Press Releases
Physician Associates Licenses RelayHealth Service To Enable Online Doctor-Patient Communications
One of the largest Independent Practice Associations in California, Physicians Associates with a network of over 300 primary care physicians and 500 specialists serves more than 135,000 patients in the San Gabriel Valley. Starting in April, 2004, Physician Associates will roll out RelayHealth to an initial group of Primary Care Physicians, enabling them to exchange secure RelaySM messages with their patients, staff, and colleagues. Participating physicians will gain access to the full suite of modular RelayHealth features, including the webVisit® doctor-patient consultation service, the eScript electronic prescribing and renewal service, as well as appointment request, lab and test result reporting, referral requests, and secure messaging features.
"For us it's about developing a more integrated model of healthcare delivery, using information technology to connect patients, their doctors, and our organization," commented Bart Wald, MD, president and chief executive officer of Physician Associates. "We view it as an important enabling technology—and a valuable extension of our online PADocs initiative, which is used by over ninety percent of our network physicians," added Dr. Wald.
Patients who see participating Physician Associates network doctors can take advantage of this new channel for routine communications with their doctor's offices, and to seek non-urgent care using a webVisit—a clinically structured online medical consult. Participating physicians can improve patient services while reserving office hours for patients with more serious needs.
Physician Associates joins a growing roster of major medical groups statewide—and is the first major medical group in the San Gabriel Valley—offering webVisits with the support of participating health plans, such as Blue Shield of California. Members of Blue Shield who see participating physicians enjoy health plan coverage for webVisits.
RelayHealth has doubled the number of participating health plans and major medical groups eligible for webVisit reimbursement over the past quarter, with programs now underway in California, Massachusetts, Colorado and Tennessee. "We are pleased at the recent growth in activity within key markets such as California—fueled by key players like Physician Associates in Southern California," said Giovanni Colella, MD, president and chief executive officer of RelayHealth. "We look forward to working closely with Dr. Wald and his team as they pursue a more connected model of healthcare—one focused on quality, access and service," added Dr. Colella.
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 the individual and group practice environments, the RelayHealth® 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 end-to-end electronic prescribing
for the most seamless, comprehensive, and powerful messaging platform available to healthcare
professionals and their patients. For information, visit www.relayhealth.com.
About Physician Associates
Established in 2000, Physician Associate's vision is to be a virtual physician group of interdependent
physicians. As a physician-owned and physician-driven organization, its business is focused
on supporting physicians in improving the health and quality of life of their patients. The
organization supports each physician and each patient in a manner that promotes excellence
in quality, access, and service. For more information, visit www.pahealth.com
