eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
Mobile and Web-based patient engagement technology specialist WelVU announced it has integrated the InterSystems HealthShare health informatics platform to become one of the first educational platforms to combine the power of multimedia patient education with individual patient data from an electronic health record (EHR) or health information exchange (HIE).
Using HealthShare, WelVU connects its mobile and Web-based applications to the clinical data platforms at hospitals, health systems and other clinical technology partners.
WelVU leverages HealthShare for interoperability with EHRs, which can extend the visual elements available to the provider while educating a patient. For example, instead of just using an anatomical illustration of a heart to explain potential problems, the provider can insert images from the patient’s latest echocardiogram or chest X-ray.
Bidirectional data exchange securely transmits patient information into the WelVU platform. The resulting patient educational videos are submitted back to the EHR for documentation in the patient’s official record for the provider and care team to access.
“Patients’ understanding of their health care situation is one of the most important factors driving successful clinical outcomes and treatment compliance,” Mark Friess, founder and CEO of WelVU., said in a statement. “Sadly, about 80 percent of what patients hear from their providers is forgotten after they leave their visit. Tapping the power of mobile and Web-based devices, we’ve found we can improve the patients’ understanding and retention of important health information by using vivid medical illustrations, the trusted words of their providers and their own personal clinical data.”
In addition, the educational videos are inserted into the organization’s patient portal for the patient’s ongoing reference. WelVU encapsulates the conversation into a recording that is securely shared with patients, anywhere, on any browser-equipped device, so patients can review the audio and visual elements of the conversation as many times as they wish and share it with family and friends involved in their care.
“We are excited that our HealthShare platform has enabled the development of WelVU’s breakthrough application for patient engagement,” Paul Grabscheid, vice president of strategic planning for InterSystems. “WelVU is a prime example of how providing easy access to aggregated real-time clinical data can improve the patient experience. We are pleased that WelVU chose to become an InterSystems Application Partner.”
The WelVU platform allows personalized, on-demand videos to be created at the time an educational conversation is held between a health care professional and the patient–be it at bed side, in the exam room or remotely, in an online consult.
For instance, instead of discussing general implications of high blood pressure, the patient and provider can review the trend-line of the patient’s own blood pressure readings over time.