MediStar Adds Online Access to Credentialing Service

Clients Can Now Track Carrier and Network Participation Status Online

TRUMBULL, CT, February 27, 2006 - MediStar, a revenue cycle management company serving physician- and hospital-based medical practices nationwide, today announced that its Credentials XpressSM service will now give clients online access to their insurance carrier and network participation status.

In order to participate with an insurance carrier or network, a healthcare provider must prepare an extensive application and submit numerous supporting documents. This process is called "credentialing." Each carrier and network has a unique approval process and its own renewal requirements. To attract and retain patients, healthcare providers must be credentialed with multiple carriers and networks. Managing the credentialing process can therefore become an administrative nightmare for physicians and administrators alike.

Credentials Xpress by MediStar offers medical practices and hospital departments an efficient alternative by handling all the administrative work required for credentialing. By ensuring that all application and renewal forms are completed accurately and submitted on time, Credentials Xpress provides physicians with a fast, easy route to insurance carrier and network participation. MediStar first introduced Credentials Xpress in 2003 and is now providing clients with online access to their credentialing status.

"Patients who are covered by insurance are always looking for doctors in their network. Likewise, medical practices and hospitals want to be sure that the insurers will pay them," says Jim Munck, Business Manager at Main Street Pediatrics, a MediStar client in Bridgeport, CT. "Having online access to the credentialing status of our physicians and nurse practitioners really helps us to ensure revenue flow and patient satisfaction. I do not believe there is another service like it available today."

With Credentials Xpress, physicians and medical office administrators can view credentialing status - including progress toward achieving participation with new carriers and networks - by logging in to a personal, private, and secure Credentials Xpress account. Users see only the status information for which they are authorized. For example, an individual doctor has access only to his or her information, while a department head can see the status of all doctors in the department.

"Credentialing a medical staff requires interpretation, expertise, attention to detail, and being proactive. It's a process that needs human involvement and experience," explains Ron Nyman, President of MediStar. "Each carrier - including government insurers, such as Medicare - requires different information in different formats and renewals on different schedules. When a doctor's participation lapses, the insurer will no longer recognize that doctor as an in-network healthcare provider. Our Credentials Xpress service helps to ensure that this does not happen."

MediStar now offers online credentialing status accounts free of charge to Credentials Xpress clients. For more information about the full range of MediStar services and solutions and for details about Credentials Xpress, please call 877-323-8080 or visit www.medistarbilling.com.

About MediStar

Started in 1997 as a medical billing center, MediStar is now a leading provider of comprehensive revenue cycle management services, including billing, credentialing, and consulting for physician- and hospital-based medical practices. With Clinix as its technology platform, MediStar is also able to offer practice management software and support to clients that prefer to manage their own receivables. Based in Trumbull, Connecticut, MediStar specializes in serving multi-practitioner, multi-specialty practices and has clients nationwide. The company has been a member in good standing with the Healthcare Billing and Management Association (HBMA) since 1998. Ron Nyman, MediStar Founder and President, is a Certified Healthcare Billing and Management Executive (CHBME).

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