people to receive health care in a private and intimate setting where they feel truly attended to, has always been a goal of hers. She said the approach has been not only successful, but gratifying as well.
“Working in this field for so long, I was seeing fragments of gaps and cracks in the system in terms of connecting people at home with proper health care. I want to see people get health care that is individualized, in their own environment. I want to work to inspire them to make good, healthy changes that they can implement at home,” said Miller.
Miller works with the 55-plus population, a group that she has extensive experience with. Her practice works with insurance companies and health care plans, and has built a relationship with those companies based on providing not only health care, but educating patients about making healthy lifestyle choices.
She said by providing home visits to patients, she is able to spend an hour with a patient as opposed to 15 minutes in an office visit. The visit allows her to be hands-on with a patient about matters of diet, exercise and medication.
“I have helped people organize and clean out medicine cabinets. It is sometimes these simple things that make such a difference,” said Miller.
The state Modernization Act, having taken effect Jan. 1, 2015, is now resonating throughout the state, with the greatest impact felt in rural areas like northern Saratoga and Warren counties, she said.
Miller’s practice is based out of Saratoga County, however she travels all over the Capital Region to meet with patients. The legislation eliminated the requirement for experienced NPs to have a written practice agreement with physicians.
Miller has been awarded the Northeastern New York Nurse Executives Organization’s MS Award, and is a member in good standing of Sigma Theta Tau, International Nursing Society.
For more information more and to schedule a free consultation, visit www.capitalregionnp.com.