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New Version of RelayAccount Helps Simplify Collection of Patient Payment
[March 23, 2015]

New Version of RelayAccount Helps Simplify Collection of Patient Payment


RelayHealth® Financial today announced a new version of RelayAccount that helps providers efficiently increase patient collections. The online patient billing solution lets providers see what each family or individual owes at the point of service. It then enables them to collect payment or set up a recurring payment plan. Patients benefit from 24/7 access to their account status, and convenient online payment. The resulting clarity around each patient's financial obligations enables hospitals to accelerate collections, boost patient satisfaction with the payment process, and minimize bad debt.

Using RelayAccount with a patient financial advocacy program allowed Lawrenceville, Ga.-based Gwinnett Medical Center to collect online patient payments of $45 million over five years, realize a 38% CAGR for online payments over four years, and significantly reduce call center volume.

"At-a-glance access to account status puts us in a much better position to help patients navigate the new world of high-deductible plans, which helps us improve our A/R," said Travis Mendenhall, senior systems analyst, Gwinnett Medical Center. "This information, and the ability to offer a variety of payment options, can have a strong impact on a hospital's bottom line and, more importantly, can help patients avoid spiraling into unmanageable healthcare-related debt."

"Helping providers clearly track a patient's financial obligations and enable automated collections on payment plans are becoming two business-critical capabilities in today's healthcare market," said Matt Larsen, vice president of Innovation, RelayHealth Financial. "Millions more are now covered by health insurance, and many of those plans have high-deductibles. More patients are responsible for more medical bills than ever before, and providers' receivables, A/R aging, and bad debt are growing fast as a result. RelayAccount helps them quickly get their arms around the problem and helps improve the financial health of both the hospital and the patient."

According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, more than half of all Americans today would be unable to cover a routine $400 emergency expense without seeking alternate financing. Moreover, many hospitals don't have the ability to get instant data on a patient's or family's obligations in order to help them pay at the point of care or to arrange an appropriate payment plan.

RelayAccount addresses this trend by showing providers who owes what, how long it has been owed, the date and amount of last payment, and more - all on a single dashboard. This unprecedented level of financial clarity helps hospitals and health systems engage patients in positive financial discussions that acilitate one-time and installment payments throughout the care cycle.



Consumers can also use RelayAccount's patient portal and get anywhere, anytime access to their current account information, and also remit payment through several convenient options. RelayAccount helps enhance transparency and accelerate A/R by:

  • Helping consolidate billing information across multiple facilities: Billing from multiple sources (hospital, physician, medical group, lab, etc.) as well as multiple family members, can be joined under one name for a unified view of all outstanding accounts.
  • Enabling increased collections by engaging patients at all points of service: When used with RelayClearance™ Plus, healthcare providers gain a clear picture of what insurance expects the patient to pay - enabling collection at every patient encounter.
  • Supporting improved productivity and reduced calls through an online business office: Patients can review financial assistance and payment policies, obtain contact information and send questions to staff, and pay bills via credit card or eCheck - all without calling the office.
  • Helping ensure up-to-date records with payment posting: RelayAccount captures multiple account payments for a single guarantor -posting all payments collected into the patient accounting system and enabling staff to eliminate time-consuming manual posting.

The new release of RelayAccount is available now. For more information on RelayAccount, contact a RelayHealth Solutions Advisor at 1-800-752-4143.


For more information on McKesson RelayHealth Financial's solutions, visit our Web site at http://www.relayhealthfinancial.com, learn from our experts at the RelayHealth blog, or follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) at @RelayHealth.

For more information on McKesson Health Solutions, please visit our website, hear from our experts at MHSdialogue, and follow us on Twitter at @McKesson_MHS.

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About RelayHealth Financial
Every day across America, more than 2,000 hospitals and health systems rely on RelayHealth to help them process over 5 million patient claims, worth over $1.1 trillion annually. Our broad array of revenue cycle management solutions use the power of the cloud and big data to help healthcare professionals make better financial decisions for their organizations and patients, right at the point of care. Nobody does more than RelayHealth to bring healthcare connections to life. For more information, visit http://www.relayhealth.com/solutions/financial-solutions.

About McKesson
McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 15th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. We partner with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that deliver better care to patients in every setting. McKesson helps its customers improve their financial, operational, and clinical performance with solutions that include pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management, healthcare information technology, and business and clinical services. For more information, visit us at www.mckesson.com.

Tags: McKesson, McKesson Health Solutions, RelayHealth Financial, Revenue Cycle, Revenue Cycle Management, Account Management, RelayAccount, Collections


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