Geisinger Health System and global biopharmaceutical company Merck have collaborated on two new mobile applications that will aim to help patient-provider communication and medication adherence.
According to officials in an announcement this week, the first of the two solutions, the Family Caregiver Application, helps two-way communications and coordination of care for patients and their caregivers. The other workflow solution, the MedTrue application, integrates different medication data sources to assist with medication reconciliation and adherence, resulting in a patient- and healthcare team-verified medication list.
The applications, which were developed through an ongoing collaboration between Geisinger and Merck, are embedded directly within the electronic medical record (EMR) and in the healthcare provider's workflow. The applications are also accessible to patients and the Family Caregiver Application is accessible to family caregivers. Both workflow solutions can be used remotely.
What’s more, the applications will use SMART on FHIR (Substitutable Medical Applications, Reusable Technologies/Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) technology, an open, standards-based platform for utilizing data from disparate EMRs, so both products can be used in healthcare systems anywhere, officials said.
The Family Caregiver application was developed and piloted in oncology, and is designed to be translated to other therapeutic areas to enhance coordination of family caregiving activities among medical and caregiving teams. Meanwhile, officials noted, the driver behind the MedTrue application was the health system’s research which found that about 70 percent of its medication lists were inaccurate.
"Providing these tools for patients and family caregivers — tested within our own system — enables patients to be more active in healthcare decisions and could increase the likelihood that patients will adhere to their treatment plans and lead healthier lives,” said David H. Ledbetter, Ph.D., Geisinger executive vice president and chief scientific officer.
