ZirMed has recently launched Patient Notebook, an innovative new website that enables healthcare providers to securely send electronic statements to patients and empowers those patients to view, manage, and pay their statements quickly and easily. Patient Notebook simplifies the payment process for patients, saves healthcare providers up to 40% on their monthly mailing costs, and is environmentally friendly. Much has been made of spiraling healthcare costs in the US. “Restricting care is not the only way to cut healthcare costs,” says Jim Lacy, ZirMed CFO, “Our approach targets an easily avoidable expense. The 44 cents spent to mail each healthcare statement is simply unnecessary.” It is estimated that U.S. healthcare providers spend over $4.8 billion to mail patient statements. With Patient Notebook, patients have an efficient, centralized location where they can manage all their healthcare statements from a variety of providers. Patients demand easier, more user friendly, payment options. Patient Notebook meets these needs by giving patients access to a free secure solution that can be accessed anytime and anywhere. Unlike other kinds of electronic billing services, Patient Notebook allows the provider to view statement delivery information, including payment transaction details, and offers a back-up paper statement if necessary. If a patient doesn’t read the electronic statement within the timeframe specified by the provider, Patient Notebook automatically sends the patient an electronic reminder and eventually a paper statement. “I am excited that during the Patient Notebook pilot program virtually every patient viewed their eStatement and roughly half of those patients immediately paid the balance due. Our pilot customers were able to send eStatements and have those statements read and paid in less time than it takes for a mailed statement to reach its destination,” said Lacy. For providers, ZirMed has made Patient Notebook easy to implement and use. The company provides materials that promote patient registration. Because it is fully integrated with ZirMed’s other products, office staff can learn how to send an eStatement in minutes. Offices switching from another system will find implementation is seamless. ZirMed is also joining with its customers to save more than 3,000 trees each year through Patient Notebook. On Earth Day, the company is launching a program to plant trees at the same rate Patient Notebook saves them. About ZirMed ZirMed is an information technology company with a passion for simplifying the complexities of claims management and revenue generation for healthcare providers. Through a complete set of intuitive, integrated software products, ZirMed maximizes administrative and financial performance. ZirMed solutions include: eligibility verification, credit/debit card processing, check processing, claims management, coding compliancy and reimbursement management, electronic remittance advice, patient statements, patient e-commerce, patient portals, provider credentialing, lock box services – and electronic billing through Patient Notebook.