Aetna’s ongoing commitment to the medical community

Aetna is committed to maintaining a strong relationship with physicians, hospitals, health care professionals and medical societies because we believe they play a critical role in our ability to get our members -- their patients -- access to the highest quality, safest and most cost-effective health care. This belief translates to actions that are:

• fundamental to our business strategy
  
• part of our core values
  
• in line with the right way to do business

Aetna’s Guiding Principles for Physician Relations 
In conjunction with the ending of the settlement agreement on June 2, 2008, Aetna released the Guiding Principles for Physician Relations in May 2008. These formally define Aetna’s ongoing commitment to building the best possible relationships with the medical community and working collaboratively to improve the quality of health care. The Principles identify specific behaviors and business actions that govern Aetna in its interactions with health care professionals.

How Aetna is involved with the medical community
Over the past few years, Aetna has been actively engaged with the medical community. We’ve been involved with various initiatives ranging from ones that will improve the medical community’s ability to do business with us, to major public health efforts such as racial and ethnic disparities in health care or genetic testing.

We have simplified business transactions with doctors and office staff, increased transparency of policies and processes, and worked with the medical community to encourage adherence to evidence-based guidelines in medicine. Business practice changes that support the exchange of more timely, consistent and transparent information have had the greatest impact on the company's relationships with doctors.

We also help our members understand and better utilize their health plan, which in turn helps you. We recently introduced our "Maximize your Benefits" campaign that helps members better "maximize" their benefits and encourages them to continue seeing their doctors, even during tough economic times, with an emphasis on prevention.

We’ll continue to work hard to maintain a level of trust and respect with health care professionals. We intend to build on that trust as we continue to be a high-integrity business partner with the medical community -- working together to improve the health care system.

Tools and resources available to help the medical community 
Aetna is making it easier for the provider community to do business with us electronically through Aetna's secure provider website via NaviNet®. Through the website, doctors and office staff can:

• obtain fee schedules
  
• check patient eligibility and claims status
  
• perform free, real-time electronic transactions for multiple carriers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

We’ll continue to work hand-in-hand with the medical community with one goal in mind – to provide access to the best health care for our members and your patients.