Patient-doctor web messaging system incorporated into EMR

The special messaging system on the Web that permits convenient communication between patients and their UC Davis doctors has been incorporated into UC Davis Health System’s electronic medical record.

The inclusion of the messaging system, provided by RelayHealth Corp., based in Emeryville, Calif., in the electronic medical record will make it easier for physicians to communicate electronically with their patients, said Phillip Raimondi, medical director of the health system’s Primary Care Network. The move also provides a mechanism for the online transmission of prescriptions to almost all pharmacies in the area.

“My patients enjoy it as a very nice way of keeping in touch with their doctors, and it’s a lot better than playing phone tag,” said Jack Jue, a family physician at the UC Davis Medical Group, Capitol office. The disadvantage of communicating by telephone is that the patient has to be available to receive the call when the doctor returns a message, said Jue.

Using the RelayHealth system, Jue said, “Patients can leave messages at their convenience, and doctors can reply at their convenience.”

Kurt Slapnik, associate medical director at UC Davis Medical Group, Folsom, also praised the convenience of the system, saying, “I can answer patient questions at my own pace, whenever I have time. For example, I can respond from home after dinner, if I choose.”

The system has provided relief to his office’s front-line staff who answer phones, and patients like being able to contact doctors without having to go through the UC Davis phone system, Slapnik said.

The messaging system also has the advantage of allowing doctors to provide more comprehensive replies, Jue said. The system offers doctors an array of patient-education materials that they can attach to their messages to patients.

To become part of the RelayHealth system, patients may register online for free at http://mdonline.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu or www.relayhealth.com. All doctors of the health system’s Primary Care Network are participating in the system. After patients register and select a provider with whom to communicate, the clinic grants them access to the system and assigns their medical record number to their account, which will save the messages in patients’ electronic records.

Using the RelayHealth system, patients can request an online consultation, send questions, renew prescriptions and schedule appointments. Doctors may dispense advice, answer questions, provide patient-education messages and send laboratory results. The system has resulted in much greater convenience for both, and better access for patients, who can communicate with their doctors at any time, from any place. Doctors have the same flexibility in checking and responding to messages.