When the task of quickly reaching out to each and every patient is turned over to automated messaging technology, the size of that population is no longer an issue. What other medium can deliver targeted communications to thousands of patients in a single hour?

To proactively tackle pandemic notifications during the recent swine flu concern, Texas Children’s Health Plan delivered messages to the responsible parties of approximately 200,000 patients within a one-day timeframe. Sending this campaign just as swine flu was beginning to grab headlines and dominate media coverage at the local and national levels allowed the health plan hoped to calm fears, and in turn, reduce the number of patients visiting emergency rooms with concerns over swine flu symptoms. Texas Children’s swine flu message included a brief list of precautionary measures that families can take to limit risk.

The short turnaround time associated with this technology allows organizations to stay at the forefront of an issue. In Texas Children’s situation, a script for the automated calls was created on a Friday. By Saturday’s end, the entire 200,000-message pandemic notification campaign was complete.

Can’t an organization’s website be a useful way to get pandemic information to patients? Of course, but since patients have to take steps to access the website, the reactive nature of online communication is not an ideal strategy for disseminating time-sensitive information. By sending outbound phone, e-mail and SMS/text messages, the chances of contacting those patients are doubled many times over. That’s not to say that outbound messages and website posts can’t work hand-in-hand. Many organizations use the automated notifications to bring patients to their website for more detailed information.

Another advantage of mass communication technology? Consistent messages. Since organizations are involved in every step of the message scripting and voice recording, they are able to tightly control what patients hear, something that takes on added importance in potentially life-threatening situations.

Leading messaging technologies add an interactive element to the provider’s communications planning. If the provider so chooses, patients can select from embedded response options to indicate that they received the message, transfer to a live representative for further information, etc. After a calling campaign has concluded, organizations can access detailed reports of call results, indicating call transfer, disconnected phone numbers and more. The report also offers documentation of each and every patient contact attempt.

Other organizations have chosen to address swine flu in a more indirect manner. As a part of the routine appointment reminder notifications sent to patients, Johns Hopkins Medical Institute informs patients that they will be asked to answer a few questions about respiratory illness when they come in for their appointment. Johns Hopkins is also recommending that patients attend appointments without a family member present to eliminate any potential exposure to the virus.

Regardless of how a provider wants to approach patients (messages focused squarely on the emergency or just as a part of routine communication), automated messaging gives providers an attention-grabbing forum to proactively contact patients, educate and direct them to valuable resources and prevent any potential misinformation.

MOBILE, AL (April 23, 2009) – This is Bay Side Medical Center calling with a preventive healthcare message. If you have not received a mammogram in the past 12 months we encourage you to schedule one before the end of the year. Bay Side Medical Center cares about your health. To schedule an appointment, please press 1.

Proactive communication about preventative health services like mammograms, flu shots, and advice to stop smoking is an innovative way for doctors to build stronger relationships with patients – and provide them with the information they need to stay well and improve their health.

Everyone is interested in preventive health care. Yet, lifestyle-related behaviors account for half of the ten leading causes of death in the United States. Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson likened this “to waiting for your car to break down before you take it in for maintenance.” Many do it, but it certainly isn’t the best approach—on the road or in life!

Consequently, today’s preventative care has become less about health promotion and more about early diagnosis. That’s why some doctors are bringing back the notion of making house calls through TeleVox SmartReach 360.

TeleVox SmartReach 360™ is a hosted software solution that is poised to play a big role in addressing a preventative care gap by identifying care opportunities and monitoring progress through one fully integrated, web-based software application.

Research supports the need for a solution like SmartReach 360 in the healthcare industry. A recent Doctors' Office Quality Information Technology Project (DOQ-IT) study shows that more than 70% of patients do not receive recommended preventative care.

“When it comes to patient care, there’s no such thing as too much information,” said Scott Zimmerman, business leader for TeleVox. “SmartReach 360 provides patients with a more proactive approach to their care and introduces them to new opportunities to improve their health. Patients receive timely, relevant information from their providers, with SmartReach 360 delivering courtesy reminders, recalls notices and other communications by phone, e-mail or text message.”

TeleVox SmartReach 360™ outbound notifications can be personalized to include name, date, provider, location and other special instructions. Each call includes response options for patients to confirm or cancel an appointment, leave a message or speak with a live representative.

Zimmerman notes that physicians use SmartReach 360 to develop and implement disease management and wellness programs based on clinical criteria, and then automatically communicate with patients to improve health. “Physicians benefit from increased awareness of their treatment programs as well as support for pay-for-performance and other improvement-driven programs.”

About SmartReach 360
Powered by MDdatacor, SmartReach 360 is designed to improve patient health by focusing on four key areas: identifying patient care opportunities, contacting patients and monitoring patient progress and outcomes.

This web-based solution optimizes the quality of patient care by analyzing the patient clinical information collected from physicians via electronic medical records, transcribed office notes, lab results and medical claims to identify care opportunities to the treating physician. Staff members are also relieved of the burden of delivering outbound communications to manage those patient visits. At the point-of-care, SmartReach 360 provides data to assist in physicians’ decision making. As patient healthcare improves, SmartReach 360 measures these results to support pay-for-performance and other improvement-driven programs.

About TeleVox
For years leading doctors have chosen TeleVox for proactive, effective and timely healthcare communication. TeleVox offers value-driven, secure and reliable communications solutions that help create new revenue streams for healthcare providers and proactively inform their patients.

TeleVox understands that patients want to receive communication from their doctors in a secure and timely fashion, using the most convenient channel to reach them. That’s why TeleVox broadens doctor-patient communication channels beyond voice, with the right mix of technology and human touch.

TeleVox offers and hosts multimedia outbound messaging platforms, communication portals, and proactive communication programs that seamlessly integrate to data and practice management systems. Formed in 1992, TeleVox has worldwide presence in over 14,000 practices and organizations, and accurately delivers millions of multimedia messages every week.

An affiliate of West Interactive Corporation, TeleVox is headquartered in Mobile, Alabama. For more information, visit the Company’s website at www.televox.com or call 1.800.644.4266.

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Contact:
Allison White
TeleVox Software
800-644-4266
info@televox.com

Taking advantage of the inevitable hold time individuals experience when calling a business, Vox On-Hold mixes customized messages and music to educate, inform and entertain callers. Organizations often use the system to further their marketing and service initiatives. From introducing new treatment options and services to offering information on a variety of related topics, Vox On-Hold has drawn rave reviews from both callers and businesses.

“The overwhelming response of our patients to Vox On-Hold is that they love it, and they often ask to be put back on hold to get the rest of the information”, says Leah Arteaga, Office Manager at Brookline Village Dermatology in Brookline, MA. “It sure beats sitting on hold listening to elevator music.”

Kelly Dishongh, Marketing Director at Greenbrier Dental Center in Chesapeake, VA, has similar praise for Vox On-Hold.

“As much as we hate to put patients on hold, it has made their wait soothing and informative,” says Dishongh. “We tried using CDs or radio for our on-hold background for years, and it was just not as reliable or of the same quality.”

Vox On-Hold customers also benefit from TeleVox’s much-applauded service department. Scriptwriters work closely with clients to compose messages specific to the business, staff, specialty and services. Once those scripts are in place, Vox On-Hold productions are developed using professional voice talent.

TeleVox expects to see exponential Vox On-Hold growth in the near future, as the increasing number of clients results in increased referrals as well.

“As we continue to refine and improve Vox On-Hold technology, more and more businesses are realizing the system’s value as a marketing and customer service tool,” says Chad Greer, Vice President of Sales and Product Marketing for TeleVox. “Since the system can be customized for healthcare, commercial or virtually any other setting, the sky’s the limit for Vox On-Hold.”

About TeleVox
TeleVox Software, Inc., an affiliate of West Interactive Corporation, is a leading provider of communication solutions for the healthcare industry. Since 1992, TeleVox has offered a full range of products, including outbound messaging, inbound IVR applications, interactive website design and hosting, on-hold messaging, secure online communication portals and survey delivery systems. Supported by a state-of-the-art infrastructure, TeleVox solutions resolve time-consuming communication issues associated with appointment reminders, patient notifications and patient inquiry. TeleVox has a worldwide presence in over 14,000 practices and organizations and delivers millions of messages weekly via telephone and the Internet. To learn more about Vox On-Hold, contact TeleVox by calling 1-800-644-4266, e-mailing info@televox.com or visiting www.televox.com.

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Contact:
Allison White
TeleVox Software
800-644-4266
info@televox.com

These two services help healthcare practices get even more from their TeleVox-designed websites by increasing targeted web traffic through search engine optimization and marketing. The SiteBoost service focuses on improving natural search engine results through advanced search engine optimization techniques. Clients who utilize this service will benefit from website evaluation and search engine consultation, content analysis and revision suggestions, key phrase research, link development strategies, social networking linkages and more. The company’s AdBoost services center on increasing website traffic through supervision of a pay-per-click marketing program, including professionally written advertisements. Both services include complete management from TeleVox’s expert Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Analysts, beginning with a website evaluation and consultation and including ongoing monitoring and reporting.

“As healthcare practice websites become more ubiquitous and competition increases, our clients are looking for better ways to differentiate themselves,” said Corey Morris, Director of Product Management for TeleVox. “Our goal in broadening the depth of SEO services we offer is to help our clients achieve the best results for their websites.”

TeleVox currently hosts more than 3,000 custom-designed websites. In 2006, an independent study conducted by Porter Research confirmed that TeleVox-hosted websites outrank other vendors in search engine ranking and visibility. These results were further validated using measurement software from WebTrends, Inc. in 2007.

Since implementing TeleVox’s HouseCalls automated messaging system in October 2007, UPMC has increased cash collections by 290%, representing more than $2.6 million annually.

Adoption of the HouseCalls system also resulted in a more efficient method for contacting patients. UPMC has experienced a 646% increase in completed outbound calls each month. They have also been able to reallocate 9 FTE (full-time employee) positions to other areas of focus.

“Since the implementation of HouseCalls, we have been able to notify more patients regarding their outstanding balances with fewer resources, and at the same time, dramatically increase cash flow,” says Diane Allen, Project Manager, Patient Business Services for UPMC Physician Services. “We are pleased with the product and the results.”

To obtain a copy of the full study, please click HERE, contact TeleVox at 1-800-644-4266 or e-mail to info@televox.com.

About UPMC – The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is the largest integrated healthcare system in Pennsylvania and one of the leading nonprofit medical centers in the country. A $7 billion, 48,000-employee organization, UPMC is the largest employer in western Pennsylvania. It spans the full spectrum of healthcare delivery with its network of 20 tertiary, specialty and community hospitals and 400 outpatient sites and doctors’ offices.

About TeleVox - TeleVox Software, Inc., an affiliate of West Interactive Corporation, is a leading provider of communication solutions for the healthcare industry. With 16 years of experience, TeleVox offers a full range of products, including outbound messaging and inbound IVR applications. Supported by a state-of-the-art infrastructure, TeleVox solutions resolve time-consuming communication issues associated with appointment reminders, patient notifications and patient inquiry. TeleVox has a worldwide presence in over 14,000 practices and organizations and delivers millions of messages weekly via telephone and the Internet.

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Contact:
Allison White
TeleVox Software
800-644-4266
info@televox.com

As part of the 2008 America’s Best Hospitals ranking, hospitals across 16 different specialties were evaluated on numerous criteria, including reputation, mortality index and other care-related factors. A total of 5,453 hospitals were evaluated, and among those, only 170 achieved “exceptional” status in a particular category. The 19 Honor Roll Hospitals (0.34% of all hospitals evaluated) were deemed ”exceptional” in at least six criteria.

“We’re pleased to see long-standing TeleVox clients such as Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic once again at the top of the list,” says Chad Greer, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for TeleVox. “At the same time, we’re eager to continue forging relationships with those ‘Honor Roll Hospitals’ who are not yet TeleVox clients and further associate ourselves with those who excel in patient care.”

TeleVox clients have used automated messaging and/or automated lab results delivery to streamline communication with patients. HouseCalls™, TeleVox’s automated messaging system, has delivered a wide range of messages for clients, including appointment reminders, recall notices and account balance notifications. Text-to-speech technology allows HouseCalls to create a seamless message by merging pre-recorded voices with patient-specific elements such as name, date, location and amount due.

Through the LabCalls® lab results delivery system, TeleVox clients have eliminated much of the time and resources needed to communicate results to patients. Patients are able to access results via touch-tone phone or Internet at whatever time is most convenient for them. Providers benefit from more efficient message delivery and thorough documentation of patient retrieval.

TeleVox’s newest product, SmartReach 360™, represents the industry’s only fully-integrated patient outcomes solution. SmartReach 360 analyzes data to find new care opportunities among patients and contacts those patients to schedule additional visits. At the point-of-care, SmartReach 360 provides data to assist physician decision-making. Outcomes are also quantified for use in pay-for-performance and other incentive-driven programs.

About TeleVox - TeleVox Software, Inc., an affiliate of West Interactive Corporation, is a leading provider of communication solutions for the healthcare industry. With 16 years of experience, TeleVox offers a full range of products, including outbound messaging and inbound IVR applications. Supported by a state-of-the-art infrastructure, TeleVox solutions resolve time-consuming communication issues associated with appointment reminders, patient notifications and patient inquiry. TeleVox has a worldwide presence in over 14,000 practices and organizations and delivers millions of messages weekly via telephone and the Internet.

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Contact:
Allison White
TeleVox Software, Inc.
800-644-4266
info@televox.com

Achieving its highest ranking to date at #65, TeleVox has now been part of the Healthcare Informatics 100 for five consecutive years. The company’s outstanding success in 2007 resulted in over $38 million in revenue, an increase of 19% from 2006 and up 245% from TeleVox’s debut on the list in 2004.

The companies included in the Healthcare Informatics 100 represent a broad range of specializations within the healthcare IT sector, covering everything from all-encompassing enterprise systems to very focused best-of-breed solutions.

“It’s an honor to be among the healthcare industry’s leading companies, and our inclusion in the Healthcare Informatics 100 will certainly motivate us to continue developing new products and improving customer care,” says Lisa Taylor, TeleVox’s Senior Vice President of Client Operations. “With over 16 years of experience now under our belt, we’re striving to maintain an even greater presence in the healthcare community.“

Recent product introductions have TeleVox ready to build upon its 2007 success. T.LINK®, TeleVox’s online patient portal, enables convenient two-way communication between practices and their patients regarding appointment notifications, billing, treatment and more. SmartReach 360™ aims to improve patient outcomes by focusing on four key areas: identifying care opportunities, contacting patients, monitoring progress and quantifying outcomes for pay-for-performance and other incentive-based programs.

An affiliate of West Interactive Corporation, TeleVox serves healthcare practices, clinics, hospitals and other health organizations by providing technology that automates provider-patient communications. TeleVox’s outbound automated messaging and inbound patient inquiry systems are currently in use in more than 14,000 healthcare offices worldwide.

About Healthcare Informatics – Founded in 1984, Healthcare Informatics is the industry’s leading publication and is a vital resource for more than 40,000 healthcare IT executives who require insightful coverage and commentary to stay on the cutting edge of technology. Healthcare Informatics is a publication of The McGraw-Hill companies.

About TeleVox – An affiliate of West Interactive Corporation, TeleVox Software, based in Mobile, AL, is a leading provider of communication solutions for the healthcare industry. Since 1992, TeleVox has offered a full range of products, including outbound messaging, inbound IVR applications, interactive website design and hosting, on-hold messaging, secure online communication portals and survey delivery systems. Supported by a state-of-the-art infrastructure, TeleVox solutions resolve time-consuming communication issues associated with appointment reminders, patient notifications, patient inquiry and practice marketing. TeleVox delivers millions of messages weekly via telephone and the Internet.

About West Corporation- West Corporation is a leading provider of outsourced communication solutions to many of the world's largest companies, organizations and government agencies. West helps its clients communicate more effectively, maximize the value of their customer relationships and drive greater profitability from every interaction. The company's integrated suite of customized solutions includes customer acquisition, customer care, automated voice services, emergency communications, conferencing and accounts receivable management services. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, West has a team of 29,000 employees based in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.west.com.

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With T.LINK Express E-mail, dentists and orthodonists will be able to send out appointment reminder e-mails that include improved graphics and enhanced functionality. Offices with T.LINK will have new options and features to choose from, including bold colors, default messages and header images. T.LINK appointment reminder e-mails now include features that improve convenience for patients and responsible parties such as the ability to automatically add appointments to an electronic calendar and the option of accessing directions to the appointment.

T.LINK is the most comprehensive online patient portal in the dental and orthodontic industry. With T.LINK, patients have secure online access to account and appointment information, e-mail and text message appointment reminders and secure payment options. Practices are also able to send online practice newsletters, receive online referrals and collaborate with other specialists.

“We’re really excited about the new Express E-mail. This continues the great new features and updates we’re consistently developing for our T.LINK patient portal,” says James Hamilton, T.LINK Product Manager. “Our customers are very excited about the new look and features of the e-mail, and they were instrumental in the development process.”

Over one million patients and more than 2,000 dentists and orthodontists nationwide currently rely on T.LINK. The Express E-mail feature is exclusively offered with T.LINK.

About TeleVox - TeleVox Software, Inc., an affiliate of West Interactive Corporation, is a leading provider of communication solutions for the healthcare industry. With over 16 years of experience, TeleVox offers a full range of products, including outbound messaging, online patient portals, on-hold messaging, and website design and hosting services. Supported by a state-of-the-art infrastructure, TeleVox solutions resolve time-consuming communication issues associated with appointment reminders, patient notifications and patient inquiry. TeleVox has a worldwide presence in over 14,000 practices and organizations and delivers millions of messages weekly via telephone and the Internet.

Mobile, AL, April 9, 2008 – TeleVox Software, Inc., a leading provider of communication solutions, was recently highlighted in an E Source focus article about proactive customer communication. E Source, an energy business intelligence provider, offered the article to subscribers via its website, www.esource.com.

According to E Source, over the past few years many of the leading U.S. utilities have been searching for a way to better communicate with customers. Until recently, manual telephone calls and mailers were the only link between the utility company and the people they served. When it came to notifying customers about power outages, service appointment reminders and payments due, manual telephone calls were falling short. With an ever expanding database of customers needing to be contacted, utilities have had to test other means of communication and have come up with a solution – automated outbound messaging.

This type of messaging has been around for years. Dental and medical practices have been utilizing this type of communication between their offices and patients since the early nineties through industry leader TeleVox Software, Inc. TeleVox provides a subscription-based automated telephone messaging service through its flagship product HouseCalls™.

With the capacity to make 350,000 calls per hour using HouseCalls, a business has the opportunity to contact thousands of more customers when compared to a manual call center, saving the company valuable staff time. Another benefit for many utilities is the low cost associated with this service. At just pennies per completed call, many companies are experiencing significant savings. Automated calls are much less expensive than hiring for manual call centers or paying employees to make calls.

So how do customers feel about this new avenue of communication? One may assume that automated messages are impersonal and could leave the customer feeling unimportant. However, surveys conducted by JD Power show that utility customers who were contacted via automated message after service interruptions were much more satisfied than those who did not receive a call. It seems that the use of automated messages in this case made a difference in how the customer viewed their service provider. According to Harvey Ellis of Georgia Power “Customer expectations are going up and you constantly have to do things to keep up with that.”

To read the entire E Source article, click HERE. For more information on HouseCalls or to schedule a demonstration, contact TeleVox by calling 800-644-4266 or e-mailing info@televox.com.

About TeleVox - TeleVox Software, Inc., based in Mobile, AL, is a leading provider of communication solutions for the utility industry. With over 16 years of experience, TeleVox offers a full range of products, including outbound messaging; data append services and survey delivery systems. Supported by a state-of-the-art infrastructure, TeleVox solutions resolve time-consuming communication issues associated with customer notifications, appointment reminders and collections efforts. TeleVox has a worldwide presence in over 14,000 organizations and delivers millions of messages weekly via telephone and the Internet.

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