Southwest Medical Associates Initiates New 'My SMA Health Online'
February 05 2008 - 2:31PM
Business Wire
Southwest Medical Associates (SMA), a wholly owned subsidiary of
Sierra Health Services, Inc. (NYSE: SIE), announced the second
phase in an industry-leading initiative to provide paperless,
electronic access to medical information and services: �My SMA
Health Online.� �My SMA Health Online� improves the patient
experience by giving SMA customers 24/7, touch-of-a-finger access
to communications with their medical providers. Now SMA patients
with e-mail accounts can: Schedule, change or cancel primary care
and pediatric doctor appointments View their medical records and
test results Request prescription renewals from their physicians
Receive e-mail confirmations on appointments Set up and use a new
account in real time Manage and update personal and account
information View outstanding payment balances Authorize others to
schedule appointments online on their behalf Receive e-mail alerts
and notifications regarding certain account activity. In 2003,
Sierra Health Services� Southwest Medical Associates became one of
the industry�s first to utilize technology to create a paperless
physicians� electronic prescribing system and allow online patient
access to medical records. �My SMA Health Online� is the second
phase of that initiative to make access to medical services and
information better, faster and easier. �Our adoption of
e-prescribing has proven to be an excellent investment in improving
patient satisfaction and the quality of care delivered at SMA,�
said Jonathon Bunker, president, Sierra Health Services. �This new
Web portal is our continued response to meeting the needs of our
patients and to allow them greater control in and access to their
medical care.� Prior to the online system, patient call volume at
SMA�s Call Center exceeded 150,000 calls per month. Additionally,
an estimated 100,000 calls were managed at the clinic level. Calls
and interactions ranged from simple provider appointments to
requests for prescription refills and test results. Years of data
on patient requests for information in the electronic medical
records and patient management systems resulted in the plans for a
Web-based, patient self-service system. The goal was to remove or
reduce caller wait time and frustration in order to increase
customer satisfaction by providing a convenient, automated
alternative to telephone service for more routine requests. Using
additional input from focus groups and SMA physicians, Sierra
Health Services� information technology developers designed a Web
site that is easy to understand and navigate even for new Internet
users. The initial pilot was released in spring of 2007. To ensure
consumers' privacy and HIPAA compliance, the �My SMA Health Online�
web portal was developed on HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol over
Secure Socket Layer) standard, and will be subject to monthly
internal and third-party intrusion detection scans. All data is
secured behind a corporate firewall. To date, over 11,000 patients
have already established and used their accounts. �My SMA Health
Online� users quickly exhibited a preference on the site � over
30,000 �hits� or visits have been made to the medical records link
since the new system went live. According to Dr. Craig Morrow, SMA
Medical Director, he�s gotten positive feedback from his patients
who have used �My SMA Health Online:� �Patients who�ve used the
system like the fact that it is so uncomplicated and easy to use.
We�ve experienced a reduction in calls in our office, mainly
because patients don�t have to wait to get their test results. This
also reduces the time we usually spend with patients answering
questions about their EKG or cholesterol count. They already know
this when they come in for a follow-up appointment, so the dialogue
is more focused.� With the success of the first phase of �My SMA
Health Online,� the information systems developers and healthcare
providers are continuing rollout of the site�s capabilities. SMA
Web users will soon be able to pay bills online; schedule
appointments with specialists; access test and procedure
preparations and precautions; check prior authorization and
referral status; and receive annual exam e-mail reminders. A
Spanish-language version of �My SMA Health Online� is also in
development. Sierra Health Services, Inc., based in Las Vegas, is a
diversified healthcare services company that operates health
maintenance organizations, indemnity insurers, preferred provider
organizations, prescription drug plans and a multi-specialty
medical group. Sierra�s subsidiaries serve over 860,000 people
through health benefit plans for employers, government programs and
individuals. Southwest Medical Associates is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Sierra and operates 14 medical clinics throughout Las
Vegas, including several urgent care centers and an outpatient
surgery center. The clinics are staffed by approximately 250
physicians and physician extenders. For more information on Sierra
Health Services and its subsidiaries, visit the Company�s website
at www.sierrahealth.com.
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