EMERYVILLE, Calif., Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- RelayHealth Corporation, the nation’s premier provider of health plan-reimbursed online doctor-patient communication services, today announced that UCLA Medical Group will offer its patients online healthcare -- including webVisit(R) consultations -- via the secure RelayHealth service. RelayHealth webVisits will be covered for UCLA Medical Group patients insured by a growing list of California-based health plans.
This new suite of online healthcare communication services, which enables patients and their doctors to resolve non-urgent health matters via the Internet, is being piloted to UCLA Medical Group’s primary-care patients now. About 30 UCLA primary-care physicians have the option of offering online communication to their established patients through the RelayHealth service, which is designed to augment face-to-face visits and significantly reduce the amount of time spent on the phone by doctors, staff and patients. This month, UCLA physicians will begin offering webVisit consultations.
For example, patients can have a “webVisit” with their physician regarding non-urgent conditions, like symptomatic back pain or seasonal allergies, or for assistance in managing chronic health conditions like diabetes, asthma, hypertension or depression. RelayHealth also enables patients to obtain routine communication services online, such as medication refills, lab result reporting, and appointment scheduling.
“There are many instances where it makes good sense to deliver non-urgent care and service online,” said David Hartenbower, MD, chief operating officer of UCLA Medical Group. “When an office visit is not required, confidential online care makes life easier for patients while boosting office efficiencies -- by streamlining prescription refills and appointments, for example. We’re pleased to see a growing list of our contract health plans supporting this type of service through reimbursement for the RelayHealth webVisit, and through support provided by pay-for-performance programs that promote patient safety, service, and quality of care.”
UCLA joins a growing group of leading California-based medical groups offering online care and communication via RelayHealth. Others include Hill Physicians Medical Group, Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Bristol Park Medical Management, Physician Associates of the Greater San Gabriel Valley and two other UC Health Systems.
To date, over two dozen major medical groups and integrated delivery networks representing more than 10,000 affiliated physicians in twenty U.S. cities have selected and licensed the RelayHealth service.
“Online care provides a good opportunity to strengthen the doctor-patient relationship,” said Samuel A. Skootsky, MD, UCLA Medical Group’s medical director. “Under certain circumstances, it can promote thoughtful questions and thorough replies, and facilitate follow-up care that’s convenient and effective for both patient and physician. This is one communication vehicle that potentially can increase access to healthcare without significantly increasing healthcare costs.”
If the pilot is successful, the service may be rolled out to all of UCLA Medical Group’s 1,400 physicians within a year. UCLA Medical Group faculty physicians provide primary and specialty care to patients throughout Southern California at two hospitals -- UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, Calif., and Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, Calif. UCLA Medical Center, a 668-bed hospital, serves as the primary teaching hospital for the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, a 337-bed facility, serves as UCLA Healthcare’s community hospital for the Westside of Los Angeles.
In its annual ranking of America’s Best Hospitals, U.S. News & World Report has judged UCLA Medical Center the best hospital in the Western United States for fifteen consecutive years. Additionally, the magazine rated UCLA Medical Center fifth on its national list of Honor Roll centers -- hospitals that excel not in one or two specialties, but in six or more.
“A world-class provider like UCLA Medical Group insists on world-class service from its partners,” noted Giovanni Colella, MD, president, and chief executive officer of RelayHealth. “That’s why we’re pleased they’ve selected RelayHealth to help them deliver secure online care to their patient population. By providing this new service, they’ll once again distinguish themselves as a leading-edge healthcare provider.”
About RelayHealth Corporation
RelayHealth is the premier provider of secure online healthcare communication services linking patients, healthcare professionals, payors, and pharmacies. RelayHealth’s Web-based, doctor-patient messaging platform connects doctors and their patients efficiently, affordably, and securely. Tuned for both small and large practice environments, the RelayHealth(R) service improves and streamlines healthcare delivery and access through modular features -- like the webVisit clinical consultation -- which tackle complex issues unique to the healthcare market, including clinical structure, practice workflow, and reimbursement. More secure and efficient than telephone or e-mail, RelayHealth combines HIPAA-ready messaging and eScript(R) end-to-end electronic prescribing for the most seamless, comprehensive, and powerful messaging platform available to healthcare professionals and their patients. For information, visit http://www.relayhealth.com/.
RelayHealth Corporation
CONTACT: Ted Braun of UCLA Medical Group, +1-310-319-4567, ortbraun@mednet.ucla.edu; or Briana Pompei of RelayHealth, +1-510-428-7853, orbriana.pompei@relayhealth.com
Web site: http://www.relayhealth.com/