Telemedicine, Health Tech

EverCommerce buys healthcare communication platform Updox

EverCommerce, a provider of solutions for businesses in the service sector, has added Updox to its roster of health services companies. Updox offers a variety of virtual care, patient engagement and office productivity solutions.

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EverCommerce, which provides marketing, business management and customer retention solutions to businesses in the service sector, has purchased Updox, a healthcare communication platform for both in-person and virtual care.

Updox will join EverCommerce’s portfolio of health services companies and solutions, which includes cloud-based medical billing, specialty EHR, practice management and revenue cycle management software for healthcare practices. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Updox provides virtual care, patient engagement and office productivity solutions for an array of healthcare providers, including physician practices, health systems and post-acute care facilities.

“Updox offers a single, consolidated inbox for providers to manage the entire patient journey and office workflow through solutions like video chat, secure text, and electronic fax and forms that work together to reduce costs and drive revenue,” Mike Morgan, president of Updox, said in an email interview.

The company plans to add new solutions next year.

“In an environment of unprecedented healthcare challenges, we are excited for our two organizations to join forces,” said Matt Feierstein, president and COO of EverCommerce, in a press release. “As a market leader, Updox provides a full suite of differentiated office productivity and virtual care solutions that a practice needs to thrive in today’s healthcare landscape.”

Updox serves more than 560,000 users. It has facilitated over 3.5 million telehealth visits since March and supports more than 15,000 visits per day, according to the press release. The company also recently released a Covid-19 Vaccine Communications Package, which includes secure text, broadcast messaging and electronic forms solutions for providers to help them communicate updates on vaccine availability, appointment details as well as answer patient questions.

Healthcare consumerism has been on the rise for many years. But it gained a significant push forward in 2020, when amid the Covid-19 pandemic, demand for virtual visits and contactless access to providers soared. A recent report, from patient access solutions provider Kyruus, found that 43% of healthcare consumers ranked online scheduling as very or extremely important, and another 42% ranked virtual visits the same. In addition, 49% of millennials and 53% of individuals from Generation X reported they would switch providers to be able to access virtual care.

Further, 58% of healthcare consumers are likely to use telehealth or virtual visits for future healthcare needs, and 74% are now likely to use online chat or texting to provide check-in information before their appointment, according to an Accenture report published last month.

“The market was already moving towards consumerism and value-based care, but Covid-19 accelerated the need for virtual care,” Morgan said. “Now, it’s no longer a novelty — it is a requirement to stay in business.”

“Looking ahead, providers must expand their offerings to include a mix of in-person and virtual visits and engage patients effectively both in and outside the office,” he added. “In doing so, physicians can ultimately be more productive, engage with a larger number of patients and run a highly profitable practice. Updox’s focus on virtual health, patient engagement and paperless office efficiency supports this need.”

Photo credit: LDProd, Getty Images

 

 

 

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