iConnect
CareSource, a nonprofit health Medicaid managed care plan, is using technology to gather real-time feedback from customers.
Earlier this year, CareSource launched its iConnect program. iConnect allows members to give feedback on various CareSource topics using email, twitter, facebook, texting and face-to-face council meetings.
“Today’s technology allows for real-time feedback,” said Dave Mezzanotte, vice president of sales and marketing. “It’s conceivable that a project team would have a question they would like an answer to. By the time of their meeting, they could have responses from twitter.”
Mezzanotte said the idea began when CareSource had questions regarding who was using the paper directories they send out, which are very thick and costly to produce.
“We put surveys on the smartphones of our salespeople and had 100 responses in 2 days that told us only a third of the population would use them.”
CareSource was considering an investment in texting programs to send reminders for patients to go to doctor’s appointments or take their medication. Within a few days they had 100 responses that said their members were texting more than 50 times a day.
“We knew it was a viable channel to reach members. It wasn’t guess-work in a conference room.” Messanotte said. “We’re always focused on the experience members have with our plan with the healthcare system. This is another step in trying to get members involved in decision making and get input on critical issues. This ensures what we do is tied to member needs and wants and makes sense for them and lets them see how they’re making a difference.”
Mention a house call and the image that comes to mind is likely one of a doctor carrying a stethoscope and a small black medical bag. But today, a doctor making a house call may be more likely to be carrying a portable X-ray machine.
Technology has changed the way we live, and the medical field is no different. From portable medical equipment, digital X-rays, remote-monitoring, employee-management and smartphone applications, technology is changing the way patients receive treatment.
“Technology has definitely influenced our lives,” said Lynn Beatty, MD, associate medical director for the Visiting Physicians Association (VPA). “We’re in an age that allows us to bring a whole new level of house-call medicine out to the patient. Our patients have a very difficult time getting out to a doctor’s office for care. These patients need a medical delivery system that can come to them. We can meet those demands through technology.”
Visiting Physicians, trained in the diagnosis and treatment of seniors and the home-bound patient, offer in-home X-rays, ultrasounds, echocardiograms, electrocardiograms and blood tests.
Today’s portable X-ray machines are about the size of a desktop printer.
“Not only are they smaller, they’re digital,” Beatty said. “It’s like the difference between a film camera and a digital camera. The X-rays are transmitted electronically to the radiologist who reads it, dictates a report which gets sent back to the doctor. The turnaround time is very quick.”
VPA can also conduct in-home echocardiograms to look at images of blood vessels and blood clots, as well as images of hearts or internal organs. They use a portable electrocardiogram (EKG) machine to check the rhythm of the heart.
“It’s pretty profound to be able to have that technology when you’re seeing a population that is so sick,” Beatty said.
In addition to major medical equipment, VPA has a pulse oximeter that measures the pulse to allow physicians to determine if a patient is getting enough oxygen and a glucometer to measure blood sugar quickly.
Many doctors also use smartphones, which have medical programs and applications to look up medication dosages, access the physician’s desk reference manual and even take pictures of individual pills.
“There are a lot of apps that can really help physicians sort things out and make decisions,” Beatty said.
Fidelity Health Care, a Medicare-certified home health agency in the Dayton area, also uses technology to better meet the needs of patients. Fidelity has been using Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) since 1995, which gives healthcare providers instant access to information about the patient, through the use of a laptop or smartphone.
“This allows for better continuity of care while visiting patients in their homes,” said Cheryl Griffin, Fidelty’s executive director of customer service and medical equipment. “This also enables providers to take a picture of a wound and send it to a physician electronically.”
Fidelity also uses Telehealth equipment, which offers the latest in home telemonitoring through a system with medical toolslike stethoscopes, blood pressure meters, scales, pulse oximeters, and digital imaging equipment.
“With Telehealth, patients can take their own blood pressure, weigh themselves, measure oxygen in their blood stream, and all of that information is downloaded to a central nursing station so Fidelity can determine the status of patients and prevent them from having to go to the ER,” said Paula Thompson, president and CEO of Fidelity Health Care. “If a patient is not stable, it gives us more of an early warning sign so we can do some prevention.”
A registered nurse in the Fidelity office immediately reports any changes to the patient’s physician.
“This makes the patient better able to manage chronic disease like congestive heart failure. With a reduced number of professional staff like nurses and physicians, we’re going to have to use technology to allow the patient to assist in their own care,” Thompson said.
Another company, Horizon Home Health Care, uses technology to work more efficiently.
“We can manage and manipulate the schedule and track when a patient had their last visit, “ said Nichole Hardin, director of nursing. “We used to do all of our scheduling on paper and that would be almost impossible now.”
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