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Telehealth / Telemedicine / Telehomecare
What does it all mean? In Ontario, Canada and the USA, these terms all have different meaning.
According to Canada Health Infoway, Telehealth includes, in it’s simplest form, a system that will transport audio and video signals from one site to another as demonstrated by a videoconferencing based, clinical tele-consultation application.
Telehealth Solutions, however, are now evolving into more complex and diverse solutions that involve real-time monitoring and/or store-and-forward capabilities or various combinations thereof. All Telehealth Solutions incorporate various components - tangible elements such as hardware and software, as well as intangible elements such as clinical workflow analysis and organizational change.
Mobile data solutions for health care workers that provide access to clinical information, decision support tools and care documentation also fit into the Telehealth definition. In the United States, they call this category of solution “Point of Care”.
Today, our anecdotal data suggests that there are fewer than 5% of Home Health Care workers using a mobile data device and those that have them are using them primarily for email. Based on analyst research, there is a strong push to bring the electronic medical record to the point of care – this is one of the main drivers for mobile data technology. We believe that within 5 years the vast majority of agencies will either have adopted or have plans to adopt a mobile data solution.
At MedShare, we have met with a number of agency leaders to help us solidify our mobile data strategy. There was 100% agreement that a mobile data strategy was a mandatory future requirement. There was also a shared view that while it is the future of this marketplace, there has to be a substantial gain in efficiency to justify the investment.
Wintergreen and RAND research analysts have shown a 10% efficiency gain by implementing a complete electronic medical record solution. The functionality that is typically provided in a point of care solution includes;
- Scheduling at point of care. Home care workers have access to their visit schedule on their portable device.
- Optimized Routing. The best route to see patient A, B and C and automatic capture of milage expenses.
- Patient Record Management. Client data is captured electronically at the point of care
- Decision Support. Software that allows the capture of clinical assessment and the development of clinical service plans.
- Charting efficiency. Patient data is collected at the point of care throughout the visit and by the end of the visit all data has been captured. This eliminates transcription effort.
- Optimized Billing and Reimbursement. As soon as a visit is confirmed, it is ready for billing.
At MedShare, we have made significant investment to create the next generation home care agency management solution based on the new electronic health records standards. MedShare will spend the next 12 months bringing mobile data solutions to home health care workers to eliminate paper, provide clinical information at the point of care and enable care documentation in the client’s home.
Barry Billings, President, MedShare
barry.billings@medshare.com
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 Contacts |
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Mailing Address
3-304 Stone Road W.,
Suite 155, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 4W4
Office Address
1030 Gordon St.,
Suite 201, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 4X5
phone: 519.821.1800
info@medshare.com
New Mailing Address - *May 5th
Can-Amera Corporate Centre
231 Shearson Crescent, Suite 207, Cambridge, ON.
Canada, N1T 1J5
Office Address
CanAmera Corporate Centre
231 Shearson Crescent, Suite 207, Cambridge, ON.
Canada, N1T 1J5
Support Issues
Please send any feedback, including questions, comments, or problems to our webmaster at:support@medshare.com. |
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Does one size fit all?
There are many mobile data technologies available in the market and MedShare has worked with many of them. We feel that the home care sector will need at least three solutions based on the needs of health care workers.
Clinical Leader / Nurse Supervisor. These workers perform the initial visit at which time consent forms and comprehensive assessments are completed. The information is used to develop a Clinical Service Plan, assign health care workers and schedule delivery of health care services. MedShare is currently developing a tablet-based system that can be taken into the home, to meet the needs of this group.
Visiting Nurses / Therapist. This groups needs fast and timely access to schedules, client profiles, electronic medical records and the ability to complete care documentation and visit confirmation at the point of care. The BlackBerry device provides the best solution for those users.
Personal Support Workers. Using older 2-way pager technology, MedShare has created a easy-to-use information device that meets the needs of personal support workers. MedShare Messenger allows PSW’s to confirm visits, track time and access scheduling information. It also provides standard email communications with the central office, at a price point below telephony solutions.
Barry Billings
President |
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MedShare Inc. was selected as one of the TOP 25 IT “Up and Comers” in Canada.
March 14, 2007 - “We are very pleased that Branham has selected us for their prestigious list”, say Billings, founder and President. In just two short years MedShare has created an agency management solution that is being referred to as the “future of home care”. We are now assisting 750 health care workers each day, by providing clinical information, decision support tools and e-charting.
MedShare’s clinical advisory board, comprised of home care leaders, continues to advise and direct our significant software R&D budget. Our goal is to provide 10% improvement in agency efficiency, improve health outcomes for clients and reduce paper-burden by implementing an electronic health record foundation.
View the complete Branham Top 25 Canadian IT Up and Comer list. |
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 The RIM BlackBerry device is supported by every major carrier from coast to coast in North America. The BlackBerry has a unique combination of highly reliable data delivery service integrated into a multi-purpose device. Most importantly, for our marketplace, it offers the most robust security commercially available, thereby safeguarding our patient’s data. Our MedShare for BlackBerry solution seamlessly integrates with MedShare HC our Agency Management solution for home care.
We are very fortunate to have Craig Dunk, a former RIM solution architect to lead our BlackBerry development team. Craig Dunk spent 10 years as a senior developer at Research in Motion. He was involved in the development of the BlackBerry communications software and has become a recognised expert in Wireless Data Communication on the BlackBerry platform.
We have four home care Agency Partners that will provide requirements, feedback and user testing as part of this development project. This new innovation has been endorsed by our Clinical Advisory Board and will be driven by an expert panel of End Users from our partner group. Our BlackBerry Agency partners begin deploying in June of 2007 with other clients being on-boarded in the Fall of 2007
MedShare for BlackBerry will be officially launched on May 27th at the eHealth 2007. If you have any thoughts, questions or comments please don’t hesitate to call me or email me at jpaul.haynes@medshare.com
J. Paul Haynes
Chief Executive Officer
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MedShares Newest Point of Care Mobile Offering
Are you looking for an alternative to telephony or paper for health care worker time tracking? What about the added benefit of real-time 2 way communications? MedShare Messenger provides this and much more, all at a lower cost than telephony!
MedShare Messenger is a 2-way email and pager device that is small enough to fit comfortably in your pocket yet powerful enough to provide real value to Agency and field staff alike. Agency staff using MedShare HC can schedule appointments for health care workers. Health care workers using the device will receive alerts from MedShare HC for start and end appointment reminders, new appointment confirmations and more - all automatically. Each alert on MedShare Messenger comes with a predefined list of responses making interaction with the device extremely fast and easy. Once a response is selected by a health care worker, MedShare HC is updated automatically and Agency staff can view the updates. Since MedShare Messenger is a 2-way communication device, health care workers can request information from MedShare HC such as: client information, service order details and next appointment information. Health care workers can also alert the office of their status using commands such as: Start Shift, End Shift, Start Visit and End Visit. Finally, Health care worker can record visit notes to be stored as part of the client’s Electronic Medical Record in Medshare HC.
By allowing the central office to track the health care worker’s whereabouts throughout the day, MedShare Messenger will also help with health care worker safety. Add to that automated Agency alerts when a health care worker doesn’t “check in” for an appointment or a shift, and MedShare Messenger quickly becomes an invaluable and extremely powerful asset for your Agency.
For more information or a demo of how MedShare Messenger could revolutionize your agency, please contact us! |
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We continue to improve MedShare HC, based on valuable client feedback and emerging industry trends. The following features are newly available with MedShare HC since the last MedShare Minute.
| Scheduling |
Built upon the scheduling framework, a collection of advanced health care worker matching and client scheduling features based on agency-configurable requirements. |
Provides agencies with advanced scheduling features geared specifically toward the home health care organizational needs. |
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| Payments tracking |
A mechanism to support the tracking and reconciliation of both private and CCAC payments. |
Eliminates the need to keep separate spreadsheets to track and reconcile CCAC and private client payments. |
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| Branch office support |
A configurable framework to allow multi-branch agencies to segregate business functions where appropriate while maintaining agency-wide data. |
Gives agencies a single system to standardize key data and practices, allowing each branch to manage their independent business processes. |
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| E-referral import |
New feature to support the automated import of key data in an e-referral formatted request for service. |
Allows agencies to quickly respond to high priority CCAC requests by reducing manual data entry. |
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| Accounting system integration support |
A series of interfaces built to support integration with various accounting packages. |
Facilitates information sharing between systems, making business processes more efficient and less error-prone. |
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| ERL tracking |
Support for the new standardized Ontario CCAC Emergency Response Code tracking system. |
Gives agencies a means to track, search, and report against the new standardized CCAC ERL coding system. |
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| Usability improvements |
Based on customer feedback, improvements made to MedShare in an effort to make navigation faster and business processes more efficient. |
A product that is easier to use and more tightly aligned with home health care business processes. |
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| Standard report development |
Continued improvements to the standard report offerings based on customer feedback and CCAC RFP requirements. |
Provides agency management and staff with insight into the agency’s operations for analysis and planning purposes. |
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J. Paul Haynes is the new Chief Executive Officer of Medshare and focuses his efforts on strategic growth, partnerships, corporate finance and investor relations. J. was previously President & CEO of EVER America Corporation which was acquired by Versa in February, 2006 where he served as COO. A serial entrepreneur, J. founded his first venture in 1988 which grew into one of Canada's largest e-government software suppliers.
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Aaron Male joins Medshare as a Quality Assurance Analyst, and is responsible for verifying the integrity of all of MedShare software applications, insuring that only quality products are ever delivered to our clients. Among other things, Aaron's background includes customer service, and network administration. Aaron comes to MedShare from Mitten Vinyl, where he was responsible for maintaining the corporate network, including integrating new technologies and improving the existing infrastructure. Aaron is a Microsoft Certified Professional.
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Andrew Pearen is MedShare’s new Manager of Implementation. He is responsible for Solutions Delivery and Project Management of MedShare’s applications. Andrew is a certified Project Manager and an active member of the Project Management Institute – Canadian Technology Triangle. Andrew comes to us from business application consulting; implementing projects and supporting a range of client types including multiple Non-Governmental Organization’s. Andrew holds a Bachelor of Education in Adult Studies and diplomas and designations in Human Resources, Training and Project Management.
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Julie Driver joins MedShare as our new Implementation Consultant and is responsible for ensuring successful client software implementations. Her background includes business analysis, project management and network administration. Julie comes to us from the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, where she designed, implemented and maintained a province-wide grant administration system. A Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Julie also holds a Master of Science in Hydrometeorology and Geographic Information Systems from the University of Regina.
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