RelayHealth Launches Connected Orders Solution to Support Clinical Integration, Health Information Exchange (HIE)
Physician practices at Saint Luke’s Health System activate the automated ordering process that connects community providers and patients.
Atlanta, September 14, 2010 ? RelayHealth, a leading provider of healthcare connectivity services, today announced the introduction of Connected Orders, a front-end workflow solution that connects ambulatory-care physicians with hospital and freestanding reference laboratories, imaging centers and patients to automate the test ordering process. Connected Orders’ smooth transmission process will help physicians strengthen their care coordination with community providers by bridging the information gaps that can exist between inpatient and outpatient care. Saint Luke’s Health System (SLHS) in Kansas City, Mo., collaborated with its clinical integration and health information exchange (HIE) partner, RelayHealth, on the initiative. More than 15 other organizations across the nation are currently using RelayHealth Connected Orders.
“RelayHealth’s Connected Orders fits perfectly with our clinical integration and HIE goals. It minimizes the administrative and technical burden of managing multiple workflows in the ordering process, and it provides an accurate record of orders for revenue capture,” said Deborah Gash, vice president and chief information officer at Saint Luke’s Health System. “Another plus is that the solution encourages stronger collaboration among our community physicians. Physicians and their staff like having the ability to track each order’s status to ensure that the patient completes the procedure and receives the results. This is an important step in improving the quality of our healthcare delivery.”
Within SLHS’s 11-hospital network, Connected Orders is known as the “Closed Loop Service” feature of the health system’s HIE. Doctors at Midwest Pulmonary Consultants, PC, and Saint Luke’s Multispecialty Clinic are entering orders online via this service, which initiates a succession of automated actions: First, the Saint Luke’s Outpatient Imaging Center staff receives the order from the physician and calls or sends an electronic message to the patient to schedule the appointment. After the test is completed the physician is notified, the results are sent to the physician, and the physician has the option of releasing the results with comments electronically to the patient.
Connected Orders is part of RelayHealth’s expanding portfolio of clinical integration connectivity solutions that support HIE capabilities at more than 50 health systems and hospitals. Physicians with or without an EMR can use the Web-based solution to place orders for diagnostic tests, medications, patient care and referrals. Hospitals and health systems can offer the service to physicians enrolled on the RelayHealth network and to unenrolled doctors who can access the solution as a standalone module viewable through an Internet browser.
“Connected Orders broadens the breadth of our clinical, financial, administrative and patient applications, and expands the value of our connectivity network,” said Jim Bodenbender, president of RelayHealth Connectivity Solutions. “Orders are a critical HIE component for organizations striving to create connected healthcare communities. RelayHealth establishes a foundation from which provider organizations can adapt to changing business, payment, and care models. We appreciate the efforts of Saint Luke’s Health System, our development partner, in helping us to create a complete solution that unifies the many care points to ensure that the patient is more fully engaged and orders are tracked and test results are received in a timely manner.”
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. For more information, call 888.743.8735, or visit our Web site at http://www.relayhealth.com/. Follow us on Twitter.com/RelayHealth or visit our Facebook page.