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.
How does digital health affect the circle of life?
Today, a patient’s well-being rests in the hands of multiple healthcare professionals, including primary care providers, specialists and surgeons – and sometimes in their own hands with the latest medical devices and technological advances.
In keeping up with this new delivery model, it’s important to understand how people of all ages, pediatric to geriatric, attribute to the nation’s overall population health, its effects on the healthcare system and the United States’ bottom line, while also understanding how technology can play a major role.
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 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.
NEEDHAM HEIGHTS, MA – Docity, a veteran-owned, connected telehealth platform that enables real time HIPAA-compliant communications between healthcare providers and patients, has announced their strategic, patient-driven integration of DoseSpot’s e-Prescribing solution.
The key component of Docity’s business model is simple: to put patients first by listening to their needs and adapting a digital healthcare system based on those needs.
“Docity’s business is driven solely by the patient-centric model and DoseSpot understood that crucial factor from the very beginning,” said James Cowan, CEO, Docity. “As part of this model, Docity knew that incorporating e-Prescribing was a non-negotiable. E-Prescribing isn’t just a feature; it’s something you must have in today’s competing market.”
Prior to integrating DoseSpot, Docity was offering their connected health platform to several clinics with existing patients, but prescribing was done on the clinician’s own terms. Since the integration with DoseSpot’s e-Prescribing solution, Docity will now be able to offer a comprehensive digital platform to serve the needs of individual patients on a subscription basis.
“The integration process with DoseSpot was a breeze,” Cowan added. “Their team was very flexible and actively engaged, working around the clock to ensure that Docity met al Surescripts certification requirements in a timely manner. Furthermore, they were able to work directly with our developers and their project management tool kept everyone organized which made for a seamless process overall.”
Docity is not only meeting the increasing demands of patients and providers, but the DoseSpot integration has better leveraged relationships with key stakeholders, primarily from a compliance perspective.
“Since integrating with DoseSpot, Docity has seen significant buy-in from highly sought after individuals, providers and companies in the healthcare community who are more eager than ever to stand behind our vision,” said Cowan. “It’s a win-win for both parties.”
“Our partnership with Docity is rooted in understanding and listening to both the patients’ and providers’ demands. Patient-centricity is a current healthcare trend we are committed to upholding as the healthcare landscape continues to evolve,” said Greg Waldstreicher, CEO, DoseSpot. “As a telehealth company, Docity recognized that e-Prescribing is a key component of the value-based delivery model and should be interwoven at the forefront to create a seamless healthcare experience for all involved.”
To learn more about how Docity is meeting the demands of the healthcare community with comprehensive and innovative solutions, please visit www.DoseSpot.com or contact Shauna Leighton, Shauna@DoseSpot.com.
About Docity
Docity Health is a connect health startup headquartered in Chattanooga, TN. Their mission is to connect providers with patients and patients with their health through on demand access to healthcare. For additional information please visit www.Docity.com.
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 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.
DoseSpot, an industry leader in e-Prescribing integration platforms for medical and dental software, today announced that Umbie DentalCare, a provider of dental practice management software has completed Surescripts certification, through DoseSpot integration.
“It is a transformative time for Dental e-Prescribing with the recent reclassification of prescriptions containing hydrocodone from Schedule III to Schedule II and the New York state e-Prescribing mandate on the horizon,†said Greg Waldstreicher, President, DoseSpot. “Our integration with Umbie DentalCare is a great example of a partnership committed to offering dentists with industry leading dental software solutions. Umbie customers located in New York and across the nation will soon be able to send all of their prescriptions electronically including controlled substances.â€
Through this partnership with DoseSpot, Umbie customers are also 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
“Dentists need the ability to send prescriptions electronically now more than ever and DoseSpot provides them with an intuitive solution,†added Greg. “DoseSpot is not only certified by a DEA approved certification body for EPCS, but we also hold an exclusive partnership with Lexicomp to provide dental specific information directly to dentists when e-Prescribing.â€
“This has been a big year for Umbie DentalCare with our growth, Umbie is on the cutting edge of cloud-based dental practice management software and now with the integration of DoseSpot, it gives dentists the flexibility to send prescription not only from their desktops, but across all mobile devices,†said Jeremy Hamel, CEO Umbie Health Corporation. “Having the Surescripts certification, and the complete EHR certification, these are other ways to give our customers a better software experience,†Hamel concluded.
For more information on e-Prescribing Integration platforms and DoseSpot, please visit http://www.DoseSpot.com.
About Umbie DentalCare
As a division of Umbie Health, Umbie DentalCare was founded in 2011 on a mission to revolutionize dental practice management. With the progression of cloud computing and its adaption amidst various professionals, Umbie capitalized on this opportunity to redefine the daily operations of the modern dental practice with a cloud based application. Over the past three years, and with the release of version 2 of the application in June of 2013, Umbie has serviced over 400 locations across the US. Media Contact: Rosa Graca, Umbie DentalCare, 888.521.6771 rgraca(at)umbiehealth(dot)com
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. To request DoseSpot API access, please visit http://www.DoseSpot.com/api-access.
Read the full press release here:Â http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/01/prweb12425751.htm
Will Congressional bills slated for 2015 review finally bring medical device regulation into the 21st Century?
The year was 1976. Apple was founded, bell bottoms were in, Jimmy Carter was elected President and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began its first regulatory measures on medical devices.  The notion of “tech-savvy†Americans had not yet come to fruition, nor had the ubiquity of iPhones and tablets—in fact, no consumer would have known what to do with such a device during this era. Today, increasing numbers of hand-held devices allow us to connect with providers, manage and track medications and organization medical records. In 2013 alone, the Apple Store reported 97,000 mobile health apps in use and over 60% of physicians were using tablets. With these solid numbers marked in the medical sphere, why is the FDA still stuck in 1976?
In a recent article released by Forbes Magazine, John Graham illuminates the FDA’s continued regulation of novel, cutting-edge medical devices under outdated amendments and what this antiquated authority means for new health tools. According to the FDA’s original amendments, a medical device is an “instrument, apparatus, implement, machine…or related article, including any component, part or accessory…†Technologies of the 21st century, namely smartphones, smartwatches and tablets, don’t seem to fit within this definition in any regard.
Despite the amendments’ verbose restrictions, the FDA has informed patients and providers alike on how it intends to regulate new technologies. With the final guidance for medical mobile apps passed in 2013, the FDA intends to focus its regulatory oversight on only a subset of mobile medical apps that present a risk to patients if they do not work as intended. In the final guidance, the FDA defined the term “mobile medical app†and Congress defined the technologies subject to FDA regulation.
While it appears the FDA is making strides in the right direction, many find its law-related verbiage unsettling. Early-stage startups remain weary over the FDA’s “enforcement discretion,†which includes the self-perceived ability to withhold smartphones, tablets and more. After much discussion at last week’s mHealth Summit in Washington, DC, the consensus is this: the FDA cannot be expected to generate consistent regulatory standards without appropriate legislation. Fortunately for the medical sphere, this may be resolved in the next Congress with the following propositions:
MEDTECH Act: would legislate that electronic health records (EHRs) and other technologies that only store and communicate information are exempt from FDA regulation.
SOFTWARE Act: would define the term “medical software†as software distributed directly to consumers and not integrated with a drug or device but includes the use of a drug or device. Such software would be subject to FDA regulation. The bill also includes the terms “clinical software†(used by medical professionals) and “health software†(used by consumers to store and communicate data but doesn’t include the use of a device). Both clinical and health software would not be subject to regulation.
SOURCE: Forbes Magazine
For more information on the FDA, legislation and the future of U.S. health innovation, click here!
About DoseSpotÂ
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.
In today’s health space, there is no doubt that consumer expectations for sensor-laden gadgets are at an all-time high. While the wearables market continues to grow at a rapid pace, Sensoplex CEO Hamid Farzaneh states that there is still plenty of room for improvement. In a recent TechCrunch article, Farzaneh acknowledges the amazing accuracy of high-quality sensors, yet wearable products continue to be clunky and generate poor user experience. To make consumers’ wearable experiences as informative and beneficial as possible, Farzaneh tackles some major myths and misconceptions surrounding the health wearables market:
1. Battery LifeÂ
Buyers of wearables are always looking for newer, sophisticated and accurate sensors that tend to require a lot more power—and consequently, a lot more space. The current state of battery technology means that any wearable with more than an accelerometer will need a decent-sized battery that must be recharged every few days. Such a battery will take up a significant portion of the available space in a wearable device. The more “bells and whistles†associated with a wearable, therefore, will greatly increase its overall size—leading to potential problems for consumers seeking small and sleek wearables.
2. The “Invisible Wearable”
The successful wearable, in the eyes of many wearable advocates, is one that is practically invisible. This notion has fed into announcements (including New York Times articles) about tattoo, stamp-sized or flexible sensors and devices that one can stick onto his/her skin to collection motion or bio-information. The reality is that sensors by no means complete systems—they simply capture raw data. The kind of ultra-thin devices being talked about simply cannot house the necessary batteries to power sensors that accurately provide biofeedback information that consumers are actively looking for.
3. Miracle mHealth SensorsÂ
Mhealth products are currently among some of the bestselling consumer sensor products today. Eliminating everyday health-related nuisances for many individuals, mhealth products enable consumers to measure blood pressure without a cuff or take blood sugar readings without a finger prick—and they rake in over $10 billion annually. While there is much R&D within this market, there has yet to be an FDA-approved product. Additionally, mhealth products leave room for significant “noise.†For products that measure blood oxygen content and skin conductivity, for example, applications to different wrist sizes and bone structures can result in significant reading variations.
For a full list of Farzaneh’s myths and misconceptions pertaining to the wearables market, check out the TechCrunch article here!
SOURCE: TechCrunch
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 www.DoseSpot.com.
With the 2014 calendar year coming to a close in just a few months (gasp!), HealthWorks Collective, an online health and editorial community, has released its list of health trends to keep an eye on through 2015. Think your predictions are spot on? Take a look below to see what’s on tap for the U.S. healthcare industry:
1. More providers will be hiring health coaches.
Chronic conditions in the U.S. continue to increase—so will employment. Health coaches fill a unique demand for managing chronic conditions, as they engage with patients one-on-one and keep clinical staff informed about financial or family concerns, marital problems, treatment plan adherence, etc.
2. Healthcare mobile apps on the rise.
With the release of Apple’s new Healthkit along with a slew of other mobile-friendly health apps, this trend is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Patient-centered apps for monitoring aspects of health like calorie-counting and heart rate are gaining popularity at a quick pace and healthcare systems will continue developing and implementing apps to improve patient experience.
3. New care and payment models will expand.
Insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid programs will continue to push for more relationships with accountable care organizations (ACOs). Different payment models will also be proposed—many healthcare professionals anticipate a trend towards “shared savings†incentives with physicians based on lowering cost and improving care quality.
4. Big Data will play a key role in patient care.
Electronic health records and other emerging technologies enable providers to automate processes and capture vital clinical data. These technologies, however, are limited in not being open to innovation. By the end of 2014, expect provider advocacy for making application interfaces open-source so they can be used to create new and exciting programs.
5. Healthcare comes to the home.
Technological advancements and increasing healthcare access will lead to more remote care services. This means that more patients can be monitored and coached to health at any time and place. “At-home healthcare†will increase patient quality of care, improve patient satisfaction, and reduce costs.
6. Increasing transparency.
Expect the level of transparency demanded from healthcare systems to increase, along with the production of tools to help inform patients. The price of treatments, procedures and clinicians along with performance metrics and hospital outcome reports will all be made available for patients to peruse at the click of a mouse.
7. Partnerships for care delivery will expand.
Healthcare partnerships will soon include community-based groups such as social service agencies, gyms and other non-healthcare service providers. As the industry strives to better address population health management, expect more unconventional approaches to healthcare such as church-based group care sessions, outdoor exercise at nature centers, reduced price health care transportation services, etc.
Source: HealthWorks Collective
For more information on the aforementioned trends, check out HealthWorks Collective’s full article here.
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.
Mobile health (known as mhealth) is one of the fastest growing markets today, and has been referred to by techies and health professionals alike as the “invisible link†between patients and doctors. With mobile applications at their disposal, doctors can more easily provide care with services moved to the cloud, allowing data to be accessed anywhere, anytime. Exactly how prevalent are these apps in the doctor’s office? Take a look below to find out.
In a recent study conducted by MedData Group, a healthcare marketing firm in Massachusetts, 2/3 of American doctors surveyed use mhealth apps while on the job. Nearly 50% of these doctors say they use mobile apps to look at medication interactions.
These percentages are expected to change over the next 12 months, with an anticipated increase in the number of doctors using apps that allow for EHR access. Many of these EHR apps will reduce time-consuming administrative work that doctors are currently subjected to.
According to Juniper Research’s latest report on the mhealth market, mobile apps are enhancing overall consumer engagement in healthcare by increasing information flow. Costs are being lowered by better decision-making, fewer in-person visits, greater treatment adherence, and remote monitoring. As of now, the overarching conclusion in the mhealth sphere is this: doctors are open to adopting a wide variety of mhealth technologies, if they see a clear benefit.
Juniper Research’s latest report on the mhealth market forecasts cumulative cost savings of up to $36 billion USD globally over the next 3 years
Consumers are currently driving much of the demand for mhealth technologies and applications
SOURCES: Huffington Post and Xconomy
For more information on physician interactions with mobile and connected health platforms, check out MedData’s official report here.
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.
Electronic prescribing is not just the ability to send prescriptions electronically to pharmacies. E-Prescribing can also increase care quality in a number of ways:
E-prescribing makes sure that the prescriber is providing enough specific information for the pharmacist to fill the prescription, including the name of the drug, the dosage, its physical form, the route, and the physician’s instructions.
Electronic prescribing software eliminates the time and effort of trying to understand the prescriber’s handwriting, as well as the chance of an error in that translation.
E-prescribing significantly reduces the chance that the prescriber’s intentions are misinterpreted.
E-prescribing is often used in conjuction with clinical decision support to ensure that any drug to drug interactions or drug to diagnosis issues are found and reported to the physician before the prescription order is completed.
Electronic prescribing is considered one of the most important areas of Healthcare IT, which is why Medicare created payment incentives for physicians who use a qualified e-prescribing system. In 2009, the incentives are an increase of 2% in revenue for each patient when e-prescribing is used. Due to the 2009 HITECH Act, electronic prescribing is required as part of any EMR (EHR) which qualifies for Medicare reimbursement in 2011.
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