How does Hello Health differ from other EHR applications?

Hello Health includes a fully featured EHR solution, but unlike other EHRs, offers you far more including practice management software and a complete suite of patient communication tools. It adds up to what we call our Patient Management solution that let’s you really take charge of your practice. We offer Hello Health at no cost to qualifying practices, unlike the significant license and maintenance fees charged by most EHR vendors. And unlike other EHR applications that are free to implement, the Patient Management features of Hello Health enable you to not only run a more efficient practice but also generate revenue through a subscription fee and cash-based enhanced services such as email or video consults. Hello Health is uniquely the revenue-generating EHR.

Is Hello Health certified for Meaningful Use?

The EHR integrated into Hello Health is certified to allow your practice to qualify for Meaningful Use incentives from CMS. Currently, Hello Health, Version 5, our solution for primary care practice, is 2011/2012 compliant and was certified as a Complete EHR on November 30, 2011 by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®), an ONC-ATCB, in accordance with the applicable eligible provider certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Read more about Meaningful Use and our certification.

What kind of computer equipment do I need?

Because Hello Health is a web-based platform, all you need is a computer and high-speed Internet connection. There are no expensive servers to buy and maintain, and support is always available.

How secure is Hello Health?

Both physicians and patients are naturally concerned with privacy and confidentiality of healthcare information. Hello Health uses the highest-level SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption and is fully HIPAA compliant. Unlike email, which relies on multiple file servers distributed across the Internet, we use a single, centrally managed secure database for all provider-patient communications.

Can patients still phone to schedule appointments?

Patients are of course able to contact you by telephone regarding any matter, including appointments. However, to realize the full benefits of Hello Health’s efficiencies, your practice should be encouraging all of your patients to subscribe to Hello Health and use their patient portal on your practice web site to schedule appointments. It not only streamlines your staff’s day, your patients will like it better too.

Won’t patients be emailing me all the time?

Giving patients your email is a sign that you respect their time, and experience has shown that they return that respect by emailing you only when it’s important. Using email can also help simplify your day as non-urgent responses can be made by you or your staff when it best fits into your practice’s workday, unlike the interruption of a phone call. Part of your email procedures will involve a quick scan of emails as they come in, with urgent messages flagged for immediate response.

We’re not computer savvy at my practice. Will using Hello Health be easy?

Like you, we’ve seen all those hard-to-understand applications for medical practices. We know that you want technology that fits seamlessly into your day, so we have designed Hello Health to be remarkably easy to use, for everybody at your practice, and your patients too. Like the best web sites we all use, it’s easy to navigate the platform, and view and enter information. Take a tour of Hello Health and discover for yourself how easy taking charge of your practice can be.

Can you quantify the revenue that my office will see on an ongoing basis?

Every practice is different, but our Patient Management capabilities and Hello Health business model enable you to generate additional revenue in a number of ways. You can offer Hello Health to your patients as a subscription-based service. A portion of the subscription fee goes to Hello Health; the rest goes to your practice. And you can also generate new revenue by offering patients enhanced services such as email, instant messaging and video visits on a fee-per-use basis. And don’t forget that Hello Health is certified for Meaningful Use, helping you qualify for Federal incentive payments. Find out more about Meaningful Use.

Let’s look at a possible scenario. If only 1,000 of your patients pay the remarkably affordable $3/month subscription, that can add up to $6,000 in additional revenue per year for your practice. If you devote only an hour a day to enhanced online services, you may see $35-40,000 in new revenue per year. Your situation is uniquely yours, but when you integrate Hello Health into your practice and the lives of your patients, it really does become the revenue-generating EHR.

How do I fit services like video consults into my day?

The clinical and administrative efficiencies enabled by our Patient Management suite of tools can easily free up an hour a day for physicians and other health care providers in your practice. That’s time you can devote to cash-based enhanced services such as email or video consultations, or managing patent groups such as smoking cessation or diabetes.

I have an insurance-based practice. Can I use Hello Health?

Yes. Because the Hello Health subscription is not a “medical” service but a technology subscription, with patients paying for technology access but not specific medical services, your use of Hello Health should not violate private health care plan terms. As well, because the enhanced revenues you generate are for non-covered services, your agreements with insurers should remain intact. We recommend that you review your specific plan terms, and ensure that your implementation of HH conforms to your plan terms.

I’m transitioning to a direct pay practice. Can I use Hello Health?

Hello Health is as well suited to a direct-pay practice as it is to an insurance-based practice. You can benefit from similar administrative efficiencies, but more important is the enhanced access and relationships enabled by our suite of communication tools. Patients paying directly expect a high level of service and engagement. With Hello Health, it’s easy to deliver and create really loyal patients.

You say there’s no cost to implement. Are there maintenance or upgrade costs?

No. Just like you, we don’t like those hidden costs that surprise you down the road. As our system is web-based, any issues or upgrades are implemented on our servers, not your office. Part of the revenue you share with us is allocated to maintenance and ongoing product development, and you know this up-front. There are no surprises with Hello Health.

If Hello Health doesn’t cost me anything to buy, how do you make money?

Our revenue comes from a pre-defined percentage of the subscription fees. These revenues support your implementation, ongoing product development and system maintenance costs.

How many of my patients need to sign up for Hello Health?

Our decision to partner with a practice is contingent on their desire to get most patients to subscribe. That being said, the practice can electively determine who can opt-out. For example we do not expect elderly patients with no computer skills or the indigent to have to sign up.

How long does it take to transition to Hello Health?

We realize that using Hello Health will be a change, and work closely with you to ensure a smooth transition, one that will give you, your staff and your patients the confidence that a practice empowered by Hello Health is by far the best way. We normally suggest a 90-day transition period, one that allows us to provide the information transfer, training and patient marketing in an orderly manner, ensuring that basic procedures are in place before you start using some of the more advanced features.

What kind of training do you offer my staff? How much does it cost?

As part of the Hello Health implementation process, you and your staff will receive as much training as needed to ensure that you are comfortable with the platform. Typically, you will go through an initial training to complete your profile and get an overview of the platform. You will then be trained on the communication features of the platform and later you will get training on the EHR portion of the platform.

I have an existing practice management system. Do I need to transition to Hello Health?

Our software does not interface directly with other systems, but in most instances, data (demographics) can be imported into the Hello Health platform. We can import demographics, as long as a compatible data file (csv, excel) is provided.

How will my records be moved to Hello Health?

It’s simple for us to import patient demographics into the Hello Health platform, which we do at no charge as part of our implementation procedure. If you still use paper records, we will work with you to scan all of the records to our system. We even bring the scanner!

How do I tell my patients that I’m moving to Hello Health?

We are convinced that patients will love using Hello Health once they’ve tried it – no more to-and-fro trying to find an appointment that works, no more forms in reception, much easier follow-ups – and that’s just the start. Our Practice Partnership process provides the material you need to communicate why you’re moving to Hello Health, including your new web site, patient emails and letters and marketing material for your office. These are designed to explain clearly and in a positive way to patients why you are adopting Hello Health, and it’s important – and beneficial – for them to subscribe.

We understand that Hello Health is new and some patients will be skeptical. We also believe you need to drive the future of your practice. Your patients value your counsel and skills and being clear and straightforward about both the benefits to them and necessity for you is the best way to transition to a new and more rewarding form of practice.

What if a patient doesn’t want to join Hello Health?

Your practice will achieve the maximum benefits when as many patients as possible have signed on as subscribers. We encourage practices to develop clear and straightforward policies regarding Hello Health, explaining the differences in scheduling and communicating for subscribing and non-subscribing patients.. Your care will always be to the highest standard, but it should be clear to patients that there are significant benefits to subscribing, and more lengthy process for non-subscribers.