NEW YORK, April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its digital check-in process, Phreesia offers an electronic version of the nationally recognized Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT), a screening tool to assess risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in toddlers aged 16 to 30 months old.* The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that all children receive autism-specific screening at 18 and 24 months of age, in addition to broad developmental screening at 9, 18 and 24 months. 

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With diminishing reimbursements and rising practice costs, it is increasingly difficult for clinicians to administer clinical risk assessments to patients. Phreesia's comprehensive check-in solution eliminates the time-consuming administrative work from the screening process, allowing clinicians to screen more patients and effortlessly identify those who require further diagnostic evaluation. Since November 2010, Phreesia has screened thousands of children for ASD and has identified over 26 percent who required further evaluation. By administering the M-CHAT electronically with Phreesia, medical practices save hours of staff time previously spent managing paper forms and scoring results, enabling them to spend more time focusing on patient care and engaging with patients in the exam room.

Says Rondie Ervin, MD, of Victory Pediatrics in Covington, Ga., "Phreesia has made the standardized developmental screening process incredibly easy for us. We had been administering the M-CHAT on paper, which is a very cumbersome process. With Phreesia, we've been able to go paperless and it automatically scores the results, which we can then upload into our system. This saves us about 20 minutes of work per patient, and I feel confident that we are screening our patients appropriately and giving them the level of care that they need."

Used by thousands of medical practices nationwide, Phreesia is the leader in patient check-in. Phreesia digitizes the check-in process with an electronic, touchscreen PhreesiaPad, which patients use to enter their demographic, insurance and clinical information, as well as to pay their copayments and balances. In addition to streamlining the check-in process, Phreesia also enhances clinical care, in part through offering a wide array of health risk assessments and other quality of care initiatives.

Says Phreesia CEO Chaim Indig, "Phreesia is proud to support pediatricians in screening their patients for ASD. We recognize that with growing costs, it is difficult for many clinicians to administer the M-CHAT to their patients, and our technology makes it easy for them to screen all of their patients properly, while minimizing administrative costs. Together, we can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of patient care, and help growing numbers of children get the appropriate early intervention services they need."

About Phreesia

Phreesia, the patient check-in company, streamlines the patient check-in process, helping medical practices increase cash flow and save staff time. With its wireless, touchscreen PhreesiaPad, the solution allows medical practices to effortlessly collect comprehensive patient information, electronically verify insurance, and collect payments both at the point of care and outside of the office. Phreesia also helps practices improve clinical outcomes by digitizing the administration of billable events, and ensuring that those events are completed, documented and fully reimbursed. Phreesia delivers fully interactive content direct to patients, and is designed to interface with clinicians' existing and future technology. It is committed to enhancing the patient experience and enabling clinicians to stay at the forefront of patient care. For more information, visit www.phreesia.com. 

*M-CHAT is used with permission of the copyright holders. M-CHAT © 1999 Diana Robins, Deborah Fein, & Marianne Barton. For more information about the M-CHAT, please see the official website: http://www2.gsu.edu/~psydlr/DianaLRobins/Official_M-CHAT_Website.html.

SOURCE Phreesia