Patient engagement: the latest development in the healthcare industry, or is it?
You see, patient engagement has always existed. A little well-known term in the business world, “consumer engagementâ€, pioneered the strategies years ago that are utilized to engage customers, create better experiences, and enhance brand relationships to retain customers and increase revenue.
To be quite frank, these strategies have no “wow†factor. Engage with your customers to create brand loyalty and increase sales? Groundbreaking. Engage with your patients to improve health outcomes and lower associated costs? I see a trend coming on here.
While the healthcare industry has long understood the importance of having a patient engaged in their own health, it’s been said that the industry is typically five years behind with technological advancements. Perhaps it’s the resistance to change, the varying patient populations relative to age, or the perceived obstacles with seamless integrations for all pertinent parties, specifically EHRs.
However, one thing is certain: patient engagement technology is a viable solution that patients need, and deserve, to stay accountable and to stay connected in order to better manage their health.
The Benefits of Patient Engagement Technology
Now that patients are becoming more trusting of technology thanks to the Internet and social media, they have easier access to healthcare information at their fingertips. How many times have you googled your symptoms or visited WebMD rather than consulted with a doctor? Don’t be shy, we’ve all done it.
The downfall to these methods, however, is the potential danger involved if patients are self-diagnosing themselves without proper medical intervention. So, why not pair the two together?
The goal of patient engagement technology is to create a better relationship between providers and their patients. It’s also said that patients whom engage as decision-makers in their care tend to be healthier and have better outcomes, especially those dealing with chronic diseases.
Other benefits of using technology for patient engagement include:
The Challenges of Patient Engagement Technology
Though the benefits make sense, there are many challenges these latest tools are faced with. Not only is it new technology, but patient engagement will also require a cultural shift relative to changing behaviors and different communication preferences. Let’s not forget the operational and implementation challenges either.
Before an organization can determine what technology to use, it has to understand its users. Creating these personas will help healthcare technology organizations design better engagement tools with patients in mind, especially for older patients who might be less tech-savvy. It’s no easy feat getting providers and their patients to learn how to use these tools, as getting them up and running is most often viewed as a burden. That’s why there needs to be better integration with clinical workflows and simple-to-use products so providers aren’t wasting time on these technologies.
Furthermore, there needs to be more innovation in patient engagement tools. A glucose meter, an arm band, or a simple appointment reminder just isn’t going to cut it in today’s day and age. Give us substance, give us value, and give us healthier patients.
Other challenges of providers using technology for patient engagement include:
3 Patient Engagement Technology Companies to Watch
With so many patient engagement technologies being introduced to the market, here are 3 innovative companies making waves:
Klara takes collaboration to the next level. It’s not just a messaging application nor just an appointment reminder. Its platform engages all medical professionals for patients in order to be more efficient, more productive, and to work better as a team. They even tell you why “patient portals suckâ€. For more information please visit www.klara.com.
Medelinked encourages patients to manage their health by connecting with the healthcare community around them. It’s a secure mobile and online health platform that allows patients to build their health profile to discover, connect, and share their health and wellness information with their trusted healthcare providers. It not only connects individual patients, but families as well. For more information please visit www.medelinked.com.
AbleTo enables patients, payers, and providers to work together with their impressive behavior health care coordination platform that’s available nationwide to identify, engage, assess, and treat patients dealing with stress, anxiety, and depression. They pride themselves in reducing co-morbid behavioral health issues to improve patient outcomes, decrease the cost of care and help people reclaim their health and happiness. For more information please visit www.ableto.com.
DoseSpot is a Surescripts certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot is certified to e-Prescribe controlled substances and has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. For more information, please visit www.DoseSpot.com.
It’s no surprise that technology should be considered a key player as we shift to value-based care. With smartphones, tablets and computers, health information is readily available for patients with a simple click of a button. Why should a consultation with a healthcare professional be any different?
Telehealth greatly increases the scope of the healthcare industry and is bound to open huge opportunities in increasing the quality of healthcare. The ultimate goal here, is to prevent hospital readmissions through better management of individuals with chronic conditions, while also reducing associated costs. By enabling remote patient monitoring and remote access to clinicians, market growth is inevitable as awareness and implementation of standards for reimbursement and adoptions of these care models expands.
While several reports claim that “technology gets in the way of the patient experience,†patients are in fact the ones demanding such access to care. This increase in patient demand for telehealth services has prompted many companies and healthcare organizations to think outside of the box and reevaluate the patient-centric model, while questioning what that care model really means to a patient.
Well, it’s simple. Patients want a customized, cost-effective and convenient healthcare experience to whichtelehealth can provide.
A recent report states that the global telehealth market was valued at $14.3 Billion in 2014 and is estimated to reach $36.3 Billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 14.30% from 2014 to 2020.
With these numbers in tow, we predict the most growth in three different segments:
Behavioral Health and Addiction
As mentioned in a previous post, telehealth has the ability to bridge the gaps in care of behavioral health patients and providers. Not only does it provide a convenient, more comfortable and less expensive medical consultation, but it broadens accessibility to patients whom may not have many options when seeking a behavioral health provider, especially in rural areas. Unfortunately, the lack of psychiatrists and addiction specialists across the nation, as well as the stigma often involved, are contributing to the mental health and addiction issues and creating barriers to appropriate care.
Patients will see their primary care physician and may not receive the exact treatment plan that they need; after all, primary care physicians do not specialize in behavioral health or addiction and often, these illnesses require a lot of time and patience to which the physician may not be able to accommodate. Telehealth will be able to connect patients in need with specialists regardless of their location who know how to treat these specific health issues.
This effective care model will not only lessen the hit on the nation’s bottom line as more and more individuals grapple with suicide, addiction, and other mental health issues, but also revolutionize the way people view the stigma involved and encourage patients to seek help as they are able to receive treatment from the comfort of their own home.
Geriatric Care
Geriatric patients stand to benefit tremendously as a digital health consumer. As mobility can be especially difficult for these patients, the ability to see a physician remotely removes one of the largest barriers to care. Furthermore, transporting patients of this age may potentially do more harm than good.
Withtelemedicine, providers can more quickly spot at-risk patients and provide interventions to avoid an otherwise unnecessary hospital admission. Similarly, nursing homes can partner with health systems to provide bedside care for their residents at a fraction of the price of an onsite physician.
These infrastructure synergies provide connectivity with electronic health records (EHRs) and create clear communication among hospitals, senior care facilities, referring physicians and patient families. They also provide the link to population based management databases and other health care analytic functions to measure value.
Surgery
Many surgical departments find telehealth to be a more convenient and cost-effective way for pre- and post- operative instructions for procedures of all magnitudes including wisdom teeth extraction, colonoscopies, stent placement and more.
With in-person visits and paper instructions, patients may misinterpret or even forget important information relative to their surgery. This includes what medications to stop taking and how to physically prepare for surgery, while providing a clear, direct line of answers for any questions a patient may have. With instructions digitally delivered prior to surgery, telehealth reduces patient no shows and saves valuable scheduled operating room time.
For post-op patients, providers can check the patient visually, ensuring that patients are following their treatment plans and making adjustments as needed. Through this continuous connection, providers are empowered to deliver the guidance that many patients need as they go through the healing process. These virtual check-ins ensure the patient is on the road to recovery, thus reducing readmission rates all without the patient ever having to leave their home.
Furthermore, telehealth can improve treatment and medication compliance, specifically with controlled substances, i.e. pain medication. Opioid addiction often begins at the hands of a prescriber and with the nation currently facing an opioid epidemic, marrying technology and follow-up appointments when prescribing these types of medications serves as the optimal solution for the safety of all involved.
Technology should no longer be viewed as a barrier to care, but rather embraced in order to improve the healthcare industry, including the improvement of interoperability as well as patient outcomes. Telehealth not only meets the ever increasing demands of patients, but it also assists in preventative care by creating greater access to such care, thus reducing down-the-road costs and burdensome associated with chronic disease. With many chronic diseases being completely preventable, the prevent vs. treat mantra should be sound in every healthcare professional’s mind, while realizing that telehealth is a seamless way of delivering healthcare for all involved.
There may currently be barriers in place regarding reimbursement from payers, but that’s sure to change as more and more payers jump on board for this new delivery model. After all, who’s to say telehealth won’t become the norm and be known as simply….health?
DoseSpot is a Surescripts certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot is certified to e-Prescribe controlled substances and has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. For more information, please visit www.DoseSpot.com.
With a nationwide opioid epidemic upon us, states are starting to insist that prescribers conduct a bit of research before writing prescriptions for addictive medications like pain medications or benzodiazepines. States have therefore created statewide Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) to monitor an individuals’ controlled substance dispense trends which are meant to assist a prescriber in making smarter treatment decisions. The goal here is to check a patient’s medication history to determine if the patient is doctor shopping or if they may have potential complications with medication(s) they are taking or have taken. Ultimately, PDMPs aid a prescriber in understanding the risks involved in prescribing these powerful medications for their patients.
“Databases known as Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs show doctors all controlled-substance prescriptions patients get and should be linked with the electronic health records (EHRs) that allow doctors to e-Prescribe.â€USA Today
In most states, healthcare professionals who prescribe at least one controlled substance are encouraged, not required, to use PDMPs. The USA Today article addresses the fact that only five states promote the use of PDMPs and less than 20% of doctors use the databases when it isn’t required. On the other hand, e-Prescribing of controlled substances has proven to be an effective tool in combating this crisis, yet only three states have mandated the use of e-Prescribing, and one doesn’t enforce its own law.
All 50 States (and D.C) have now passed legislation allowing the e-Prescribing of both controlled and non-controlled substances, which is a drastic change from only a few years ago with federal regulations prohibiting the e-Prescribing of controlled substances.
Let’s take a look at the states that have mandated e-Prescribing:
New York: The first state to mandate and enforce its e-Prescribing laws as of March 2016, New York requires prescribers to check their state PDMP database and prescribers who continue to write paper prescriptions are subject to fines, jail time, or both. Since implementing, total numbers of opioid analgesics prescribed fell by 78%.
Minnesota: Technically the first state to deploy mandatory e-Prescribing, they currently do not enforce the use of such technology. The MN Department of Health recently reported that drug overdose deaths jumped 11% between 2014 and 2015 and more than half were related to prescription drugs, specifically opioid pain relievers, rather than illegal street drugs. Minnesota Health Commissioner Dr. Ed Ehlinger said, “The new data show the need for a broader approach to addressing the root causes of drug addiction and overdoses.†Stay tuned.
Maine: Experiencing one of the highest death rates in the country due to opioid overdose, Maine recently mandated e-Prescribing for schedule II controlled substances and will be put into effect come June 2017. Similar to New York, prescribers will face fines, jail time, or both if they choose to utilize paper prescription pads.
New Jersey is also on the horizon to mandate e-Prescribing in due time. As a collective nation, we can no longer sit back and overlook the link between opioid overprescribing and opioid overdose. E-Prescribing and PDMPs should work hand in hand; the benefits are exceedingly visible and with 3-9% of opioid abusers using forged written prescriptions, it’s a commonsense solution. Protect your company, protect your providers, but more importantly, protect your patients. They depend on it.
About DoseSpot
DoseSpot is a Surescripts certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot is certified to e-Prescribe controlled substances and has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. For more information, please visit http://www.DoseSpot.com.
NEEDHAM HEIGHTS, MA – DoseSpot, an industry leader in e-Prescribing integration platforms for medical, dental and telehealth software, today announced that Luminello, a user-friendly, psychiatrist-designed EMR, has successfully integrated DoseSpot. Through the partnership, Luminello successfully completed Surescripts certification and their prescribers can now e-Prescribe controlled and non-controlled prescriptions to more than 65,000 pharmacies nationwide.
Luminello is a new psychiatry EMR for mental health providers designed by Dr. Ken Braslow, a board-certified psychiatrist in Child/Adolescent & Adult Psychiatry with an active private practice in San Francisco and Berkeley, California and Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Luminello was built to help solve the challenges of running a psychiatry practice and Dr. Braslow needed an e-Prescribing solution to tightly integrate with his psychiatry specific workflow. The DoseSpot platform was Luminello’s top choice due to DoseSpot’s quick e-Prescribing integration process and quality customer service. The DoseSpot platform not only meets the e-Prescribing integration needs of Luminello, but it also provides prescribers with a simple and intuitive user interface for e-Prescribing controlled and non-controlled prescriptions.
Calling all Beantown startup followers: the Massachusetts healthtech scene is expanding! Watertown-based Athenahealth has announced that its new accelerator for health IT startups is now open for business. The “More Disruption Please†(MDP) Accelerator went into beta in June when it began working with a single startup, Smart Scheduling, but is now inviting health IT startups to apply for participation.
Based on a mission to “drive connectivity and innovation across the continuum of care,†MDP is the third phase of a 2010 effort to connect with and promote startups that seek to address areas of concern in the health care delivery system beyond the electronic health record (EHR). The perks of joining MDP, one might ask? Athenahealth will provide venture capital to companies through the accelerator. Aside from funding, portfolio companies get free office space at Athenahealth’s super chic Watertown headquarters and ongoing mentorship from Athenahealth experts.
Athenahealth says the accelerator will accept applicants on a rolling basis, with an anticipated residency period of roughly 8 to 12 months. More information about MDP can be found on Athenahealth’s “More Disruption Please†page.
SOURCES: VentureBeat and Athenahealth
About DoseSpot
DoseSpot is a Surescriptsâ„¢ certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. For more information, please visit www.DoseSpot.com.
Earlier this month, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) released a Data Brief on trends in e-Prescribing as measured over the past few years. The Data Brief available here highlights compelling statistics surrounding e-Prescribing growth and adoption.  Here is what we found most riveting:
10 states with the highest e-prescribing rates as of April 2014:
Minnesota — 100 percent
Iowa — 95 percent
Indiana — 95 percent
Massachusetts — 94 percent
South Dakota — 90 percent
New Hampshire — 87 percent
North Dakota — 87 percent
Wisconsin — 87 percent
Kentucky — 85 percent
Oregon — 84 percent
10 states with the lowest e-prescribing rates as of April 2014:
Alaska — 48 percent
Nevada — 50 percent
California — 53 percent
New Jersey — 54 percent
New York — 59 percent
Colorado — 60 percent
Hawaii — 60 percent
Idaho — 62 percent
Utah — 62 percent
Tennessee — 63 percent
December 2008: Every state with the exception of Massachusetts had physicians e-prescribing using an EHR at a rate  below 20% on the Surescripts Network
April 2014: Every state had physicians e-prescribing using an EHR at a rate >40% and the majority of states had at least 70% of their physicians e-prescribing using an EHR
About DoseSpot DoseSpot is a Surescripts™ certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. To request a demo of DoseSpot’s e-Prescribing integration platforms, please visit http://www.DoseSpot.com/.
RockHealth recently published their Digital Health Funding – Midyear Review and I’ve highlighted some key findings below:
In 2013 digital health companies raised $2 billion in venture funding…first six months of 2014 digital health companies have already raised $2.3 billion.
So where’s all the money going?
Here is the full report:
About DoseSpot
DoseSpot is a Surescripts™ certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. For more information, please visit www.DoseSpot.com.
Surescripts recently published their annual National Progress Report highlighting advances in e-Prescribing throughout the United States. Without a doubt e-Prescribing is ‘here to stay’ and DoseSpot continues to be at the forefront of e-Prescribing integration services.
#1. More than 1.04 Billion e-Prescriptions were sent in 2013.
#2. 699 Million medication histories were delivered which often assist in limiting drug-drug interaction errors.
#3. Office-based physician adoption continues to grow and currently stands at 73%.
#4. 95% of pharmacies have adopted e-Prescribing.
About DoseSpot
DoseSpot is a Surescripts™ certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. For more information, please visit www.DoseSpot.com.
Looking for tips to navigate MU stage 2 requirements?  View one tip on drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checks below and visit http://www.dosespot.com/meaningful-use-tips to download all 5 certification tips!
Objective:Â In addition to providing drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checks, this criteria requires EHRs to adjust the level of interactions based on user roles (ie: administrator).
Tip:Â Provide an easy-to-use user interface so a user can quickly adjust the interactions. DoseSpot allows the user to turn on and off the drug-drug and drug-allergy interactions as well adjust the severity level display between minor, moderate and major interactions.
Click here for more blog posts at ePrescribing.org on Meaningful Use.
DoseSpot Announces Groundbreaking Technology to Route e-Prescriptions Telepathically
DoseSpot, an industry leader in electronic prescribing (e-Prescribing) integration platforms for medical and dental software, today unveiled new groundbreaking technology to route e-Prescriptions telepathically directly to a pharmacist, sending prescriptions in a matter of milliseconds.
“If a prescriber can think it, they can send it†said Greg Waldstreicher, President, DoseSpot. “We are thrilled to be innovating within the e-Prescribing market and upholding our commitment to creating greater efficiencies for healthcare professionals. Cloud-based software will soon be a thing of the past with the emergence of telepathic communications.â€
The ability for prescribers, including doctors and dentists as well as telehealth providers to send prescriptions telepathically is the first of its kind. DoseSpot continues to make enhancements to the telepathic communications network and is currently beta testing sending telepathic prescriptions directly to patients.
April fools! DoseSpot prescribers unfortunately do not have the capability to send e-Prescriptions telepathically but they are equipped to:
Safely and efficiently send prescriptions electronically to more than 65,000 pharmacies
Automatically check for dangerous drug-drug and drug-allergy interactions
Aggregate prescription history data from community pharmacies in addition to patient medication claims history from payers and pharmacy benefit managers
Request information on patient insurance eligibility and formulary at the time of prescribing
Learn more about DoseSpot today at www.DoseSpot.com. That is no joke!
About DoseSpot
DoseSpot is a Surescriptsâ„¢ certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, practice management, and telehealth software. DoseSpot has provided affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to more than 45 medical & dental software companies since 2009. For more information, please visit http://www.DoseSpot.com.
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