Press Releases

Empire to Expand Web-enabled Doctor Visits After Successful Completion of Pilot Program

RelayHealth Secure Online Communication and webVisits® to be Made Available to Empire HMO Members and National Administrative Services Accounts

New York, NY and Emeryville, CA, March 30, 2006 — Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield and RelayHealth Corporation today announced that after the completion of a successful 18-month pilot, they are expanding the RelayHealth webVisit service to all members of Empire's HMO plan.

Beginning July 1, 2006 more than 400,000 HMO members will have access to RelayHealth's web-enabled doctor visits. As part of the expansion agreement, Empire will also make RelayHealth available to all of its national Administrative Services Only (ASO) accounts as a new benefit.

RelayHealth webVisits allow doctors to be paid $25 for Internet-based online consultations using secure and advanced technology. More than 300 physician members of CPPN, the physician/provider managed care organization of Columbia University Medical Center in Manhattan, and 3,000 of their patients, have been participating in the pilot program since the fall of 2005. Both parties have been able to communicate online using the full array of RelayHealth services including appointment scheduling, lab and test results, e-Prescribing through the eScript™ solution, and prescription renewals and refills.

Creating new opportunities to facilitate the communications processes between patients and providers is an important initiative to ensure that quality healthcare services are delivered. Recent research shows that most patients want the ability to communicate with their physicians online to allow for increased convenience, speed and access to medical care1. Additional studies revealed that employees were 50% less likely to miss work because they were able to communicate online with their physician via RelayHealth2 .

"We are very excited to support Empire's employer-focused initiatives. RelayHealth's time-saving, convenient, and low-cost healthcare services can help health plans and their employer clients achieve key goals like increasing employee satisfaction and retention and reducing healthcare costs," says Giovanni Colella MD, president and chief executive officer of RelayHealth.

The contract renewal and expansion underscore Empire's commitment to improving the delivery of medical services through electronic innovation. "The success of this pilot program demonstrates that RelayHealth's online communications service is an effective way to help Empire deliver superior service to our members," said Alan Sokolow MD, chief medical officer at Empire. "This opportunity represents another accomplishment in our ongoing effort to create opportunities that allow us to increase patient access, improve safety, and to provide our members with more choices for managing their healthcare needs."

1Liederman E, Morefield C. Web Messaging: A New Tool for Patient-Physician Communication. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2003; 10:260-270.

2The RelayHealth webVisit Study. Final report. January 2003. Available at www.relayhealth.com.

About Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield
Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield is the largest health insurer in New York State, based on PPO and HMO membership. Empire HealthChoice Assurance, Inc., d/b/a/ Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Empire HealthChoice HMO, Inc., d/b/a Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO, are licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, and have the exclusive right to use the Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and marks throughout 10 downstate New York counties and one or both of these names and marks in select upstate counties. For more information visit www.empireblue.com.

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.