Automating lab workflows to deliver faster care with Relaymed

The hidden cost of manual testing in high-touch care

Sollis Health is looking to reinvent the urgent and emergency care services landscape. Recognizing a gap in acute care services for the concierge model, Sollis created a new field. A high touch, white glove level of care. As one of the first and only providers delivering concierge urgent and emergency services, they’re starting to set a new standard for the patient experience.

Previously, Sollis outsourced lab testing to a third-party service. However, in acute care, waiting even a day for results isn’t an option. Rapid, in-house testing is essential in making real-time clinical decisions. This capability was foundational to their business model and the concierge-level experience they deliver.

To support this shift, Sollis aimed to perform as many lab tests in-house as possible so they could diagnose and treat what a traditional ER sees. In their concierge model, people don’t wait, and patients are seen right away. But this had to be done without staff being overwhelmed with manual data entry into athenaOne’s EHR.

“As the test result defines the outcome and the management of the patient right there, it was not ok to send out to a lab.” said Devin Bustin, Director of Informatics at Sollis Health.

To maintain clinical responsiveness and a high-touch experience, Sollis needed a solution that would support in-house testing without overloading their teams. That’s why they turned to Relaymed, a cloud-based platform that connects point-of-care testing devices to the EHR.

Relaymed offers a scalable solution for in-house lab automation

Manual processes quickly become unsustainable as patient volume grows. Unlike traditional ERs, Sollis wasn’t concerned with throughput, they prioritized the quality of the patient experience for their members. They wanted to reach diagnoses quickly without rushing care, ensuring patients remain part of the decision-making and care coordination process.

In addition, Sollis wanted to be responsible stewards of public health data. Reporting notifiable diseases to state health departments was important to their mission, but it represented another administrative burden. Hiring non-clinical staff to manage reporting would add cost without delivering direct value to members — something Sollis was determined to avoid.

Automation was the answer. Rather than building their own interface, a costly and resource-heavy undertaking, Sollis turned to the athenahealth Marketplace and discovered Relaymed.

By connecting lab instruments directly to athenaOne, Relaymed eliminated the need for manual entry. Results appeared instantly where clinicians needed them. Automating test ordering and result delivery to their EHR became a major value driver for Sollis.

“Relaymed solves the problem, as an end-to-end solution from lab instrument to athenahealth. You don’t need something complex… ! Relaymed is about as simple as it can be and at a price point that’s very reasonable,” said Devin.

With Relaymed’s ready-to-use integration, Sollis saved the time and complexity of building a custom interface. It was an easy win with an immediate impact.

Better staffing and faster care without the tradeoffs

Staff and providers now know test results will be available the moment they're needed to support clinical decisions. Regardless of complexity, all test results are automatically delivered into athenaOne.

Today, Sollis performs over 50 diagnostic tests in-house. Since implementing Relaymed, more than 70,000 results have been delivered into athenaOne, and more than 15,000 notifiable diseases have been reported to state health departments — supporting timely public health response.

“You forget it’s there. And that’s a compliment!” said Devin.

That’s the power of automation. It has enabled Sollis to optimize its staffing model, focusing roles around patient needs rather than administrative tasks. Relaymed and its integration with athenaOne lets Sollis focus on the member experience, deliver faster diagnoses, and reduce overhead tied to manual workflows and reporting. No one needs to manually enter results into their EHR or compile spreadsheets for state notifications. They can now avoid hiring for tasks that don't directly benefit their members or provide value to the membership fee.

This has delivered both qualitative and quantitative value. Sollis estimates Relaymed has saved more than 3,500 staff hours (equating to over 4 hours per day) that can now be reinvested into enhancing the concierge member experience.

Start delivering future-ready care without added overhead

Specialty care providers across the country are automating lab workflows to deliver better care and reduce administrative burden. Explore our Marketplace solutions to see how you can start delivering more efficient care without added overhead.