The beauty of the Diagnotes platform is it allows our members to use it in any way they want. It makes our providers more accessible, with a technology platform that is secure, HIPAA compliant, and easy to use.
Indianapolis, Ind (PRWEB) January 04, 2016
Physicians, patients, nurses, caregivers and others in central Indiana will be able to collaborate on a secure texting platform, thanks to a new agreement signed between Suburban Health Organization (SHO) and Diagnotes, an Indiana-based Health IT company. Nine SHO member organizations can now more readily utilize Diagnotes to send and receive HIPAA-compliant text messages, consolidate on-call schedules, access patient medical records and more, potentially connecting them to any patient or physician in their community.
Major Hospital has been using Diagnotes for more than a year. Hancock Regional Hospital, Hendricks Regional Health and Margaret Mary Health recently signed on with Diagnotes, and officials at SHO say other member hospitals are now considering adding on the service.
SHO is an organization of independent central Indiana hospitals/hospital systems working together to promote clinical alignment, to maximize quality performance, and to provide shared services across its member organizations. “Our Suburban Hospitals have varied needs for secure communication practices,” said Dr. Craig Wilson, CMO of SHO. “Some want to more effectively connect with patients. Some want to connect employed and independent ambulatory physicians with the care teams at their hospitals. Others may want to have texting connections with caregivers at their long-term care centers in order to maximize safe post-acute transitions of care. The beauty of the Diagnotes platform is it allows our members to use it in any way they want. It makes our providers more accessible, with a technology platform that is secure, HIPAA compliant, and easy to use. We expect it to improve operational efficiencies and facilitate better healthcare delivery for our members who choose to use it,” he said.
With 600 employed physicians and many more who have hospital privileges, the impact of a move to Diagnotes by any one of the SHO Hospitals could be significant. In aggregate, SHO Hospitals currently staff over 750 inpatient beds, are affiliated with over 200 nursing homes, and oversee approximately 23,000 inpatient discharges and 1 million outpatient visits annually. Diagnotes makes it possible for physicians and care teams to record their communications back and forth with each other as they collaborate on one patient, both one to one, and in team-based messages.
Beyond secure texting, SHO members can record the work physicians and nurses do when handling patient calls and conferencing with each other on patient care. This may allow them to receive reimbursement from Medicare for the time they spend on non-face-to-face care of patients with chronic conditions like Diabetes or Heart Disease. “The technology will allow the organization added flexibility to offer patient care and place a renewed focus on patient education and outreach,” Wilson said.
“We are excited about the potential our technology has for Suburban Health Organization,” said David Wortman, CEO of Diagnotes. “We believe it will help the hospitals rethink the way they communicate with patients, and with each other. Other clients have used our platform to deliver care to patients in a more collaborative way. The beauty of this agreement is it will allow SHO member health systems to leverage our communication platform in ways that work best for them,” he added.
About Diagnotes:
Diagnotes, Inc. is an Indianapolis-based health IT company, dedicated to providing trackable and HIPAA-compliant communications between patients, physicians and their care teams. With Diagnotes, users can exchange messages and access key information from a patient’s electronic medical record from any location on any device – ensuring compliance while improving care team effectiveness. By enabling more effective collaboration, Diagnotes increases revenue, decreases cost, and enhances both provider and patient satisfaction. For more information about Diagnotes, visit http://www.diagnotes.com.
About Suburban Health Organization:
Suburban Health Organization (SHO) is a partnership of Central Indiana Hospitals that work together to promote quality, efficiency and patient access. SHO supports its hospitals, its physicians and the communities they serve through the development of strategic initiatives and shared services. From quality initiatives and physician recruitment, to managed care contracting, and a risk retention group, the strength and diversity of these services help make SHO’s hospitals and physicians one of the leading provider networks in Central Indiana. For more information about SHO, visit http://www.suburbanhealth.com.