Coordinating medical care with multiple doctors and specialists can be tricky for patients. While a growing number of physicians, medical groups, and providers use electronic health records (EHRs) with patient portals, patient buy-in has been slow, according to Patient Data Access News. Patient portal proponents tout greater patient engagement, but patients are on their own when they log in patient portals. They can see lots of information and often leave messages and make appointments, but portals don’t allow patients to interact directly with their physicians or other healthcare personnel.
Medici is a smartphone app for patients, physicians, and providers that promises to improve direct patient to physician engagement. Medici’s convenient, time-saving smartphone app is secure and HIPAA compliant, according to the company. Patients can text doctors, vets, and therapists directly from Medici and get answers directly, rather than through a go-between. The hope is patients can minimize trekking into offices or clinics where patients stay in a waiting room with sick people while their turn. Patients can send and receive text messages with healthcare professionals directly from home. Medici’s advantages to physicians include getting paid to send text messages anywhere anytime, increased care efficiency by helping to keep patients out of urgent care, and free malpractice insurance included with the service. Physicians can also prescribe medications directly from the app. According to Medici, hospitals can use the app to be competitive, to boost physician morale, and to provide secure, HIPAA compliant service to reduce risk and overhead costs.
Healthcare systems worldwide eventually will have to use EHRs and take full advantage of electronic communication technology in order to deliver better patient care and to keep a lid on healthcare costs. Medici is ready now to provide part of the solution.
