No waiting. No phone tag. Martin Army Community Hospital has made it easier for patients to communicate with their doctors when it launched RelayHealth's secure messaging.

RelayHealth, a commercial, off-the-shelf software suite, is available to al...

FORT BENNING, Ga. (June 6, 2012) -- No waiting. No phone tag. Martin Army Community Hospital has made it easier for patients to communicate with their doctors when it launched RelayHealth's secure messaging.

RelayHealth, a commercial, off-the-shelf software suite, is available to all patients who are assigned to the hospital's Family Medical Home and consolidated troop medical and dental clinics.

"This is an excellent product that will enhance patient services allowing contact between the patient and provider," said Dr. (Capt.) "CJ" Atkinson, the hospital's acting chief of Department of Primary Care. So far, 785 patients with his department and 352 Soldiers with the Warrior Transition Battalion use the system.

"If I was running my own private practice, I would absolutely want to have this for my patients," he said.

Patients can register for RelayHealth at app.relayhealth.com. Using the secure portal, patients can request appointments with their health-care providers and get a response in a few hours.

They can get medication refills online. And providers can use it to notify patients of their lab, radiology and other medical study results by secure e-mail, Atkinson said. "We are excited about the potential benefits for all our patients and staff," he said.

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What is RelayHealth?

• Secure, web messaging -- communication with your health-care provider

• Prescription renewal and requests

• Appointment requests -- not the same as book an appointment through Tricare Online

• Patients will need to register similar to applying for a username and password for a common web page or Internet-based e-mail account

• Website is accessible from any location with an Internet connection

• Clinic staff have handouts on how to register to use RelayHealth

How does it differ from Tricare Online?

• RelayHealth is a commercial off the shelf service that has been successfully implemented in civilian practices nationwide

• RelayHealth offers many similar services provided by TOL, but provides some distinctly different services that are advantageous to the patient

• RelayHealth is intended to supplement the services provided by TOL

Why did Martin Army Community Hospital want RelayHealth suite?

• Patient benefit -- to increase patients' access to their medical providers

• Faster results -- more timely and successful communication

• Asynchronous communication -- provider and patient communicate on different timelines when convenient

• Encourage patients' active involvement in their own care as a patient safety strategy

• Improve the accuracy of patient identification

• Improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers

• Accurately and completely reconcile medications across the continuum of care

• Potentially will save providers one half day of work in answering and responding to telephone consult requests, with increased clarity and direct response to patients via secure e-mail

Will the service be available to all beneficiaries or just active duty?

All Tricare beneficiaries assigned to MACH.