Frequently Asked Questions
How widespread is secure messaging?
What are the benefits of secure messaging over the telephone?
What's the difference between e-mail and secure online messaging?
Can employees communicate with any doctor in the RelayHealth network?
How do electronic prescriptions work?
Do insurance companies reimburse for this service?
To support a secure messaging benefit, what resources are we required to provide?
If our employees have problems using your service, how do they get help?
How widespread is secure messaging?
Many factors are contributing to the adoption of secure messaging in healthcare.
Consumer demand is growing. Research indicates that approximately 67% of U.S. adults overall have Internet access at work or at home, and 80% of them seek health information online. 90% of online consumers want to communicate with their doctor online. Nearly a third say they would switch doctors for online access. As the healthcare industry asks consumers to play a bigger role in managing their own healthcare — including their healthcare dollars — consumers are demanding access and information.
Physician demand is growing as well. Due to HIPAA, the percentage of physicians using secure messaging instead of e-mail has grown nearly 20% between 2003 - 20051
Health plans are driving adoption as well. They are aligning physician incentives with clinical IT solutions that enable quality of care and patient satisfaction. The American Medical Association now offers a CPT code for secure online consultations, allowing doctors to get paid for the time they spend working with patients online.
What are the benefits of secure messaging over the telephone?
Patients can send and receive messages anytime, from any computer with Internet access. And, there's no waiting on hold! Importantly, messages sent throught the RelayHealth service are protected and secure. And all RelayHealth messages are documented in full and stored for future reference.
What's the difference between e-mail and secure online messaging?
RelayHealth is better suited than e-mail for healthcare communications:
| e-Mail Messages | RelayHealth Messages |
|---|---|
| Unsecure | Secure |
| Free-form messages | Clinical structure |
| Non-chargeable | Potentially reimbursable |
| One-to-one exchange | Conforms to physician office workflow |
| May require chart pull | Online patient health record |
| Not HIPAA-compliant | HIPAA-compliant |
| Difficult to retrieve records | Audit trail |
| Limited functionality | Designed for healthcare |
Can employees communicate with any doctor in the RelayHealth network?
RelayHealth is designed to support doctors and their established patients. Both the attending physician and patient must agree to have an online relationship with each other and agree to the RelayHealth Terms of Use.
What if an employee wants to use RelayHealth, but their doctor is not part of the RelayHealth network?
Tell us the doctor's name and we'll contact the doctor about joining RelayHealth. We'll notify the employee via e-mail when their doctor is using the service. Employees can also establish a new relationship with a RelayHealth physician.
What is a webVisit®?
A webVisit is an online consultation between a doctor and an established patient about a non-urgent healthcare matter. When conducting a webVisit, RelayHealth guides you through an interactive interview process appropriate for your specific symptoms, and then builds a succinct message to the doctor based upon the answers you provide. The webVisit is unique in the marketplace because it's also a reimbursable benefit with many health plans, providing the consumer a low out-of-pocket cost alternative to visiting their physician for non-urgent symptoms.
How do electronic prescriptions work?
The RelayHealth eScript™ online prescribing service allows both original prescriptions and renewal authorizations to be transmitted directly from the medical office to virtually any pharmacy in the U.S.- there's no need for the doctor's office to ever lift the phone, or a pen. Alternately, providers can send the prescription back to the patient, who then forwards the prescription to the pharmacy. In either case, there's no need to call the pharmacy or the patient. Pre-authorized refills bypass the office entirely.
Through eScript, prescribers can instantly assess the patient's accompanying online medical profile and check for compliance with the patient's health plan formulary. What's more, RelayHealth automatically screens each prescription for possible interactions with recorded patient allergies or previously prescribed medications.
Do insurance companies reimburse for this service?
All of our health plan customers reimburse for the webVisit part of the RelayHealth service. We invite you to learn more about our reimbursement initiatives or contact Customer Support for specific details on participating health plans.
To support a secure messaging benefit, what resources are we required to provide?
Employers offering RelayHealth simply need to promote the service to their employees. We provide supporting materials that can be customized to fit your company and communications process, as well as guidance on how to introduce the service and drive utilization.
If our employees have problems using your service, how do they get help?
RelayHealth provides 24/7 toll-free phone and e-mail support. During normal business hours (4:30 AM to 5:30 PM Pacific Time), RelayHealth Customer Support representatives are accessible by phone or e-mail. Voice or e-mail messages left after normal business hours automatically page an on-call Customer Support representative, who responds within one hour.
1Sources: Manhattan Research, 2005; Harris Interactive, April 2002 and March 2003; PEW Internet & American Life, 2002 and 2003.
