Blue Shield of California is offering a new digital tool at its network hospitals to help them triage the influx of patients seeking advice on COVID-19 or other medical care.
Describing how the process works, Blue Shield officials said patients would access the “COVID-19 Screener and Emergency Response Assistant” tool on a hospital's websites, answer a few basic questions and based on their reply, they would be directed to the appropriate medical settings for their health situation.
The tool comes at no additional cost, health plan officials announced this week. Patient can access the COVID-19 SERA tool via Internet-connected smartphone, tablet or computer on a participating hospital's website.
COVID-19 SERA can be customized for each health system's emergency response plan, and it is updated in real-time with latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO), according to officials.
The idea, they noted, is to point patients in the most appropriate care setting so hospitals can better manage inflow of patients. Around the country, hospitals are preparing for the worst-case scenario of bed shortages as the number of positive cases continue to increase.
The COVID-19 SERA service can be implemented on a hospital's website within 48 hours. Blue Shield says it will cover the costs for its network hospitals to implement, update and be licensed to use COVID-19 SERA system for three months during the pandemic.
The COVID-19 SERA is developed by GYANT, a San Francisco-based company that uses artificial intelligence to provide digital services that help people access appropriate care.
"The tool provides relief to hospitals' overburdened call centers and front-desk resources. It can direct low-acuity cases to the appropriate medical settings and provide relevant information to patients affected by COVID-19 so that they can quickly receive medical care and help curb community transmission," said Terry Gilliland, M.D., executive vice president, Healthcare Quality and Affordability at Blue Shield. "These are trying times for everyone and we believe this system can make a difference for hospitals as they do their best to provide medical care for patients."
There have been several examples of health plans across the country doing their part to improve access to care and get patients the right information during this crisis. Last week, several leading insurance companies announced they would cover the cost of COVID-19 testing and telemedicine services for patients.
