HMS Enhances its Health Engagement Solution with Verified and Branded Mobile Call Functionality

IRVING, Texas, Oct. 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HMS (NASDAQ: HMSY), the leading provider of payment accuracy and population health management solutions, today announced an enhancement to its health engagement solution with the addition of verified visual caller ID for mobile phones.

Less than 50% of U.S. households currently have a landline and home phone usage continues to decline, requiring health plans, state health agencies and other healthcare organizations to engage increasingly with consumers via their mobile phones. With this new functionality, HMS^® clients can improve the consumer experience by including caller ID and branding in outreach made to mobile phones, increasing the likelihood the intended recipient will answer the calls.

In fact, HMS clients leveraging the enhanced solution to date have seen a 12% increase in mobile phone reach rates across all demographics. For the past twenty years, HMS’ Eliza^® health engagement platform has conducted billions of outreach campaigns and engaged with millions of healthcare consumers on behalf of health plans, providers, pharmacy benefit managers and government agencies.

“A combination of illegal robocalls, caller ID spoofs and telephone-based scams has shaken consumer confidence when it comes to answering a call from an unknown number,” said Emmet O’Gara, group president of Population Health Management for HMS. “With the ongoing threat of COVID-19 and flu season just around the corner, this product enhancement is essential to the success of our clients’ rapid health outreach programs. Now more than ever before, it is critical that we reach and effectively engage those who are most vulnerable, to emphasize the importance of taking personal mitigation measures against infectious disease, such as getting a flu shot.”

With the addition of verified visual caller ID to HMS’ health engagement offering, client programs now will include the desired company name, logo, location and context for the call. Rather than seeing an unknown number from an unverified caller, the call recipient will receive a personalized and branded mobile call experience that identifies who is calling and why.

While functionality is dependent on the mobile carrier of the call recipient, all smartphones on the partner carrier’s network will display the caller ID overlay. With home phone use on the decline and seventy percent of consumers stating that they will not answer their mobile phone if they do not recognize the caller’s number, this enhanced solution helps ensure that important health-related communications reach their intended recipients.

In addition, on March 20, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an important order under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to allow healthcare providers to communicate informational, non-marketing messages about the COVID-19 pandemic to patients and members without prior express consent. HMS can help ensure that consumers receive and engage with critical health communications about COVID-19 or other important healthcare information while remaining in compliance with federal guidelines.

About HMS
HMS advances healthcare by helping organizations reduce costs and improve health outcomes. Through our industry-leading technology, analytics and engagement solutions, we save billions of dollars annually while helping consumers lead healthier lives. HMS provides a broad range of payment accuracy and population health management solutions that help move the healthcare system forward. Visit us at www.hms.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Media Contact
Lacey Hautzinger
Senior Director, External Communications
469.284.7240
lacey.hautzinger@hms.com

Source: HMS Holdings Corp