What You Should Know: 

– VieCure, a leading cancer care company, announced today that it’s integrating DrFirst’s e-prescribing and medication management solutions into its clinical decision support system. 

– VieCure is a well-established point-of-care intelligence system specifically designed for community oncologists. Utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), patient data, and a comprehensive oncology knowledge base, VieCure generates personalized treatment plans for cancer patients, including medication recommendations.

Expanding Functionality with DrFirst

VieCure is taking its partnership with DrFirst, a health technology pioneer, a step further. They are adding DrFirst’s flagship electronic prescribing platform, Rcopia, to their existing use of EPCS Gold, a controlled substance prescribing solution.

Benefits of Rcopia Integration:

• Improved Workflow Efficiency: Rcopia offers a streamlined workflow for all e-prescribing needs, reducing administrative burden for physicians and clinical staff.
• Enhanced Patient Care: Rcopia provides access to the nation’s most complete medication history data feed, along with allergy and clinical alerts. This allows for better-informed prescribing decisions.
• Price Transparency: Rcopia integrates price transparency tools, enabling informed discussions about medication costs between patients and providers.
• Promoting Medication Adherence: Tools within Rcopia encourage patients to adhere to their medication regimens, leading to potentially better treatment outcomes.
• Comprehensive Pain Management View: Direct access to state prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) gives prescribers a complete picture of a patient’s pain management medications.

“VieCure’s integration of DrFirst’s Rcopia underscores our dedication to enhancing patient safety, optimizing clinical workflows, and satisfying customers,” said Fred Ashbury, PhD, MACE, VieCure co-founder and chief scientific officer. “We look forward to providing our clients with Rcopia’s advanced features for medication history, medication adherence monitoring, electronic prior authorizations, and real-time prescription benefit checks.”

What You Should Know:

– As healthcare organizations have come out of the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, EMR purchase decisions in Asia have ramped up. In Oceania, most public hospitals have an EMR in place, but purchase energy remains high since many public and private provider organizations are planning large-scale purchases of go-forward EMRs.

– This report—KLAS’ first focused exclusively on Asia and Oceania—highlights (1) market share and vendor energy in recent EMR purchase decisions and (2) vendor performance in each region based on client feedback and experience.

Understanding and Analyzing The State of EMRs in Asia/Oceania

Each year, KLAS interviews thousands of healthcare professionals about the IT solutions and services their organizations use. For this report, interviews were conducted over the last 12 months using KLAS’ standard quantitative evaluation for healthcare software, which is composed of 16 numeric ratings questions and 4 yes/no questions, all weighted equally. Combined, the ratings for these questions make up the overall performance score, which is measured on a 100-point scale. The questions are organized into six customer experience pillars—culture, loyalty, operations, product, relationship, and value.

The key insights obtained from the report are listed and explained as follows:

IQVIA Growing Fast in Asia, with Improved Support & Delivery in South and Southeast Asia:

IQVIA has one of the broadest market footprints in Asia. Customers span six countries in Southeast Asia and are also found in India and Sri Lanka. The customer base for IQVIA’s go-forward Arcus Air platform (acquired from Incarnus Technologies in 2019) has more than tripled in the last five years, with 19 organizations selecting it. The hosted cloud version has been adopted by customers in Cambodia, India, and Thailand. Support has improved since the acquisition, even through the pandemic. Clients describe strong partnership from IQVIA and say their representatives know the customer organization well and respond quickly. A recent product upgrade has led to some reports of system slowness, hurting client satisfaction slightly.

ezCaretech a Strong Performer in South Korea, Slow to Expand to Other Countries

ezCaretech has a significant presence in South Korea, where they are headquartered and where they have steadily grown in the last five years. They have the highest overall score of measured vendors in Asia, and clients—especially large academic hospitals, where the solution is widely used—report good development of BESTCare. Customers describe BESTCare as a high-quality solution with robust functionality and solid integration. Some want ezCaretech to provide faster development and better training. Recent employee turnover has resulted in slower responsiveness. ezCaretech’s new offering, EDGE&NEXT, is a smaller, cloud-based solution that has been adopted by some smaller hospitals in South Korea. ezCaretech was also selected by a hospital in Japan, their first Asia client outside South Korea.

InterSystems Delivers Solid Performance to Broad Customer Base:

InterSystems has clients (mostly private hospital groups) across five different Asian countries and has the largest market presence in the region among the multiregional vendors KLAS monitors. The highly configurable TrakCare product generally meets expectations and is working well for clients in multiple countries. Respondents describe good relationships with InterSystems’ executives, strong support, and smooth implementations. Customers would like to see more proactive outreach from InterSystems in terms of adapting to local requirements, rather than reacting when clients initiate conversations. Clients also want more proactive communication about available training resources and newly released features; on a related note, clients feel usability for tools like CPOE could be improved.

Oracle Health (Cerner) Has the Largest Existing Market Share in Oceania, Lowest Customer Satisfaction:

Oracle Health, who acquired Cerner in June 2022, currently has the largest presence of any EMR vendor in Oceania, with several large, longstanding government contracts, including in New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria. Over 200 hospitals have digitized various clinician and departmental workflows through the use of Oracle Health. However, in November 2022, New South Wales Health announced their selection of Epic for their Single Digital Patient Record program. In terms of the Oracle Health client experience, customers are increasingly frustrated, and customer satisfaction in the region is currently at the lowest point KLAS has measured. Respondents note that significant turnover has hurt support and customer relationships, and clients say they are left with inexperienced personnel and poor problem resolution. Hospitals that have retained the same vendor representatives report higher satisfaction and smoother experiences. The product itself generally meets customers’ needs and is a strength for Oracle Health. However, the slower pace of development has led to unmet promises for specific functionality. Customers are divided on their outlook following the acquisition: some are hopeful for technology improvements, while others are less optimistic and expect turnover issues to continue.

Epic (Limited Data) Stands Out for Relationships in Australia:

At the time this research concluded, four organizations were live with Epic in Oceania (all in Melbourne, Australia), and all have achieved HIMSS Level 6; a fifth customer went live in late 2022. The three interviewed Epic clients report consistently high satisfaction, highlighting Epic’s strong partnership through the implementation and after go-live. Respondents appreciate Epic’s proactivity and strategic engagement when it comes to broad change management. Customers do feel training and product usability could improve.

Renewed Customer Focus from InterSystems & Telstra Have Led to Improvements:

Following some challenges in Oceania, InterSystems restructured their team prior to the pandemic to better support the Australian market. Those efforts have helped some struggling clients make improvements and successfully go live. Today, customers remain somewhat dissatisfied with InterSystems: several upgrades (from heavily customized environments to InterSystems’ country- specific editions) had significant delays and challenges that were exacerbated by stretched resources and insufficient training. Going forward, most clients plan to stick with InterSystems, feeling that things will continue to improve. They cite enhancements like a long- awaited interface revamp (part of a new upgrade) aimed at better mobile device support.

KLAS does not have historical performance data on Telstra Health, but recently interviewed customers consistently note that while they struggled during implementation and in the early stages of using the product (five or more years ago), the vendor has recently made significant improvements to product stability and the user interface. Customers can deploy the solution in most departments and do most documentation electronically, though some still use paper forms or a third party for ePrescribing. Respondents feel Telstra Health has recommitted themselves to focusing on customer relationships and proactive service. Customers want Telstra to continue making positive strides in areas like integration and development.

The report also had combined insights regarding Altera Digital Health for Asia and Oceania:

Altera Digital Health (formerly Allscripts) has a few clients using Sunrise Acute Care in Asia and Oceania, but KLAS was unable to interview enough unique clients for the vendor to be rated in the individual regions; this report shares their aggregate performance across both regions. Altera is used by a large number of hospitals in South Australia and by a few clients in Singapore and Guam; one organization in the Philippines is implementing.

Customer satisfaction with the solution is at its lowest level since KLAS started measuring it in 2015. Most customers plan to stay because of the effort required to get the solution to its current state, but few would buy it again. Clients’ chief complaints are slow development, inexperienced staff, poor relationships, and unkept promises. It is too soon to tell the impact of the Harris Healthcare acquisition.

OptimizeRx Acquires EvinceMed, a Specialty Drug Prescription Initiation Platform

OptimizeRx, a provider of point-of-care technology solutions helping patients start and stay on therapy announced a definitive agreement to acquire the EvinceMed platform and related assets. EvinceMed is a provider in delivering end-to-end automation for specialty pharmaceutical transactions. The acquisition includes the full Market Access Management Platform supporting pharma manufacturers, hub providers and pharmacies to improve patient access, speed to therapy and activation of affordability programs.

Lyniate and NextGate Announce Merger Agreement

Lyniate, a leader in healthcare data interoperability, has announced a merger agreement with NextGate, a pioneer in Enterprise Master Person Index (EMPI). This strategic combination will help meet increased market demand for more advanced interoperability solutions that address data quality as well as data-sharing, furthering Lyniate’s commitment to building connections for a healthier world.

Strategic Partnerships

MEDITECH and Google Health Partner on Integrated Solution 

MEDITECH announced a new collaboration with Google Health that will embed Google’s search and summarization capabilities within the Expanse EHR. This functionality builds upon the integrated, longitudinal record inherent in Expanse by pulling forward discrete information from legacy and disparate systems and filling gaps in information for a more holistic view of a patient’s record.

Samsung Advances Smart Hospital Experience with New Connected TV and Mobile Digital Health Solutions

Samsung Electronics America today announced the launch of its new 4K QLED Smart Healthcare TVs (HT-Q60A Series) and its partnership with healthtech company, ShareSafe today at HIMSS. The first 4K QLED Smart Healthcare TV in the industry, Samsung’s Smart Healthcare TV transforms in-room displays into easily managed, all-in-one communication hubs personalized for hospital patients and senior care residents, significantly improving collaboration, patient engagement and workflow efficiency. 

Now, clinicians can seamlessly access patient electronic health records (EHRs), information and telehealth consultations in brilliant high definition via a secure wireless connection between the Samsung Smart Healthcare TV and a mobile device using ShareSafe’s content casting technology. 

Evidation, VA Collaborate to Enroll Veterans in Personalized Heart Health Program

Evidation, the company enabling anyone to participate in ground-breaking health programs, launches a new program in collaboration with the VA. The program — Heart Health on Evidation — will encourage veterans to understand and engage with their cardiovascular health using their smartphones and wearables. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of hospitalization in the VA health care system.

Veterans who opt to participate in the program, which was co-developed with the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and is run through Evidation’s app, will be able to track relevant heart health data over time, like activity, mood, symptom, and weight data, and have that data shared back with them weekly. They’ll also be able to access clinically-backed educational content on topics like medication, nutrition, and stress from the ACC’s CardioSmart patient program. 

Mantra Health teams up with NAIA to provide mental health support for college athletes

Mantra Health, the preeminent digital mental health clinic focused on young adults, has been named the official digital mental health provider for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). All 252 NAIA member institutions have the capability to expand mental health services beyond what’s currently available on campuses to help student-athletes via telehealth. In addition to its ability to provide virtual care to students at the moment through its Patient Portal, Mantra’s Referral Portal allows non-clinical staff on-campus, including coaches and athletics staff to refer students in need directly into care.

ClearDATA Partners with Keystone to Deliver Healthcare Solutions

ClearDATA announced a new partnership with Keystone Technologies, a leader in healthcare technology consulting and services. ClearDATA will also be presenting a HIMSS22 session entitled, “The Future of Connected Health: Operationalizing Privacy & Security,” at the AWS Partner Podium. For Keystone, the collaboration facilitates an opportunity to drive their mission via greater market penetration.

Firefly Health Adds Whole-Person Digestive Care to Its Virtual Specialty Network 

Firefly Health – a virtual-first healthcare company with a mission of delivering half-priced healthcare that’s twice as good, clinically and emotionally – today named Oshi Health, the virtual specialty care company transforming gastrointestinal (GI) health outcomes and economics, as its preferred partner for digestive care. 

Explorer Surgical Announce Newest Customer, Pega Medical

Explorer Surgical, a GHX Company, announced an expansion of its presence in the pediatric orthopedic medical device space through its newest customer, Pega Medical. In support of extending the highest quality care and the best possible outcomes to pediatric patients, this partnership provides Pega Medical’s medical device reps and senior-level clinical teams with access to Explorer Surgical’s digital case support platform that facilitates sharing procedural best practices remotely and real-time collaboration during live procedures. 

Main Line Health Collaborates with Yext and Stericycle Communication Solutions 

Main Line Health, a health care system in the Greater Philadelphia region, is partnering with Yext, Inc., the AI Search Company, and Stericycle Communication Solutions, specialists in patient engagement and a service of Stericycle, Inc., to enhance and streamline its search and online scheduling functions for patients by using advanced technologies. The not-for-profit Philly-based health system is using Yext’s Find-a-Doc search and Stericycle’s Intelligent Scheduling Solution powered by InQuicker™ to enable patients to self-serve their healthcare search and appointment booking needs through Main Line Health’s website. Patients will use an AI search engine with natural language processing (NLP) to find doctors, specialties, conditions and more, and then directly in the search results be able to book an appointment through Stericycle’s digital scheduling platform.

Venture Capital Funding

Woebot Health Secures $9.5M Investment

Woebot Health announced that Leaps by Bayer, the impact investment arm of Bayer AG, has made a $9.5 million strategic investment in the company to help accelerate further development of its AI-powered behavioral health platform and products. The stake in Woebot Health marks Leaps by Bayer’s first investment in mental health technology, broadening a portfolio defined by a commitment to address the global need for pioneering solutions that deliver engaging and continuous care. The announcement follows Woebot Health’s $90 million Series B round in 2021 and brings total investment in the company to date to $123.5 million.

OpenLoop Raises $8M Series A to Expand Full Stack, Whitelabel Telehealth Services

OpenLoop, a health tech leader delivering full stack clinical support to companies launching and scaling virtual care services across the nation raises Series A funding round of $8M led by  SpringTide Ventures. OpenLoop, known for the quality, flexibility and breadth of services they offer to clients who are often early in their telehealth delivery journeys, will use this fresh capital to continue to expand their technology-enabled infrastructure. They will be doubling headcount and expanding their practice management and revenue cycle management arms, making OpenLoop a true “one-stop-shop” for digital health clients.

Behavidence Raises $4.3M to Expand AI-Driven Psychiatric & Neurological Disorders Monitoring

Behavidence, a leading startup company that monitors psychiatric and neurological disorders using artificial intelligence, announced a $4.3 million seed round led by Welltech Ventures, featuring Arc Impact and Longevity Ventures.

Founded in 2020, Behavidence offers multiple digital phenotyping models that can predict disorders such as depression, anxiety, ADHD and more. These digital phenotyping solutions have been adopted by health organizations, tech, commercial and government entities. The Behavidence products can be used as a measurement-based outcome to monitor employee burnout, stress, predict relapse of conditions, screening, and remote monitoring for clinical interventions and comorbid conditions.

Enter raises $5.7 Million Seed Funding to Build Stripe for Healthcare

Healthcare payments platform Enter, which is on a mission to simplify that process on both sides of the transaction, has just come out of stealth mode after raising a $5.7 million seed round led by Menlo Ventures with participation from Quiet Capital, Savantus Ventures, 500, and SpringRock Ventures along with angels including Matt Roszak and Mato Peric. Enter works with more than 125 different healthcare providers and recently reached the milestone of processing $250 million in total claim value on the platform.

Platform Launches

Microsoft expands healthcare cloud strategy with new solutions

Microsoft announced advancements in cloud technologies for healthcare and life sciences with the general availability of Azure Health Data Services and updates to Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare.

Azure Health Data Services is purpose-built for protected health information (PHI) and brings together diverse datasets — like clinical, imaging and streaming data from medical devices — in the cloud using global interoperability standards of Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR^®) and Digital Imaging Communications in Medicine (DICOM). Azure Health Data Services is the only generally available solution of its kind to ingest, manage and transform a combination of clinical, imaging and medtech data. While other solutions exist for clinical and imaging data, Azure Health Data Services provides the most holistic view of the patient by unifying all three types of health data.

Microsoft announced several updates and new features that further strengthen Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare. The improvements are designed to transform the healthcare journey, using AI to give full visibility into data, reduce provider administrative burden, boost productivity for care teams on the frontline, increase workflow automation that can improve quality of care, reduce clinician burnout, and deliver better care faster and at a lower cost.

Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare also introduces new features that improve clinical and operational insights, such as Text Analytics for health structuring to FHIR. Text Analytics for health enables healthcare organizations to process and extract insights from unstructured medical data. This new feature transforms unstructured clinical documents into FHIR resource bundles to accelerate insights and supercharge interoperability. Microsoft is the first cloud provider to allow customers to formalize their natural language processing output as bundles of interconnected hierarchical FHIR resources, in adherence with the U.S. Core standards.

Philips Capsule Surveillance receives 510(k) clearance

Philips Capsule Surveillance solution has received 510(k) market clearance from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), paving the way for widespread deployment across healthcare systems in the USA. Capable of utilizing streaming data from virtually any connected medical device, the solution aggregates patient data, analyses it to generate actionable insights and alerts, and sends timely notifications to the patient’s caregivers so that they can intervene before deterioration progresses further. 

Notable Launches AI-Powered Scheduling Technology

Notable, the leading intelligent automation company for healthcare, today announced Intelligent Scheduling, the only digital solution that helps patients schedule appointments based on their desire for care or guidance from a provider, eliminating the need for phone calls. In addition to allowing for patient self-scheduling, Intelligent Scheduling proactively and automatically reaches out to patients throughout their care journey to ensure appropriate appointments are scheduled. 

BioIntelliSense Launches New BioButton® Rechargeable Wearable Device

BioIntelliSense, a continuous health monitoring and clinical intelligence company, expands its commitment to creating a new standard of remote patient care with the commercial launch of its medical grade BioButton® Rechargeable wearable device. The new BioButton Rechargeable device allows for continuous multi-parameter monitoring of a broad range of 20+ vital signs and physiologic biometrics for up to 30 days on a single charge, based on configuration. The device’s comprehensive set of leading indicators allows for the early identification and detection of adverse trends to improve patient monitoring safety and efficacy from in the hospital to the home.

Adobe Experience Cloud for Healthcare Launches

Adobe announced the general availability of Adobe Experience Cloud for Healthcare, a solution that empowers healthcare enterprises to deliver seamless customer journeys with personalized and secure digital experiences.  Adobe Experience Cloud for Healthcare enables healthcare and life science companies to activate robust health and behavioral insights that shape everything from member acquisition, retention and connected health. Unlocking capabilities across the health and life science industries for healthcare providers, insurance companies and pharmacies, these innovations will reshape how patients interact with their health.

Theator Partners with the Canadian Association of General Surgeons to Launch Surgical Intelligence-Based Coaching Program

 Theator, the first-of-its-kind Surgical Intelligence Platform, announced its partnership with Canadian Association of General Surgeons (CAGS) to improve standards of care by infusing Surgical Intelligence, a new category of healthtech created by Theator, into their surgical coaching program. The partnership is an effort to reimagine an outdated apprenticeship model in surgical training. Mentors and mentees will use Theator’s Surgical Intelligence Platform to analyze video footage captured in the operating room and offer actionable insights for performance improvement, ultimately leading to a new gold standard in surgical care.  

FDB Launches FDB Vela

FDB (First Databank), which is based in South San Francisco and owned by Hearst Health, announced at HIMSS this morning the launch of the country’s second eprescribing network, FDB Vela. For the past 15 years, the country has been served by only one eprescribing network (Surescripts).

DeliverHealth Announces Partner Program Launch

DeliverHealth, a global provider of technology-enabled solutions for hospitals, health systems, and group practices, today announced the formal launch of its partner program. The program supports strategic partners in growing sales domestically and internationally, and enables healthcare organizations to achieve true healthcare transformation and innovation – improving patient outcomes and reducing overall costs.

eVisit and Infermedica Collaborate to Add Triaging API to Virtual Care Platform

eVisit partners with Infermedica, a health AI company that improves the symptom assessment and triaging processes, that will embed Infermedica API into eVisit’s Virtual Care Platform. The move will enhance the efficiency of telehealth providers by enabling front-end, early symptom assessment to help guide patients to the right care at the right place.

Synaptiq Launches CLABSI Machine Vision Pilot Program for Hospitals Integrating Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare

Synaptiq has launched a machine vision pilot program to help improve speed of care, patient outcomes, and reduce preventable deaths from hospital-borne Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections. The pilot program integrates Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare and will commence in Spring 2022 and run 3-6 months.

Central Line placement is a common procedure in a hospital intensive care unit with lifesaving applications. However, it is not risk-free: a Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection (CLABSI) occurs when bacteria or other harmful agents enter the bloodstream through a Central Line.

What You Should Know:

– OptimizeRx, a provider of point-of-care technology solutions helping patients start and stay on therapy announced a definitive agreement to acquire the EvinceMed platform and related assets. Financial details were not disclosed.

– EvinceMed is a provider in delivering end-to-end automation for specialty pharmaceutical transactions. The acquisition includes the full Market Access Management Platform supporting pharma manufacturers, hub providers and pharmacies to improve patient access, speed to therapy and activation of affordability programs.

Acquisition Benefits

With the EvinceMed platform, OptimizeRx will be able to help patients get access to the drugs they need by simplifying the prescribing process for specialty products, automating manual steps to determine drug eligibility and affordability, and introducing electronic enrollment and medical documentation within workflow across the OptimizeRx network of over 300 electronic health record (EHR) systems, ePrescribing platforms, and account-based marketing technologies spanning more than 700 thousand providers. The integration of the EvinceMed and OptimizeRx platforms has already begun with an exclusive collaboration that began last year. Full integration of the technology assets will further the Company’s ability to help patients start and stay on therapy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the healthcare continuum within the past year, creating many roadblocks in the path towards high-quality care delivery. Amid these challenges, we have witnessed a significant shift in patient wants and needs, in addition to heightened demand for accessible, convenient clinical care. Notably, the desire for more care processes to be performed digitally has emerged as a priority among patients. According to a recent survey by Accenture about patient behaviors, 60% of the 2,700 patients surveyed said they want to continue using technology and use it more often, both to manage conditions and to communicate with their healthcare providers.

In responding to the changing healthcare landscape, there is a new exigency to reassess the wants and needs of patients. Providers of all types are exploring new methods, processes and solutions that can help them meet both evolving patient desires and shifting demands for episodic and longitudinal care. However, for modern care providers who operate on a more retail, patient-consumer business model, such as the urgent care market, adjusting the way they operate to better serve their patient populations carries even more weight and dramatically swings the fortunes of both their short and long-term business success. As patients increasingly choose convenient, on-demand care locations, the way urgent care providers engage with patients and foster an ideal patient experience is vital for 2021 and beyond.

Year One of living through a pandemic has underscored the importance of healthcare providers evolving alongside their patients.  By harnessing key capabilities of patient engagement technology and delivering the care experience patients expect, urgent care providers will take the lead in delivering what we might consider the healthcare experience 2.0 moving forward. 

Moving more of the care process to the digital space

There has been rapid adoption of telehealth and virtual care processes within the past year, along with an escalated awareness of how technology can revolutionize the healthcare landscape. The shift towards more digital and remote care options since the onset of COVID-19 has provided a level of relief to those worried about exposure from standing in lines or spending time in crowded waiting rooms at their local urgent care clinic. With the Urgent Care Association’s annual Benchmarking Report stating that roughly 97% of urgent care experiences are up to or less than one hour for patients, both the practicality of these facilities and their ability to efficiently serve patients in need of quick, accessible, convenient care has been revealed more broadly. The appeal of the modern urgent care experience has captured the attention of new patients, many of which seeking a digitally native care experience, as well. In 2020 alone, visits from new urgent care patients comprised nearly half of all urgent care visits across more than 5,000 U.S. clinics.

To keep this influx of patients safe from infection and physically distanced for as much of their visit as possible, clinics are offering expanded visit-related functionalities through digital platforms. Online portals allow patients to handle almost all non-treatment visit components virtually. Patients can schedule appointments through electronic patient registration (EPR) via a mobile device, fill out required pre- and post-visit paperwork online, monitor the wait time queue at their location and receive notifications and reminders when it is time to arrive for their appointment. Additionally, to add digital convenience beyond online scheduling, EPR increases accuracy in the electronic record, enabling smoother processing of claims, fewer rejections, and quicker payment. While this improves the revenue cycle for providers and simplifies the workload of the front desk, it also gives patients peace of mind, reduces their anxiety, and shortens their time spent in-clinic. 

Practicing over-communication with patients electronically

With continued concerns, confusion and questions around the latest status and protocols surrounding COVID-19, many patients seek more direct communication. Providers must recognize the intensified human component of healthcare today, understanding that the needs and emotions of patients have amplified due to fears emanating from the pandemic, resulting in more questions to be answered and more expectations for guidance. With this understanding, providers are maximizing their use of digital and electronic communication solutions to ensure patients are engaged, educated and assured in the ways they need. 

To enhance engagement between on-site providers and off-site patients, urgent care providers can harness technology to stay connected with their patients before, during, and after a visit. For example, by using online surveys as a timely follow-up, providers can quickly gauge patient satisfaction levels and patients are able to share feedback with ease. For urgent care practitioners, access to a comprehensive suite of solutions and EMR can facilitate operations including ePrescribing, charting, and retrieving patient information. Through administering digital services that make it easy to collect visit reviews and patient feedback data, providers can see what works well and what needs to be adjusted at their clinic to ensure patients feel positive about their visits on a consistent basis. 

Transparency is also key to gain the trust of patients, and can be also achieved through patient portals and EMR software, which provide a seamless care path that is approachable and user-friendly. Text-based surveys and virtual wait rooms also offer patients insight into operations, which can provide them the assurance needed around any hesitations with seeking care. Finally, technology can uphold safety measures by reducing errors and securing patient information. With an integrated suite of software solutions, urgent cares can gather and interpret data to better understand the wants and needs of patients and unearth new ways of improving experiences while ensuring their concerns are being addressed. The adoption of technology goes beyond streamlining overall workflow processes – implementing digital tools enables providers to better serve patients and ensure safety.

Moving forward

Technology plays a necessary role in transforming healthcare, and the rapid implementation of digital solutions and tools following the COVID-19 pandemic attests to this. Patients, like consumers in all other industries, make decisions based on their feelings. In urgent care, these feelings are shaped by more external factors than ever. Evolving alongside patient expectations and introducing effective patient engagement solutions in the urgent care setting not only helps providers manage the patient experience, but it can also have a significant effect on patient outcomes – the best of both worlds.

About Tim Dybvig

Tim Dybvig is the senior vice president of patient engagement at Experity where he oversees patient engagement operations. Experity is the leading HIT company providing integrated technology solutions to more than 5,800 on-demand healthcare practices and urgent care centers nationwide. Prior to his current role, Tim was the CEO and co-founder of reputation management company Calibrater Health, which has since become part of the suite of solutions provided by Experity. Tim can be found on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Dr. Paul Hain, Chief Medical Officer of GoHealth

Telehealth is Here to Stay in 2021

Prior to the pandemic, telehealth was a limited ad-hoc service with geographic and provider restrictions. However, with both the pandemic restrictions on face to face interactions and a relaxation of governmental regulations, telehealth utilization has significantly increased from thousands of visits in a week to well over a million in the Medicare population. What we’ve learned is that telehealth allows patients, especially high-risk populations like seniors, to connect with their doctors in a safe and efficient way. Telehealth is valuable for many types of visits, mostly clearly ones that involve mental health or physical health issues that do not require a physical exam or procedure. It’s an efficient modality for both the member and provider.

With the growing popularity of telehealth services, we may see permanent changes in regulatory standards. Flexible regulatory standards, such as being able to use platforms like FaceTime or Skype, would lower the barrier to entry for providers to offer telehealth and also encourage adoption, especially among seniors. Second, it’s likely we’ll see an emergence of providers with aligned incentives around value, such as in many Medicare Advantage plans, trying very hard to encourage utilization with their members so that they get the right care at the right time. In theory, the shift towards value-based care will allow better care and lower costs than the traditional fee for service model. If we are able to evolve regulatory and payment environments, providers have an opportunity to grow these types of services into 2021 to improve patient wellness and health outcomes.

Dr. Salvatore Viscomi, Chief Medical Officer, GoodCell

2021 will be the year of patient controlled-health

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the realities of a global-scale health event – and our general lack of preparedness to address it – to the forefront. People are now laser-focused on how they can protect themselves and their families against the next inevitable threat. On top of this, social distancing and isolation accelerated the development and use of digital health tools, from wellness trackers to telehealth and virtual care, most of which can be accessed from the comfort of our homes. The convergence of these two forces is poised to make 2021 the year for patient-controlled health, whereby health decisions are not dictated by – but rather made in consultation with – a healthcare provider, leveraging insights and data pulled from a variety of health technology tools at people’s fingertips.

Anish Sebastian, CEO of Babyscripts

Beyond telemedicine

Telemedicine was the finger in the dyke at the beginning of pandemic panic, with healthcare providers grabbing whatever came to hand — encouraged by relaxed HIPAA regulations — to keep the dam from breaking. But as the dust settles, telemedicine is emerging as the commodity that it is, and value-add services are going to be the differentiating factors in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Offerings like remote patient monitoring and asynchronous communication, initially considered as “nice-to-haves,” are becoming standard offerings as healthcare providers see their value for continuous care beyond Covid.

Daniel Kivatinos, COO and Co-Founder of DrChrono

Telehealth visits are going to supersede in-person visits as time goes on.

Because of COVID-19, the world changed and Medicare and Medicaid, as well as other insurers, started paying out for telehealth visits. Telemedicine will continue to grow at a very quick rate, and verticals like mental health (psychology and psychiatry) and primary care fit perfectly into the telemedicine model, for tasks like administering prescription refills (ePrescribing) and ordering labs. Hyperlocal medical care will also move towards more of a telemedicine care team experience. Patients that are homebound families with young children or people that just recently had surgery can now get instant care when they need it. Location is less relevant because patients can see a provider from anywhere.

Dennis McLaughlin VP of Omni Operations + Product at ibi

Virtual Healthcare is Here to Stay (House Calls are Back)

This new normal however is going to put significant pressure on the data support and servicing requirements to do it effectively. As more services are offered to patients outside of established clinical locations, it also means there will be more opportunity to collect data and a higher degree of dependence on interoperability. Providers are going to have to up their game from just providing and recording facts to passing on critical insight back into these interactions to maximize the benefits to the patient.

Sarahjane Sacchetti, CEO at Cleo

Virtual care (of all types) will become a lasting form of care: The vastly accelerated and broadened use of virtual care spurred by the pandemic will become permanent. Although it started with one-off check-ins or virtual mental health coaching, 2021 will see the continued rise in the use and efficacy of virtual care services once thought to be in-person only such as maternity, postpartum, pediatric, and even tutoring. Employers are taking notice of this shift with 32% indicating that expanded virtual health services are a top priority, and this number will quickly rise as employers look to offer flexible and convenient benefits in support of employees and to drive productivity.

Omri Shor, CEO of Medisafe

Digital expansion: The pandemic has accelerated patient technology adoption, and innovation remains front-and-center for healthcare in 2021. Expect to see areas of telemedicine and digital health monitoring expand in new and novel ways, with increased uses in remote monitoring and behavioral health. CMS has approved telehealth for a number of new specialties and digital health tools continue to gain adoption among healthcare companies, drug makers, providers, and patients. 

Digital health companions will continue to become an important tool to monitor patients, provide support, and track behaviors – while remaining socially distant due to the pandemic.  Look for crossover between medical care, drug monitoring, and health and wellness – Apple 

Watch has already previewed this potential with heart rate and blood oxygen monitoring. Data output from devices will enable support to become more personalized and triggered by user behavior. 

Kelli Bravo, Vice President, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Pegasystems

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only changed and disrupted our lives, it has wreaked havoc on the entire healthcare industry at a scale we’ve never seen before. And it continues to alter almost every part of life across the globe. The way we access and receive healthcare has also changed as a result of social distancing requirements, patient concerns, provider availability, mobile capabilities, and newly implemented procedures at hospitals and healthcare facilities.

For example, hospitals and providers are postponing elective procedures again to help health systems prepare and reserve ICU beds amid the latest COVID-19 resurgence. While level of care is always important, in some areas, the inability to access a healthcare provider is equally concerning. And these challenges may become even more commonplace in the post-COVID-19 era. One significant transformation to help with the hurdle is telehealth, which went from a very small part of the care offering before the health crisis to one that is now a much more accepted way to access care.
As the rise in virtual health continues to serve consumers and provide a personalized and responsive care experience, healthcare consumers expect support services and care that are also fast and personalized – with digital apps, instant claims settlements, transparency, and advocacy. And to better help serve healthcare consumers, the industry has an opportunity to align with digital transformation that offers a personalized and responsive experience.

Brooke LeVasseur, CEO of AristaMD

Issues pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to be front-and-center in 2021. Every available digital tool in the box will have to be employed to ensure patients with non-COVID related issues are not forgotten as we try to free up in-person space and resources for those who cannot get care in any other setting. Virtual front doors, patient/physician video and eConsults, which connect providers to collaborate electronically, will be part of a broadening continuum of care – ultimately aimed at optimizing every valuable resource we have.

Bret Larsen, CEO and Co-Founder, eVisit

By the end of 2021, virtual care paths will be fairly ubiquitous across the continuum of care, from urgent care and EDs to specialty care, all to serve patients where they are – at home and on mobile devices. This will be made possible through virtualized end-to-end processes that integrate every step in patient care from scheduling, waiting rooms, intake and patient queuing, to interpretation services, referral management, e-prescribe, billing and analytics, and more.

Laura Kreofsky, Vice President for Advisory & Telehealth for Pivot Point Consulting

2020 has been the year of rapid telehealth adoption and advancement due to the COVID pandemic. According to CDC reports, telehealth utilization spiked as much as 154% in late March compared to the same period in 2019. While usage has moderated, it’s clear telehealth is now an instrumental part of healthcare delivery. As provider organizations plan for telehealth in 2021 and beyond, we are going to have to expect and deliver a secure, scalable infrastructure, a streamlined patient experience and an approach that maximizes provider efficiency, all while seeing much-needed vendor consolidation.

Jeff Lew, SVP of Product Management, Nextech

Earlier this year, CMS enacted new rules to provide practices with the flexibility they need to use telehealth solutions in response to COVID-19, during which patients also needed an alternative to simply visiting the office. This was the impetus to the accelerated acceptance of telehealth as a means to both give and receive care. Specialty practices, in particular, are seeing successful and positive patient experiences due to telehealth visits. Dermatology practices specifically standout and I expect the strong adoption will continue to grow and certainly be the “new normal.” In addition, innovative practices that have embraced this omni-channel approach to delivering care are also establishing this as a “new normal” by selectively using telehealth visits for certain types of encounters, such as post-op visits or triaging patients. This gives patients a choice and the added convenience that comes with it and, in some cases, increases patient volume for the practice.

– OptimizeRX acquires RMDY Health, a multipurpose digital therapeutics SaaS platform, for $16 million in cash and equity.

– Acquisition will enhance OptimizeRx existing digital platform with technology solutions tailored for digital therapeutics and extends offerings to SaaS-based patient engagement markets.

– RMDY will maintain its technology team in Tel Aviv, Israel, and U.S. based personnel and use the OptimizeRx New Jersey HQ.

OptimizeRx announced it will acquire RMDY Health, a multipurpose digital therapeutics SaaS platform, for $16 million in cash and equity. The RMDY Health platform is used by pharma, payers, MedTech companies and medical associations nationwide. The acquisition adds three new client segments to OptimizeRx’s existing patient engagement platform – payers, Medtech and medical associations – further simplifying chronic disease management and drug adherence for healthier results at lower costs.

Build and deploy dynamic, branded digital programs across a range of healthcare and life science initiatives

Founded in 1999, RMDY Health’s mission is to offer healthcare and life sciences companies a powerful and flexible platform to bring them to the forefront of the digital realm for increased efficiency and outcomes. RMDY Health’s SaaS platform offers a complete digital framework to help life science and healthcare stakeholders rapidly and effortlessly design and launch their own white-label collaborative digital care and patient support programs. The company’s web and mobile platform support a wide range of digital therapeutic initiatives, with a focus on care management, chronic disease management, pharma patient support programs, research, and wellness.

Financial Details

In consideration for 100% of RMDY Health, its shareholders will receive $8 million in cash and $8 million in equity when the transactions close, which is estimated to be within the next 30 days subject to certain closing conditions. RMDY Health’s estimated annual revenue for 2019 is $3 million. Only revenue from the closing date through the end of the year will be included in OptimizeRx’s annual consolidated financial statements.

As part of the acquisition, RMDY will maintain its technology team in Tel Aviv, Israel, and U.S. based personnel and use the OptimizeRx New Jersey headquarters. OptimizeRx is being advised by Excel Partners on the transaction and RMDY Health is being advised by Reade Street Advisors on the transaction.

Acquisition Benefits for OptimizeRx

OptimizeRx is bridging the communication gap between pharma and providers with its digital health messaging platform delivered through its nationwide network of leading electronic health record (EHR) and ePrescribing providers. The addition of RMDY Health expands the reach of this network by using patient apps and web access as an additional channel for digital health messaging.

This strategic acquisition marks the second for OptimizeRx over the past year focused on enhancing patient engagement. It further diversifies the company’s recurring revenue stream and scales its solution set to better address larger opportunities in digital health.

The Bigger Picture

Digital therapeutics (DTx) consists of delivering rich patient programs with treatment and affordability information, lifestyle and condition trackers, Internet device connectivity, forms, and surveys, with this all supported by a wide range of communication capabilities delivered via chat, bots, audio, and telehealth. According to Grand View Research, the global market for digital therapeutics is growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 21% and is expected to hit $9.4 billion by 2025.

RMDY Health enables this functionality for its customers, with its DTx solutions delivering a variety of intervention mechanisms that help treat chronic conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease.

We welcome the RMDY team and their powerful SaaS platform to support our mission of improving medication adherence and care coordination,” said William Febbo, CEO of OptimizeRx. “This acquisition is especially timely, given how stakeholders are increasingly shifting their budgets to digital delivery as the preferred method of communicating to physicians and patients.”

“By adding RMDY Health’s complementary capabilities to our platform,” continued Febbo, “we not only extend our ability to engage doctors and patients for our pharmaceutical clients, we introduce important client segments to our solution suite. We can now further bridge the critical communication gaps between pharma, healthcare providers, payers, medical associations and patients.”

“We see a great cultural fit with Amir and his team, given our mutual mission to transform communication across the provider-pharma-patient-payer care continuum. They bolster our presence within digital therapeutics, provide additional opportunities for recurring revenue growth, extend our reach within existing clients and add additional client segments, as well as enhance our digital platform to facilitate more scale. We expect this acquisition to be accretive within the first 18 months and believe we have aligned to have a highly incentivized team pushing for growth,” Febbo added.

Epic/Humana Integration Benefits

Integrating these technologies will improve the timeliness and accuracy of Humana-generated knowledge, ease administrative burden and help providers make the best decisions for patients at the point of care through the delivery of timely, meaningful member insights. The model should:

·       Increase the breadth, quality, and timeliness of data exchange to better track quality measures and improve the breadth of member insights;

·       Reduce cost and improve the extent of specialty care by surfacing quality and cost information to providers as they make referral decisions at the point of care;

·       Improve medication adherence by presenting medication alternatives with cost information to providers while they prescribe;

·       Improve provider access to claims to support monitoring of value‐based arrangement performance; and

·       Reduce the burden on providers and improve timeliness for prior authorization decisions.

Why It Matters

“This transformative relationship brings together the provider, the payer, and the patient in new ways so they’re all working from the same playbook,” said Alan Hutchison, Vice President of Population Health at Epic. “The relationship is also about aligning information to reduce the administrative burden on providers and improve quality and transparency for patients.”

Parachute Health, a New York-based ePrescribing platform transforming the way patients receive the care they need to properly manage their health and recovery at home has raised $9.5 million in new funding led by Harley Miller and Dan Ahrens of Insight Venture Partners. The funding also included participation from GNYHA Ventures, the business arm of the Greater New York Hospital Association and Anthony Welters, formerly of UnitedHealth Group. The company plans to use the funding to expand operations into key market across the United States.

Despite a shift to electronic medical records and years of digital innovation across industries, ordering critical medical supplies for patients still requires fax machines and paper records. More than 80% of fax orders are initially declined due to easily-avoided clerical errors and without electronic delivery confirmation, more than 15% of orders are never delivered to patients.

Founded in 2015, Parachute solves an enduring pain point in the healthcare system by providing a seamless, all-digital solution for ordering the critical medical equipment and services patients need after they are discharged from the hospital – such as oxygen tanks, wheelchairs and medical supplies with EHR integration. 

Parachute completely upends this outdated legacy process by eliminating the need for fax machines, vastly improving patient care, saving hospitals money and reducing Medicare fraud and waste related to medical equipment orders.

Key features of the platform include: 

– Efficient Operations: Eliminate unnecessary data entry, confusing medical justification requirements, and wasteful phone tag.

– Real-time messaging and order status: Real-time order status updates, clear order history log, instant electronic messaging between clinicians and vendors.

– Data reporting: Ordering patterns, fulfillment performance trends, utilization metrics — all in one place.

– Stress-free chart notes: generates a set of simple clinical questions to notify clinicians if their patients qualify for equipment.

– Intuitive dashboard: Manage patients, check delivery status updates, and capture MD signatures 

To date, Parachute is already being used by leading healthcare facilities across the country, including the Hospital for Special Surgery, Visiting Nurse Service of New York and Stanford Hospital, among many others.

“We are incredibly encouraged by the tremendous interest we’ve seen so far from healthcare facilities and suppliers across the country,” said Parachute CEO and founder David Gelbard. “Parachute’s goal is to solve the flaws of the post-acute care industry and to help people who depend on essential at-home equipment and services to live independent and happy lives.”

DrFirst, a provider of in e-prescribing and medication management solutions, today announced the launch of iPrescribe, a mobile app that allows physicians to prescribe legend drugs and controlled substances while complying with state prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) requirements. The iPrescribe app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

iPrescribe is the first mobile solution to optimize access to all the necessary tools physicians need to manage patients’ medications and drive adherence in one convenient app. The app can be used with most ambulatory and acute EHRs, and all prescriptions enabled via iPrescribe are automatically updated to patients’ medication histories ensuring a consistent patient record across any EHR system.

The iPrescribe app offers user-friendly design with robust functionality that equips physicians to address the most demanding challenges they face today, including:

Over-Prescribing of Opioids: Opioid addiction claims 115 lives and sends more than 1000 people to emergency rooms daily in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. iPrescribe allows physicians to make more informed care decisions with in-workflow access to the patient’s opioid prescription history.

Patient Medication Non-Adherence: About 25 percent of new prescriptions go unfilled by patients due to increasing drug costs. iPrescribe gives providers the ability to see patient-specific drug prices during the visit, thus increasing transparency with the patients, and greater patient engagement for decision making. This can result in significant patient savings.

Time Savings: Using a single prescribing workflow for legend drugs and controlled substances with PDMP access made the prescribing process three times faster for providers using iPrescribe. 

Compliance: As more states mandate e-prescribing, electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS), and PDMP queries, the burden of compliance has become increasingly cumbersome for providers. iPrescribe helps providers easily adapt to these changes by streamlining the process.

iPrescribe’s advanced features include:

– E-prescribing for both legend drugs and controlled substances using a two-step authentication that is DEA compliant

– Access to up to 24 months of optimized patient medication history

– Integration with state PDMP databases, giving physicians additional resources to address the nation’s opioid crisis

– Ability to rapidly obtain patient formulary and copay information, ensuring patients have access to appropriate lower-cost therapies.

“We designed iPrescribe to work intuitively on any mobile device and enable physicians to confidently access all the tools and information needed to provide optimal care, at any point in their workflow they choose,” said G. Cameron Deemer, president of DrFirst in a statement. “iPrescribe brings back the convenience of the traditional paper prescribing pad, but with the power to manage prescriptions safely and efficiently.”

No one disputes that properly managing a person’s medications is key to effective treatment, including reducing adverse reactions. Unfortunately, physicians aren’t always able to take advantage of all available information when making clinical decisions because they are grappling with siloed data, disconnected workflows and incomplete information. For example, physicians often must go through tedious and time-consuming steps to log into multiple systems on their office computers in order to access full patient medication histories.

Mobile medication management enables physicians and prescribers to simplify interactions with patients and reduce the time required to chart and document patient interactions, whether in or out of the office. By integrating critical medication management technologies with the convenience of mobile devices, physicians are armed with a comprehensive range of patient-centered technologies that extend to the full lifecycle of patient care, regardless of their physical location.  

Each technology brings another piece to the full lifecycle medication management puzzle. Integral tools include solutions for e-prescribing, electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS), prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs), medication history, clinical trial adjudication, secure collaboration, price transparency, financial assistance, medication adherence monitoring and patient-validated medication history. Physicians with ready-access to such solutions are more informed and able to make better decisions when engaging patients. It also makes it easier for physicians to access comprehensive patient medication histories and e-prescribing functions, and provides a single, streamlined workflow for physicians conducting patient rounds.  

Simplicity, efficiency and accessibility

Mobile medication management is indispensable to medical practices because it is simple, efficient and increases access to patient data. Here are five key reasons why:

1. Patient safety: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions estimates that more than one million individuals are seen in hospital emergency departments (EDs) for adverse drug events (ADEs) each year. Over one-quarter of these patients need to be hospitalized for further treatment. Overall, blood thinners (anticoagulants), antibiotics, diabetes drugs, and opioid analgesics are the drug classes most commonly implicated ADEs leading to ED visits. Physicians can be prepared to address ADEs at any time – during office hours or after hours – by having complete patient medication histories available via a mobile device.

Mobile medication management also improves safety by allowing physicians to conveniently submit prescription orders as they are visiting with patients. This improves prescription accuracy by reducing transcription errors, and facilitates clinician-patient discussions to address questions about interaction alerts and medication histories.

2. Patient loyalty: To be successful, every medical practice needs loyal patients. It is generally far more expensive for any business to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one, and higher customer retention is generally correlated with higher profitability. For example, the cost of motivating current patients for return care is 90 percent less than the costs associated with attracting new patients. Patient satisfaction is an antecedent of patient loyalty, and more satisfied patients are likely to develop long-term loyalty to their physicians. Because mobile medication management enables easier and more convenient physician-patient interaction, it improves the patient experience, enhances patient satisfaction and creates a steady stream of loyal patients returning to the practice for care.

3. Physician productivity: Despite the shift to value-based care, most physicians still have some portion of their compensation tied to production. According to nonprofit group The Physicians Foundation, the average physician spends at least 20 percent of her time on uncompensated tasks, a figure that has nearly doubled in the last decade. For the average family practice physician, this equates to roughly $60,000 a year in lost revenue – and the amount is even higher for specialists. Mobile medication management tools help physicians be more productive and generate more revenue by making it faster and more convenient to document patient visits.

4. Practice throughput: The more patients a physician sees in a day, the more lives she can impact. Increased patient volumes can also benefit practices financially. For example, a primary care practice that sees just one more patient a day could add $25,000 annually to its bottom line, while a specialty group might experience an increase of $50,000 a year. Further, efficient practice design, including the wise use of time-saving technologies such as mobile medication management tools, can improve workflows, reduce staffing needs and cut overhead costs.

5. Record access: Patients often need access to their medical records during a natural disaster. Unfortunately, when there’s a hurricane, flood, earthquake, or fire, patients may have an especially difficult time obtaining those records because of forced evacuations of medical facilities or damage to buildings, roads, and communication systems. Mobile medication management tools make patient records more accessible and allow for prescriptions to be sent regardless of physical location, enabling physicians to provide better care in crisis situations.

The use of mobile technology has become so widespread that it’s nearly ubiquitous. Technology users across all industries increasingly expect to enjoy the same capabilities on their smart phones and tablets as are available on desktop computers. Physicians are no different. They are seeing patients in multiple settings, sometimes outside of traditional office hours, and require supporting tools.

With mobile medication management technology, physicians can access a wide range of patient-centered tools via hand-held devices, enabling straightforward and convenient e-prescribing, patient-encounter documentation, medication adherence monitoring and more. By simplifying these tasks for physicians, mobile medication management tools can lead to financially healthier medical practices; more satisfied patients, clinicians and staff; and improved patient outcomes.

Health information network Surescripts has announced the launch of Sentinel™ which measures e-prescription accuracy to help patient safety and care quality. Sentinel will raise the bar for patient safety, care quality and workflow efficiency by pinpointing specific areas for improvement and providing analysis of electronic prescribing trends to inform better patient care.

With 70% of prescriptions being filled electronically, 1.5 billion on the Surescripts network annually, this monitoring capability should have great impact in the months ahead. Surescripts Sentinel links multiple data sources, including the Surescripts network, industry-wide drug compendia, such as First Databank, and the National Library of Medicine, to provide actionable intelligence that is accurate, scalable, timely and detailed. The information is used to validate ongoing data quality improvements; identify opportunities to improve process efficiency; track e-prescribing utilization to identify trends and patterns; and inform research, white papers and clinical information.

In developing Sentinel, Surescripts identified and validated 11 major pain points based on input from hundreds of prescribers, pharmacists, technology vendors, and drug compendia.These pain points include ensuring that prescriber intent and patient directions are clear and that standard drug descriptions match the identifiers. Surescripts developed action plans to address each of these pain points and established quality metrics to help track progress with ongoing quality improvements.

“Electronic prescribing helps deliver patient benefit information across care settings and helps prescribers make safer, more cost-effective care decisions,” said Troyen Brennan, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at CVS Health in a statement. “Sentinel will provide improved accuracy monitoring that will benefit prescribers, pharmacists and patients.”

E-prescribing has been shown to improve medication safety and adherence, which reduces hospital readmissions, cuts costs, and improves patient care. But, the increasing volume and complexity of e-prescribing means that inefficiencies and errors can have a significant impact on the speed and accuracy of e-prescriptions, including manual handling by pharmacists, phone calls back to physicians, faxes sent back and forth, and disgruntled patients who are forced to wait for prescriptions to be filled. Surescripts has found that two-thirds of all data in an e-prescription is unstructured free-text, and as many as 10 percent of e-prescriptions still require some type of extra, manual handling, such as phone calls between pharmacists and prescribers.

There is a ton of hype around mobile these days, and healthcare doesn’t want to get left behind. It goes beyond just the popularity of smartphones among both doctors and patients or the industry’s fascination with Apple products.

Healthcare is recognizing that as its jobs become more portable, health IT needs to step up to the plate and deliver efficient solutions – not just virtualized, makeshift versions of existing desktop applications.

Going mobile does not call for repurposing. It’s a brave new world in the field of healthcare technology, so we’ve outlined features that make mobile EHR systems useful.

Appointment Scheduler
When making any sort of plans – family, work, friends, events – you first consult with a calendar. Likewise, the appointment scheduler is the starting point of any successful electronic health record.

It’s a familiar concept, but not necessarily a simple one. If it was, every EHR vendor would succeed, when in reality, most appointment schedulers are clunky and devoid of customizable options. Look for one that optimizes your workforce, which often depends on what kind of organizational needs your specialty requires.

Charting
Naturally, no mobile EHR should come without charting capabilities. Look for a system that will present all charting options within one or just a handful of screens, so you don’t have to navigate through a ton of windows to arrive at information you should have at your fingertips.

The most important aspect of charting, of course, is the template. If you’re not going specialty-specific with your EHR, then you’ll need to understand and work with clinical templates that streamline your practice’s workflow.

Not only should you look for EHRs with some templates laid out, you should ensure that you can create and modify your own templates, seeing as you’ll need that capability in order to efficiently capture the data you need.

This is the cornerstone of your EHR. What will you attach to your superbill if you can’t, well, chart?

Note Taking
The purpose of EHR note-taking isn’t only to assuage old stereotypes related to poor physician penmanship, but to streamline your workflow and simplify your life. A mobile EHR without note-taking capabilities simply isn’t worth it.

However, things are a little complicated on a tablet. Typically, choosing an EHR with an attractive note-taking function comes down to a debate between form and narrative. But the onscreen keyboard on an iPad, for instance, isn’t nearly as comfortable as its physical counterpart.

Look for note-taking that maximizes comfort via drop down menus and other visible fill-in options organized in a logical fashion (by symptom, condition and medication), as well as dictation options (Nuance’s Dragon comes to mind).

ePrescribing
No mobile EHR is complete without ePrescribing functions. As a matter of fact, it seems the two should be married, seeing as one of the most outwardly tech-savvy moves you can pull on a patient is to prescribe medication on the spot without handwriting or typing a single word.

In order to do this, your mobile EHR needs to be able to access patient data and contact information while you’re on call. And, of course, ensure your vendor has a relationship with an ePrescribing partner like SureScripts.

The features above are essential to any EHR, and lacking any of them makes your mobile electronic health record little more than a glorified healthcare app.

Article first appeared on CareCloud’s Power Your Practice blog