NetDirector Streamlines Patient Experience in Healthcare with New Health Logix Integration Suite

Tampa, FL – June 27, 2017 – NetDirector, a cloud-based data exchange and integration platform, continues to expand the presence of their cloud-based integration-platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) in the healthcare industry. In their most recent integration, NetDirector has partnered with Health Logix to deliver a technologically advanced patient experience and to streamline the process of data acquisition for providers.

Health Logix is a Software-as-a-Service (SAAS) offering delivering its customers the ability to engage patients both before and after exams or appointments by confirming scheduling, for surveys, create a seamless check-in process, and more. The cloud-based integration with NetDirector helps those clients move pertinent information directly into their Information System (RIS, EHR, HIS, etc.) and patient billing databases, to keep patient records current and to leverage collected data most efficiently.  Health Logix additionally allows for the utilization of its full functionality including automating check-in procedures at a digital kiosk, and more.

By utilizing Health Logix and integrating with NetDirector the entire continuum of healthcare data becomes more accessible to both patient and provider. Patients feel more cared for and satisfied by having reminders and surveys, while providers have the information they need faster and more cost-effectively. The information collected through Health Logix is passed through the NetDirector HealthData Exchange and is delivered directly to billing databases and information systems through a one-to-many style integration.

Health Logix chief technology officer Reynold Yordy stated that “NetDirector’s ability to simultaneously, accurately, and cost-effectively move critical patient information, to multiple partner platforms, allows us to deliver a service that both saves cost and generates real revenue to our customers.”  He further stated, “after searching for many months, we are excited to have finally found an integration partner that actually deliver on true interoperability, one of the biggest gaps in healthcare”

Interoperability has been a major hurdle in healthcare – as providers and vendors work towards Meaningful Use Stage 3, interoperability becomes critical for all systems. Communication between existing and future systems is a must have, and the NetDirector integration with Health Logix is a strong example of this kind of interconnected healthcare environment.

“It’s important for us to aid healthcare providers and vendors in reaching their Meaningful Use benchmarks because we know that ultimately impacts the level of patient care,” said Harry Beisswenger, CEO of NetDirector. “Health Logix is an exceptional system, and we’re excited to make it even easier for healthcare providers to maximize the potential it has.”

Company Bio:

NetDirector provides a secure cloud-based data and document exchange solution for the healthcare and mortgage banking industries to deliver seamless data integration between parties. NetDirector bridges gaps created by disparate systems & technologies by allowing companies at any location to share data & documents securely over a single internet connection with any other member of the ecosystem. Our approach allows trading partners to collaborate and exchange data in a seamless, bi-directional, real-time manner. With security and longevity as a focus, NetDirector is a Certified HIPAA Compliant company, a 6-year member of the prominent Inc. 5000, and currently, processes more than 9 million transactions per month.

Midyear Healthcare and Technology Progress Report

High availability, interoperability, and utility in population health management all figured prominently in an early 2017 forecast of areas where healthcare CIOs expect information technology (IT) to deliver significant impact for their organizations.

Here’s a look at how things are shaping up at the year’s midpoint.

Systems availability

While natural disasters or cyber-attacks can knock out — or lock out — critical IT systems without warning, healthcare entities still need to prepare for such events. In fact, the HIPAA Security Rule requires health care covered entities to have a contingency plan for responding to unavailability of electronic health information systems.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Inspector General reported last year in a survey of 400 hospitals that about two-thirds have contingency plans addressing data backup, disaster recovery, emergency mode operations and testing/ revision procedures. Nonetheless, over half of the surveyed hospitals confirmed an unplanned disruption to their electronic health record (EHR) system, and about a quarter of those experienced delays in patient care as a result.

So far this year, EHR outages continue to make headlines:

  • An April 2017 poll, conducted by online physician community Sermo, found that 55 percent of 1,678 responding U.S. doctors had experienced an EHR outage or malfunction that jeopardized the health or safety of a patient.
  • Also in April, Erie County Medical Center and an associated long-term care facility experienced a system-wide shutdown attributed to a ransomware attack. The hospital’s backup process prevented loss of any patient records or financial data, but its EHR was taken offline for six weeks, during which time activities such as patient admissions and prescription writing had to be handled manually.
  • In a separate incident at the end of February, an ophthalmology-specific EHR experienced “technical difficulties” due to outages of Amazon’s S3 cloud-based hosting service.

Data center and cloud services provider Peak 10 recommends that healthcare entities not only review their IT privacy and security policies and procedures but also insist that their service level agreements with technology providers specify agreed-upon security objectives and how compliance will be ensured.

Interoperability

In late March, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) shared several examples of what it described as “interoperability in action from coast to coast.” Among the programs ONC showcased:

  • An app that imports patient data — including personal and medical device data, remote monitoring and reminders — into a comprehensive family health dashboard.
  • A solution that allows clinicians to create customizable push notifications that can be tailored to individual patients or groups.
  • A smartphone app that allows patients to grant or revoke permission for providers to access, send or receive health information electronically.
  • A secure system for users to seamlessly store and share data with trusted care professionals.

Additional projects outside of ONC’s purview are taking aim at other aspects of interoperability. In April, Ascension Health, Cedars-Sinai Health System and Hospital Corporation of America opened the Center for Medical Interoperability. The lab will provide resources for researchers to test data-sharing connections for medical devices and EHRs. In February, the Personal Connected Health Alliance agreed to partner with the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise initiative in efforts to improve health data exchange through conformity testing and certification with a focus on standards-based, open specifications.

Population health

No single type of data serves as a comprehensive source of information for population health management. For example, claims data includes patient demographics, diagnosis codes, and dates and costs of services; however, the information is retrospective and limited to just billable aspects of care, explains a recent HealthITAnalytics report. Likewise, EHR systems provide clinical details but often contain unstructured, free-text descriptions that are difficult to extract and analyze.

Still, healthcare organizations continue to press forward with population health initiatives. Vanderbilt University just released a report card — the first of its kind in the nation — intended to guide the planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies to improve men’s health across the entire state of Tennessee. It identifies heart disease and cancer as the leading causes of death in the state and reveals a deficit in men having a personal health provider. Meanwhile, Stanford University’s Center for Population Health Sciences has awarded $275,000 in pilot grants to fund studies seeking to improve population and community health, including a mobile surveillance system that will map autism and gaps in treatment services.

Efforts such as these will help drive discovery of what works in real-world practice of population health management. “As an industry, we can increase the socialization of toolkits and case studies so that healthcare organizations can more clearly define all aspects of population health management model design,” observes Jennifer Rogers, an analyst at Chilmark Research. She adds that optimal IT deployment will speed up gains in value for current and future adopters of population health models.

Availability, interoperability, and population health projects face a balance of challenges and opportunities as we enter the second half of 2017. NetDirector continues to innovate with cloud-based, foundational integration solutions that will help healthcare organizations seamlessly handle the electronic exchange of information in each of these areas within their respective ecosystems. For more information, please contact us or request a free demo.

Addiction Care 101 Partners with NetDirector to Automate Key Pieces of the Opioid Addiction Recovery Process

Tampa, FL – June 13, 2017 – NetDirector, a cloud-based data exchange and integration platform, continues to solidify their presence in the healthcare industry as a leading provider of integration services. Most recently, NetDirector has partnered with Addiction Care 101 to aid in the delivery of treatment for the growing opioid crisis around the country.

Addiction Care 101 (A101) is a cloud-based software platform that assists doctors in performing Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) for people with prescription opioid and heroin use disorders. Medications (such as Suboxone) are used to prevent the patient from experiencing opioid withdrawal while they receive the necessary treatment, provided via telemedicine by their network of doctors and therapists to assist their recovery.

The software is based on a proven, successful model delivered on a solid platform of risk management and compliance to physicians and patients. The A101 platform allows for users to anonymously go through treatment and recovery without requiring family or employers to know. Technology including telemedicine and e-prescribing allows members (assisted by the network of doctors, drug counselors, and the A101 team) to pursue sobriety without having to worry about being seen in an addiction care facility.

Laurie Peregoy JD, Director of Program Compliance, states that “NetDirector’s cutting edge integration technology allows A101 to more accurately monitor their member’s compliance. Specifically, the ease in which we are able to routinely access the Controlled Substance Database using their automated process gives A101 the critical assurance that members are not seeking drugs beyond their treatment program.”

By providing an automated integration to Controlled Substance Databases, NetDirector helps prevent “medication farming” – a major contributor to the abuse of opioid recovery drugs that has hindered the opioid rehabilitation efforts in the past.

William Beasley, one of A101’s network of Drug Counselors, further stated “NetDirector’s bidirectional integration with our lab testing partners makes my job of treating my patients more thorough due to immediate alerts to both myself and my patient if the results expose compliance or other potentially life-threatening outcomes.”

By integrating with labs via a cloud-based, one-to-many style integration, NetDirector allows the practitioners and counselors that are part of the A101 network to stay informed and to expand their ability to treat opioid addiction disorders in recovery patients with greater accuracy. The compliance gains noted by A101 are a key benefit to the integration, as well, so that the program can continue to function while maintaining the highest levels of transparency and discretion when needed.

Company Bio:

NetDirector provides a secure cloud-based data and document exchange solution for the healthcare and mortgage banking industries to deliver seamless data integration between parties. NetDirector bridges gaps created by disparate systems & technologies by allowing companies at any location to share data & documents securely over a single internet connection with any other member of the ecosystem. Our approach allows trading partners to collaborate and exchange data in a seamless, bi-directional, real-time manner. With security and longevity as a focus, NetDirector is a certified HIPAA Compliant company, a 6-year member of the prominent Inc. 5000, and currently processes more than 9 million transactions per month.