Press Releases
Northwestern Memorial Physicians Group To Enhance Their Healthcare Services Using Secure Online Communication
Physician Group at Prestigious Academic Medical Center Chooses RelayHealth for Secure Online Communication
CHICAGO, IL and EMERYVILLE, CA, April 12, 2006 — Northwestern Memorial Physicians Group (NMPG), the multi-site practice of primary care physicians affiliated with Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and RelayHealth Corporation today announced that NMPG will integrate its patient portal and electronic health record (EHR) with RelayHealth's health care communications services, enabling the practice to enhance its online connections to patients.
"NMPG is dedicated to making its patients' healthcare experiences simple, secure and efficient by providing them information, access, and tools to get what they need, when they need it," said Lyle Berkowitz, MD, Medical Director of Clinical Information Systems for NMPG.
As one of the largest and most progressive primary care medical groups in the Chicagoland area, NMPG has successfully introduced several electronic services to their patients over the past several years. These services include an enterprise EHR system which supports almost 100 physicians and alternative healthcare providers performing over 200,000 clinic visits a year, as well as a web portal (www.NMPG.com) that handles appointment, prescription, and referral requests for over 15,000 registered members.
RelayHealth will enhance these services by implementing an easy-to-use and bidirectional secure messaging system that directly integrates with NMPG's EHR system. In addition to improving the appointment, prescription, and referral requests, this system will allow for lab and test result reporting and webVisit® online consultations.
"The RelayHealth service will provide our physicians, staff and patients 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 Berkowitz.
In addition to current web portal members, all NMPG patients will be able to register for this private, secure suite of online healthcare communication services, which can improve face-to-face visits and reduce the problems associated with "phone tag" in normal environments.
For example, patients with non urgent symptoms can receive online consultations from their physicians without visiting the office. The patient will select from over 145 clinically-structured interviews—webVisits—and in their own words answer questions related to their conditions, like cold symptoms or seasonal allergies, or for assistance in managing chronic health conditions like diabetes, asthma, hypertension or depression. NMPG providers can then respond with treatment instructions, self-care information and, when appropriate, a prescription.
Using the RelayHealth Interoperability Toolkit, RelayHealth will also be deploying its first integration with Cerner Corporation's ambulatory EHR, PowerChart Office. This integration will allow RelayHealth messages to flow directly into NMPG's electronic health record system. Both quality and efficiency will be significantly improved as physicians and staff will be able to view and document on these messages within the context of their patient's medical record.
Independent research conducted on doctors and patients using the RelayHealth platform, has shown high levels of patient satisfaction, improved medical practice productivity, and more efficient use of healthcare services .
"To be selected by Northwestern Memorial Physicians Group, one of the most successful and innovative primary care organizations in the nation, is a great honor," said Giovanni Colella, MD, president and chief executive officer of RelayHealth. "It tells us we've built a service with the power, versatility, and clinical features to satisfy healthcare organizations with the most discriminating standards."
About Northwestern Memorial Physicians Group
Northwestern Memorial Physicians Group (NMPG) is a multi-site practice of primary care physicians affiliated with Northwestern Memorial Hospital. NMPG brings the exceptional quality of Northwestern Memorial Hospital and its affiliated physicians to convenient locations throughout Chicago's neighborhoods. Its physicians and staff are committed to providing the highest quality healthcare in a friendly environment.
About RelayHealth Corporation
RelayHealth is the premier provider of secure, online healthcare communication services. The
RelayHealth platform connects patients, clinicians, payers and pharmacies to improve clinical
productivity, create administrative efficiencies, reduce costs and enhance patient satisfaction.
Medical practices can quickly deploy RelayHealth to realize immediate results such as increased
physician productivity and reduced phone volume. With the RelayHealth Interoperability Toolkit,
practices can also integrate RelayHealth with most major commercial or custom electronic
medical record and practice management systems. RelayHealth's robust suite of solutions for
the medical office includes secure messaging featuring the webVisit®, and end to end e-prescribing
through eScript™. The RelayHealth communications platform also enables care management and
continuity of care through tools such as a Patient Health Record that interoperates with
physician and payer clinical systems. For more information, visit www.relayhealth.com.
