AAFP’s TransforMED and Medfusion Partner to Improve Access for Patients

Contacts:
Janelle Davis
TransforMED
(800) 274-2237, ext. 5222
jdavis@aafp.org

Stephen Malik
Medfusion, Inc.
(877) 599-5123, ext. 116
smalik@medfusion.net

RALEIGH, N.C. – The American Academy of Family Physicians’ practice redesign initiative, TransforMED, is working with Medfusion to provide the 36 medical practices participating in the TransforMED National Demonstration Project with Web sites featuring secure patient-physician communications. These practices will leverage Web-based technology to improve patient access and satisfaction, and increase practice productivity and efficiency. Medfusion is the nation’s leading provider of physician Web sites and secure patient-to-physician communication applications.

Each participating practice will receive content management solutions that allow them to create a robust, yet easy to maintain, Web site. Each Web site will contain information about the practice and its physicians, as well as imbedded access to all of the patient education materials on familydoctor.org, the AAFP’s award-winning consumer Web site. Additionally, a variety of patient self-service features allow for secure, efficient communication with the practice. Features include pre-registration, bill payment, appointment requests, lab results reporting and prescription renewal requests.

Most importantly, participating practices will be able to provide Virtual Office Visit online consultations to patients. This technology allows established patients to answer a series of pertinent questions for minor acuity, non-emergent health conditions and receive treatment advice online without having to physically travel to their physicians' offices. A growing number of insurance plans nationwide are starting to offer reimbursement for these online interactions.

Patients also will have the option to become more active participants in their care with the goal of improving patient access to medical data through the patient-managed “Personal Health Record.”

Medfusion can facilitate access to existing information with integration to practices’ current software applications, including electronic health records systems.

“TransforMED looks forward to working with Medfusion to impact the future of family medicine,” said Terry McGeeney, M.D., chief executive officer of TransforMED. “Bringing physician practices self-service portals that already predominate in other industries will undoubtedly increase patient satisfaction while providing physicians with new revenue opportunities.”

“As the health care industry and the general population move toward more electronic communication, we are pleased TransforMED is recommending the use of Medfusion’s modern health technology in family medicine practices across the country,” said Medfusion chief executive officer, Stephen Malik.

Medfusion is committed to the basic principles of affordability, compatibility, interoperability, and data stewardship, which guide the AAFP’s Partners for Patients initiative, dedicated to increasing the availability and use of low-cost, standards-based information technology among family physicians.

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About TransforMED
Established in 2005, TransforMED is a not-for-profit practice redesign initiative of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) focused on studying and implementing transformed models of high performance practices that meet the needs of both patients and practices. In June 2006, TransforMED launched a 24-month National Demonstration Project, serving as a "learning lab" to generate new knowledge about the process of practice transformation and to systematically evaluate and compare the effect of two practice transformation approaches on practice and patient outcomes. As results and insights emerge, TransforMED professional staff are using the lessons learned from the learning lab to develop support and business services, collaboration tools and learning opportunities that empower physicians and primary care practices across the country as they implement the TransforMED Model of Care. TransforMED also coordinates a residency demonstration initiative known as P4 – P to the fourth power – which stands for Preparing the Personal Physician for Practice. The P4 residency demonstration initiative evaluates and supports innovations in family medicine residencies. To learn more about TransforMED, visit www.transformed.com.

About Medfusion, Inc.
Medfusion is the nation’s leading provider of physician Web sites incorporating patient and physician communication portal solutions. Medfusion solutions help physician offices and patients easily interact via the Internet or telephone to improve efficiency and enhance convenience while generating revenue for physicians. Over 4,500 AAFP member physicians worldwide use Medfusion's award-winning physician practice Web sites to reduce phone calls.