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Socrates said wisdom is equal parts experience and reflection. As MedShare reflects, we have 2 years of home health care experience and another 9 years implementing electronic health records in the wider health care system.
In the last two years, we developed and launched MedShare HC™, which by using the most up to date technologies, clearly giving us the best technical solution in the market place. Being newly designed, our foundation is the electronic health record and mobile access. We have implemented “Click Once” installation, Always-On mobile support and patented our smart forms technology.
Two years means our business processes are still maturing, unlike the other vendors who have mature processes built into their 10 – 12 year old software applications. And with youth comes speed and agility to respond to the challenges of home health care. In just 2 years we have attracted the Innovators and Early Adopters to our software platform.
The challenges of home health care (and our call to action) are;
- Implement the electronic health record to achieve an environment less dependent on paper
- Improve the quality of care and health outcomes
- Capture, store and report the vast amounts of data needed to manage home health care
- Improve the quality of work life for our home care workers
- Increase time spent on direct client care
On July 12, 2007, MedShare hosted 45 industry leaders from home health care to preview our 2007 / 2008 Health Information Technology (HIT) strategy. The industry executives in attendance, representing 18,000 health care workers, rated our strategy and the feedback was extremely positive. 60% said MedShare’s HIT strategy for home health care was excellent, and the other 40% rated it very good. 100% said they would enthusiastically recommend the event to their peers. We are truly grateful to the industry executives who share their experience and help us develop our industry strategy.
At MedShare, our wisdom comes from the collective experience of the home care sector and having an open opportunity to reflect on the past and the future opportunities. In the last 2 years, we have engaged the industry through 1) our Annual HIT Strategy session, 2) Clinical Advisory Board - who help set our priorities and 3) Expert Panels - comprised of front line health care workers to develop software requirements and focus test the software.
How are we doing? We now have 11 agencies implementing our electronic health record foundation and 12,000 health care workers implementing our mobile technology solutions.
I think Socrates would say that we are wise beyond our years.
Barry Billings, President, MedShare
barry.billings@medshare.com |
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Most home care agencies have automated their intake, scheduling and billing processes which touch about 10% of the organizations’ workforce. But 90% of the agency’s staff, the health care workers responsible for delivering medical services, are still using inefficient paper processes. There are now numerous independent reports that outline the economic and clinical benefits of providing well designed information technology solutions to our health care workers. [Contact Isabella Vich 1.888.624.0014 x223 for a copy of VDC: Mobilizing Home Health Care, September 2007].
The US home care system is measured and reimbursed on health outcomes which have driven 25% of the market to adopt “point of care” solutions. In Canada our visit-based reimbursement system has not encouraged clinical efficiency quite the same way as the USA. But there is growing realization that home health care is fundamentally information driven. And we are experiencing a backlash from our home care workers who are spending 2 hours per day on paper-work.
Point of Care, or Mobile Health Information Technology (HIT), will fundamentally transform the way home care staff access information, organize work, make medical decisions and document client care. And most importantly, better access to information means improved health outcomes for our clients.
MedShare help you get there.
- Unlock your Back Office System –MedShare HC™ supports a distributed database and mobile software access, but if you have older software, MedShare can unlock your back office with MedShare Bridge. We are able to integrate with Procura, GoldCare, and others to quickly provide an EMR foundation without disrupting your organization.
- Implement an Electronic Health Record – MedShare HC™ provides the EHR foundation to support home care. We support an unlimited number of structured and unstructured data types from fax images to ultrasound.
- Select the Best Mobile Solution – One size does not fit all. Nurses need clinical charting which lends itself to a tablet or laptop computer equipped with Smart Charts [see MedShare eMotion™]. Other health care workers may prefer the BlackBerry solution for its convenient size and immediate access to visit information. [see MedShare for BlackBerry™]
The VDC Report referred to earlier cover the benefits and return on investment being achieved through the implementation of mobile home health information technology and it is extremely compelling. VDC has suggested that technology innovation provides competitive differentiation within the health care system, and will help attract and retain the best staff.
MedShare has written several product detailers outlining our mobile solutions that are available for download on our website, and you can access our online software demos there. |
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The demand for MedShare’s EHR and mobile solutions has hit the mainstream of health care organizations. As a way to efficiently engage with new organizations, we have developed the “MedShare QuickStart Program”.
This paid engagement includes a number of key initiatives to help agencies and health authorities take the first step to EHR and paperless operation, while minimizing risk and disruption to the organization. The program includes;
- Health Information Technology (HIT) Strategy seminar for executives and senior management
- Development of a HIT Strategy and business case
- Implementation of MedShare’s Trial Program
- Evaluation and ROI Report
The HIT Strategy Seminar is delivered by Barry Billings, founder and President of MedShare. This engaging seminar will lead your management team through the technology challenges, opportunities and solutions available, with an emphasis on building your own actionable HIT Strategy.
As part of MedShare’s CHCA Conference plan, we are offering condensed HIT strategy session for health authority management and executives. There are 3 complementary sessions available in Victoria. To book your seat, please call or email Isabella Vich 1.888.624.0014 x223 or email Isabella.vich@medshare.com |
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Guided by our expert panel, our MedShare for BlackBerry™ application includes the following features.
| Schedule |
An interactive schedule of client visits maintained either by the health care workers or centrally by the Agency or a combination of the two. |
Schedule or reschedule visits on the fly and maintain communication with the central agency. |
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| Visit Confirmation |
Support the confirmation of visits including start and end time adjustments and activities performed. |
Eliminates paper time sheets. |
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| Map Integration |
Provides the ability to launch directly into existing BlackBerry mapping software, pre-populating the destination address based on client information. |
Less planning time required by the HCW at the beginning of the day, and route optimization opportunity. |
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| Progress Notes |
Allows HCWs to log progress notes as the visit is completed, storing them in a central location to facilitate sharing of information. |
Reduces HCW personal time spent on paperwork. |
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| Case Information |
Displays pertinent client and referral information including contacts, clinical data, and risk factors. |
Supplies the HCW with relevant information at the point of care. |
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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.
| HCW Dashboard |
A home page for HCWs presenting a summary of relevant caseload information, highlighting upcoming deadlines, and providing access to unassigned cases. |
Provides the HCW with a snapshot of their current caseload, as well as self-serve access to unclaimed cases. |
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| Request Queue |
An instrument to support logging intake requests as they come in, and tracking when they are accepted or rejected. Once the full referral is received, the tool will pre-populate key information into the Client Intake Power Tool to facilitate faster data entry. |
Gives the agency a tool to track incoming phone calls and faxes in addition to providing the data required to track rejected requests as per the CCAC RFP quality indicators. |
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| Progress Notes |
A facility to log and view progress notes related to a specific service order. Progress notes are to be presented in a chronological view tagged with the create date and author. |
Eliminates the need to keep paper progress notes and facilitates sharing of information between caregivers throughout an episode of care. |
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| Automatic Expenses |
A configurable mechanism to trigger the automatic calculation and creation of custom payroll items such as travel pay, overtime, and holiday pay. |
Reduces manual entry and decreases opportunities for error. |
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| Teams |
New feature to support the grouping of HCWs and caseloads into teams for administrative and scheduling purposes. |
Facilitates flexible sharing of administrative duties. |
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| Billing Groups |
The capability to define categories of private clients for billing purposes. Examples may include grouping by billing cycle or method. |
Allows agencies to perform bulk invoicing for private clients. |
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| Partial Payment |
Provides the ability to accept, track, and resubmit partial payment authorizations for agencies that bill on an hourly rate. |
Gives agencies a means to comply with additional billing methodologies. |
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Dawn Leetham is MedShare’s new Manager of Professional Services. She is responsible for Solutions Delivery and Project Management of MedShare’s applications. Dawn is a certified Project Manager and an active member of the Project Management Institute – Canadian Technology Triangle. Dawn comes to us with an extensive background in project management and implementation of health care software solutions. Dawn holds a B.Sc. in Engineering from the University of Waterloo.
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Dave Dame re-joins MedShare as the Director of Client Services and is responsible for overseeing MedShare's Implementation team and Client Services efforts. Dave will ensure on-time and quality delivery of all MedShare products. Dave has over 10 years experience in managing the delivery and quality of software projects for clients such as Daimler Chrysler, General Motors, Microsoft, and CIBC. He is passionately committed to the improvement of project management and quality assurance in the software industry and has much experience in leading young software companies to mature software management practices.
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Ed Vannatter is MedShare's newest Business Analyst and will be responsible for understanding our clients and their business requirements for MedShare’s solutions. Ed has an extensive background in
business analysis, project management, and software development. Ed comes to us from Avotus Corporation where he delivered clear and concise custom solution requirements, lead development projects, and held senior technical roles. Ed has a Bachelor of Science in computing and computer electronics from Wilfred Laurier University.
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George Azar 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. George comes to MedShare from McGill Digital Solutions Inc., where he was responsible for the testing of large scale product training websites and applications for Daimler Chrysler.
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Tim Rafuse is joining the Reports Development team at MedShare. He is responsible for design, implementation and delivery of reports for all MedShare applications. His background includes systems analysis, reports development and team management. He has worked with a number of financial institutions and holds a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience, Microbiology, Immunology and Virology.
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Lori Vinc is MedShare's newest Applications Developer and brings ten years of experience in systems analysis, design and development within various industries. Amongst many tasks, one of Lori's key responsibilities at MedShare will include the research and implementation of cutting edge software development technologies.
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Audrey Kemp joins the MedShare team as lead Application Trainer and will be responsible for the customization, development, design and delivery of training programs for MedShare clients. Audrey has over 10 years experience in the financial services sector with the implementation of training programs and curriculum to adult learners, large scale IT initiatives as well as leading training and development teams. Audrey holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton University. |
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 In This Issue |
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| 2007 Trade Shows |
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| MedShare will be exhibiting at the following trade shows in 2007:
National Association for Home Care and Hospice 2006 Annual Meeting
Denver, Colorado
Oct 6-10
www.nahc.org
Canadian Society of Telehealth
St. John's, Newfoundland
November 4-6
www.cst-sct.org
Canadian Home Care Association
Victoria, British Columbia
December 2-4
www.cdnhomecare.ca |
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| Contacts |
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Can-Amera Corporate Centre
231 Shearson Crescent, Suite 207, Cambridge, ON.
Canada, N1T 1J5
phone: 888.624.0014
info@medshare.co
Support Issues
Please send any feedback, including questions, comments, or problems to our webmaster at:support@medshare.com. |
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Presidents Message