Press Releases

SCCIPA Selects McKesson's RelayHealth to Achieve NCQA Physician Practice Connections Guidelines

Santa Clara County Individual Practice Association uses secure service to help physicians improve patient communication and electronic prescribing

Emeryville, CA, September 19, 2006  — Santa Clara County Individual Practice Association (SCCIPA) and McKesson announced that SCCIPA will use McKesson's RelayHealth® secure, Web-based healthcare communication system to support measures outlined by The Silicon Valley Pay-for-Performance Consortium.

The Silicon Valley Pay-for-Performance Consortium is a unique employer-driven initiative to improve the quality of healthcare. It brings together Cisco, Intel, and Oracle and some of the largest medical groups and IPAs in Northern California, including SCCIPA.  The employers will pay financial incentives to physicians who reach measurement goals in the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Physician Practice Connections (PPC) program. The PPC national standards recognize physician practices that employ systematic processes and health information technology to improve quality.

SCCIPA is working with McKesson to help satisfy many of the patient communication goals outlined in the PPC program, including the ability for patients and providers to communicate electronically. SCCIPA physicians already communicate with their administrator, Pacific Partners Management Services, Inc. (PPMSI), and within their own medical group using PPMSI's proprietary Web-based managed care software, Access Express. RelayHealth is accessible to physicians via single sign-on with PPMSI.

SCCIPA has selected 37 physicians at 15 practices to participate in the PPC program using RelayHealth. Patients will be able to communicate with their physicians and staff online instead of using the phone for appointment scheduling, lab and test results delivery, electronic prescriptions and medication renewals, and webVisits® secure online consultations. Physicians will also benefit from the electronic system for prescribing medications and checking for safety and efficiency. They can send communications for future delivery such as preventive care messages and webVisits that remind patients to adhere to their treatment and regularly communicate back to the provider about their experiences.

"The RelayHealth service will provide our physicians, staff and patients with a safe and confidential way to communicate about non-urgent healthcare needs. It's as easy to use as e-mail, clinically structured for the doctor, and incorporates security measures to help ensure the patient's privacy," said Larry Bonham, M.D., president of SCCIPA and chief executive officer of Pacific Partners Management Services, Inc. "Thanks to both RelayHealth and Access Express, our providers can spend less time on administration and more on what they do best — taking care of patients."

"By offering this avenue for convenient, confidential care, SCCIPA has demonstrated its responsiveness to the growing needs of its employer clients, providers and patients," noted Giovanni Colella, M.D., president of Consumer Solutions for McKesson Provider Technologies. "We are proud to be working with this excellent organization."

National insurers Aetna and CIGNA HealthCare have recently joined three other payors in California that currently provide reimbursement for their members who use webVisits.  Starting in July, California-based CIGNA HealthCare members employed by select customers began to enjoy webVisits as a covered benefit. "We recognize the importance of offering our members easy and timely access to physicians, particularly when an office visit is not essential for diagnosis and treatment," said Kelly Dill, senior vice president, west region national accounts for CIGNA HealthCare. "The RelayHealth technology gives us the ability to meet the needs of our customers and members and offer them safe and secure timely communications with their personal physician, helping keep our members healthy and productive."

As one of the initial companies to deploy the online consultation solution powered by RelayHealth, CISCO Systems Corporate Medical Director Dr. Jeff Rideout said: "This initiative is another step in CISCO's ongoing commitment to improving the quality of healthcare for our employees and their dependents. Whether it's in the office or traveling overseas, this service will provide our employees with easy access and quality care no matter where they are or what time zone they are in."

About Santa Clara County Individual Practice Association/ SCCIPA
Santa Clara County Individual Practice Association is a San Jose-based medical group or individual practice association that links over 800 private physicians and 90,000 HMO patients to most large California HMOs and Medicare Advantage plans including Aetna, Blue Cross CaliforniaCare, Blue Shield of California, CIGNA Healthcare, Health Net, Seniority Plus, PacifiCare and Secure Horizons. www.sccipa.com

About McKesson
McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK), currently ranked 16th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to helping its customers deliver high-quality healthcare by reducing costs, streamlining processes, and improving the quality and safety of patient care. Over the course of its 174-year history, McKesson has grown by providing pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management across the spectrum of care; healthcare information technology for hospitals, physicians, homecare, and payors; hospital and retail pharmacy automation; and services for manufacturers and payors designed to improve outcomes for patients. For more information: http://www.mckesson.com.