Hill Physicians Medical Group and Montefiore Medical Center Improve Referral Management with RelayHealth
Online service facilitates health information exchange
and enhances patient care continuity.
Atlanta, GA, September 29, 2009 — Hill Physicians Medical Group, one of the nation’s largest independent physician associations (IPAs) serving Northern California, and New York-based Montefiore Medical Center are using RelayHealth’s referral management service to facilitate secure health information exchange between primary care providers (PCP) and physician specialists. The result for both organizations is improved care team collaboration, patient satisfaction and specialty treatment prioritization.
RelayHealth’s referral management service transmits the necessary forms, patients’ personal health records, medical reports and other electronic files to other physicians on its network as a more reliable alternative to faxing, photocopying and filing paper documents.
RelayHealth and Hill Physicians co-developed the referral management service to support their 3,000 primary care, specialists and allied care providers who serve nearly 300,000 patients. Hill Physicians launched its “Closing the Loop” initiative to sign up specialists to report findings, diagnoses and treatment plans to the referring physicians in addition to receiving referrals electronically. The IPA is one of RelayHealth’s largest provider networks with approximately 2,000 doctors enrolled. Practice staff, along with physicians, transmit nearly 15,000 referral messages monthly.
Pediatrician Thomas Long, M.D., chief medical officer of Hill Physicians and a practice founder of San Ramon Valley Primary Care Medical Group in San Ramon, Calif., recalled a young patient whose authorization to see a dermatologist had expired and his Accutane medication was due for renewal. “The child clearly needed to be seen,” he recalled. “Upon his arrival at the dermatologist’s office, the specialist requested authorization to see him and we did that in a flash online through RelayHealth. The referral was clinically necessary for medication management authorization.”
Montefiore Medical Center (MMC), an academic health system that includes four New York hospitals and a 25-location primary care network serving the Bronx and Westchester County, launched the referral management service with the help of The Care Management Company™ of Montefiore. The Care Management Company,which supports 180,000 members through its payor contracts,began by deploying service in the behavioral health unit, University Behavioral Associates (UBA). Through 147 credentialed mental health providers (psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers) UBA is responsible for providing support to Montefiore patients who are in need of behavioral health or chemical dependency services. Its goal is to ensure that all members have timely and easy access to services and to collaborate with Montefiore providers to maximize resources, improve patient care and manage utilization.
Using RelayHealth, UBA has achieved more efficient referral processing as well as colleague-to-colleague messaging to communicate their patients’ chronic, disease management and behavioral care results to case managers, clinical social workers and primary care providers affiliated with Montefiore. In addition, RelayHealth has enabled direct online communication and task automation with health insurers.
According to Wali Mohammad, M.D., a psychiatrist with Montefiore, “RelayHealth has greatly improved my communication with UBA clinicians. I am sending and receiving clinical information on patients much faster and have found the online service extremely helpful in sending referral notes directly to Montefiore’s primary care physicians. I have received positive feedback from my colleagues and look forward to more PCPs being onboard with RelayHealth.”
A study, funded by the National Institute on Aging and published in the March/April issue of Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, found that consultant (specialist) recommendations were implemented 30 percent more often by referring providers when there was electronic facilitation of recommendations.
“Hill Physicians and Montefiore Medical Center’s UBA prove that secure exchange of patient information is possible among community physicians,” said Jim Bodenbender, president of RelayHealth’s Consumer and Provider Solutions. “They clearly illustrate the positive impact that connectivity and health information exchange has on thousands of doctors proactively communicating critical data with colleagues and whose patients-the ultimate beneficiaries-are getting better care.”
About Hill Physicians Medical Group
Hill Physicians Medical Group is one of the nation’s largest independent physician associations (IPAs) and a recognized leader in innovative managed health care. The Standards of Excellence Program of the California Association of Medical Groups recognizes Hill Physicians as a state-wide leader in care management practices, health information technology, accountability and transparency. Nearly 300,000 people in seven Northern California counties have selected Hill Physicians care providers for their primary and specialized care. Committed to serving healthy lifestyles, Hill Physicians Medical Group offers extensive health education services to its patients, including wellness classes, health screenings, and self-help through its online information portal at www.HillPhysicians.com.
About Montefiore Medical Center
Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine encompasses 125 years of outstanding patient care, innovative medical “firsts,” pioneering clinical research, dedicated community service and ground-breaking social activism. A full-service, integrated delivery system caring for patients in the New York metropolitan region and beyond, Montefiore is a 1,491-bed medical center that includes: four hospitals — the Henry and Lucy Moses Division, the Jack D. Weiler Division, the North Division and The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore; a large home healthcare agency; the largest school health program in the US; a 25-site medical group practice integrated throughout the Bronx and Westchester, and The Care Management Company of MMC, providing services to 180,000 health plan members. For more information, go to www.CMOCares.com.
About RelayHealth
RelayHealth, McKesson’s connectivity business, operates as a neutral partner in an open network environment, offering connectivity services and integration among all organizations, systems, and solutions. Its intelligent network is designed to streamline clinical, financial and administrative communication between patients, providers, payors, pharmacies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and financial institutions. RelayHealth works to accelerate the delivery of high-quality care and improve financial performance through solutions such as online consultation of physicians by patients, electronic prescribing, point-of-service pharmacy claims resolution by payors, pre-visit patient financial clearance by providers, and post-visit provider bill settlement by payors and patients. RelayHealth securely processes more than 12.8 billion financial and clinical transactions annually across its diverse connectivity businesses. For more information, call (800) 778-6711, or visit our Web site at www.RelayHealth.com.