Tag Archive for: healthcare technology

University of Colorado College of Nursing Partners with cliexa to Launch a Mobile Application with Evidence-based Infographics

HIV disproportionately affects Latinos who experience higher prevalence, faster disease progression, more HIV-related deaths, and a marked delay in diagnosis and treatment than their white counterparts. This is a concern in geographic regions across the United States (US) as Latinos comprise the largest minority group in the US. Similar HIV-related health disparities exist in developing countries, such as the Dominican Republic (DR), where those with low socioeconomic status experience higher disease burdens and worse outcomes than those with higher socioeconomic status. These health disparities are exacerbated when affected individuals have low health literacy and are unable to understand the information needed for self-management, as inability to self-manage leads to less use of healthcare services and worse understanding of illness, health behaviors, and health outcomes.  Therefore, to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities among Latino persons living with HIV (PLWH), clinicians must provide the health information needed for effective self-management to diverse Latino PLWH in a meaningful way.

In response to these concerns, Dr. Samantha Stonbraker, Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado College of Nursing, rigorously and iteratively developed the Info Viz for Health intervention to assist clinicians to provide this health information to PLWH through several NIH-funded studies. She first identified a need for this intervention (T32 NR013454).1-3 Then, she worked with an expert visualization team at Columbia University in New York and with health care providers and PLWH at a clinic in the Dominican Republic to develop a set of culturally relevant and evidence-based infographics to assist clinical communication (T32 NR007969).4, 5 She has since assessed the feasibility of using the Info Viz for Health intervention to improve clinical communication with, and outcomes of, PLWH in the DR.6, 7 She also adapted infographics to the cultural and clinical context of Latino PLWH living in New York (NY), who are mainly of Dominican origin/descent and also assessed their feasibility and acceptability at a clinic specializing in HIV care in Northern Manhattan (K99 NR017829).

Two critical next steps in this work were:

  • To adapt Info Viz for Health for relevance to heterogeneous Latino populations across the US by adapting them to Latinos of Mexican origin/descent as these individuals form the largest Latino group in the US and their inclusion is necessary to enhance generalizability and enable future scalability of the intervention. To do this, Dr. Stonbraker conducted a series of in-depth interviews with PLWH attending a clinic that specializes in HIV care in Denver, CO, and adapted the infographics accordingly.
  • To integrate the Info Viz for Health infographics into a mobile platform to enable ease of use and scalability. Dr. Stonbraker teamed up with cliexa, an innovative company that develops and creates digital health solutions. Together, they incorporated the Info Viz for Health into a mobile app that is now accessible on the App Stores both in Apple and Google in English and Spanish languages.

Currently, Dr. Stonbraker is conducting a multi-site randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the efficacy of using the Info Viz for Health app to improve clinical communication and treatment outcomes of Latino PLWH at clinical sites in CO and the DR. Seven providers at the two different clinical sites are using the Info Viz for Health app as a communication aid while they provide information to study participants.

The research aims of this project are to:

Aim 1 Assess the efficacy of the intervention as compared to standard care in improving treatment outcomes (CD4 count, viral load, self-efficacy to manage HIV, among others) of PLWH and determine how resultant effects vary over time (baseline to 9-months) and between sites.

Aim 2 Evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and usability of the app among interdisciplinary and multi-cultural providers using the app.

Aim 3 Identify implementation factors of integrating the mobile app into electronic health records (HER) through in-depth interviews and leverage findings to ensure the app effectively interfaces with EHRs in the US and DR.

Next steps:

  • Health care providers at all sites where infographics have been used have requested additional infographics be incorporated into the app so that they can address additional topics with their patients. Dr. Stonbraker will conduct a needs assessment to identify the pertinent topics to include next and will create rigorously designed and culturally appropriate infographics in response to identified needs.
  • The Info Viz for Health app is provider-facing and would benefit from integration with EHRs. Therefore, the next step in app development is to integrate it with Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR)®, which is the standard for connecting mobile apps and electronic health records (EHR). This permits scalability, as the resultant app enables clinicians to easily access evidence-based infographics from diverse settings globally.

The final product will be an app that interfaces with EHRs in resourced and under-resourced areas globally, has been rigorously tested amongst diverse Latino PLWH in distinct geographic settings in multiple languages, and includes evidence-based infographics to facilitate the clinical communication that helps patients improve their self-management and obtain better health.

References

 

  1. Stonbraker S, Smaldone A, Luft H, et al. Associations between health literacy, HIV-related knowledge, and information behavior among persons living with HIV in the Dominican Republic. Public Health Nurs. 2017;35(3):166-175. doi:10.1111/phn.12382
  2. Stonbraker S, Befus M, Lerebours Nadal L, Halpern M, Larson E. Factors associated with health information seeking, processing, and use among HIV positive adults in the Dominican Republic. AIDS Behav. 2016;21(6):1588–1600. doi:10.1007/s10461-016-1569-5
  3. Stonbraker S, Larson E. Health-information needs of HIV-positive adults in Latin America and the Caribbean: an integrative review of the literature. AIDS Care. 2016;28(10):1223-1229. doi:10.1080/09540121.2016.1173645
  4. Stonbraker S, Halpern M, Bakken S, Schnall R. Special Section on Visual Analytics in Healthcare: Developing infographics to facilitate HIV-related patient-provider communication in a limited-resource setting. Appl Clin Inform. 2019;10:597-609. doi:10.1055/s-0039-1694001
  5. Stonbraker S, Richards SD, Halpern M, Bakken S, Schnall R. Priority topics for health education to support HIV self-management in limited-resource settings. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2019;51(2):168-177. doi:10.1111/jnu.12448
  6. Stonbraker S, Flynn G, George M, et al. Feasibility and acceptability of using information visualizations to improve HIV-related communication in a limited-resource setting: A short report. AIDS Care. In Press;doi:10.1080/09540121.2021.1883517
  7. Stonbraker S, Liu J, Sanabria G, et al. Clinician Use of HIV-Related Infographics During Clinic Visits in the Dominican Republic is Associated with Lower Viral Load and Other Improvements in Health Outcomes. AIDS Behav. In Press:1-13. doi:10.1007/s10461-021-03331-8

cliexa, Integrated Virtual Care Solutions, Announces the Appointment of Robin Linker, CHC, CHCA, CPC-I, CCS-P, COC, MCS-P as an Advisory Board Member.

Robin is a leading expert in health care coding, auditing, education, and documentation nationwide. She is currently the Executive Director of Operations for the Association of Health Care Auditors and Educators and CEO of Robin Linker & Associates, a nationally known healthcare consulting firm in Colorado.

With over 30 years in healthcare, Robin provides consulting, auditing, research, and education in most areas of practice management, compliance and correct coding for teaching institutions and other large facilities to small group or single physician practices. She is credentialed through AHIMA and AAPC in both physician and facility coding, is dually certified in medical compliance, including the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA); and is a licensed instructor for AAPC and AHCAE. Robin is an author and trainer for the American Medical Association (AMA), and is triple certified in professional (physician), surgical, and risk auditing.

 

“I was thrilled to see the cliexa platform in action and couldn’t wait to tell my clients. Finally, an innovative solution to help our physicians digitally navigate real-time, while allowing patient participation for a scientifically evident, collaborative care approach. What could be better? Coupling patient care first while meeting highly regulated healthcare rules, cliexa has the capability to assist physicians in meeting both coding and documentation standards for a compliant medical record. This promotes accurate charge capture and reimbursement, while reducing risk of audit failure. I am honored to be a part of the cliexa Advisory Board and remain amazed at the continuous advancement of the solution based, cliexa platforms.” –Robin Linker

 

Robin will be providing excessive guidance on quality and compliance for cliexa’s core integrated care solutions that will adapt to multiple subspecialties as it will scale the platform to larger health systems.

 

“The Cliexa team is excited with the addition of Robin to our Advisory Board.  Robin’s broad experience in billing, coding, compliance and practice operations enhance our strong team with a wealth of experience, knowledge and insights.  Digital health is reframing the backend of healthcare, and cliexa is proactively amplifying our internal bench-strength to keep us on the leading edge of this transformation”.  –Dr. Gerald Maccioli, cliexa Advisory Board Chair

cliexa, a Colorado-based digital health company, acquired ProSkedge.com, an automated surgical scheduling platform. cliexa’s end-to-end virtual health platform offers integrated clinical intake, automated documentation and remote patient monitoring solutions tailored to practices in multiple-subspecialty settings. cliexa has partnered with American College of Cardiology co-developing cardiovascular home health monitoring solutions since 2018.

“With the acquisition of ProSkedge, cliexa’s focus on actionable, meaningful and impactful patient reported outcomes now extends to the pre-clinical care portion of healthcare delivery. The integration of scheduling care enhances the patient experience and removes historic hurdles.” – Dr. Gerald Maccioli, Chairman of Advisory Board at cliexa

ProSkedge has been designed and developed by Dr Lukasz Kowalczyk, practicing gastroenterologist with over 10 years of GI and procedure experience. ProSkedge simplifies, automates, and personalizes the scheduling process for clinics and patients. With this acquisition, cliexa-ProSkedge becomes a true end-to-end platform for clinics and health systems, offering solutions from onboarding to post-procedure monitoring to patients.

“Surgical care continues to grow at a high rate and COVID has pushed care out of hospitals and into higher value ASC’s. As cliexa enables the digital delivery of care across ambulatory clinic settings, ProSkedge adds that expertise into the ASC’s and the surgical space. cliexa now offers healthcare organizations a singular, comprehensive system for high value digital transformation across the entire patient journey.” said Dr. Kowalczyk, who is now a board member at cliexa and Chief Medical Officer for GI and Surgical Automation.

Dr. Kowalczyk added, “Colon cancer screening with colonoscopy is a great example of how we can improve the journey for the patient and practice.  New colon cancer screening guidelines drop the initial screening age to 45-49.  This patient demographic, consisting of about 20M people, has shown a higher demand to manage their healthcare through a digital medium like the cliexa-ProSkedge platform.”

Learn more at cliexa.com/ProSkedge

 

Banner Health Launches cliexa’s Adolescent Resiliency Screening Platform: cliexa-OPTIONS

Greeley, CO: cliexa today announces a new partnership with Banner Health’s North Colorado Family Medicine. This partnership supports a proof of concept study with cliexa’s adolescent resiliency digital health screening tool called cliexa-OPTIONS.

The study, which began on September 28, 2020 is sponsored by Dr. Michael Bradfield at Banner’s North Colorado Family Medicine, includes an independent evaluation team from the University of Northern Colorado. Dr. William Merchant from Applied Statistics and Research Methods, and Dr. Stephen Wright from the Applied Psychology and Counselor Education Program.

Doctoral students have been implementing cliexa-OPTIONS digital health screening at the Psychological Counseling Clinic since last year.

I find this tool is a valuable component to facilitating the process of reaching the client where they are developmentally. While working with youth requires integrated care and an interdisciplinary approach, the cliexa platform allows for a common and universal language to be used by all healthcare providers with the same mission of lowering sexual risk, empowering adolescents and young adults to make real behavioral changes, and increasing awareness of services that can be provided to them for additional support,” says Kaitlin Dent, a Doctoral student from the Applied Psychology and Counselor Education Program at UNC. “Clients feel safer, disclosing more personal and relevant information about their mental health, sexual activity, and overall well-being.

The benefits of this new partnership include:

  1. Implementation of the latest recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for adolescent behavioral health.
  2. Integrated care support to family physicians working with adolescent patients at Northern Colorado Family Medicine.
  3. Evaluating the quad aims, including cost-benefit, physician and patient satisfaction, and improving outcomes using digital screening tools that support primary care clinics.

We are excited to support Banner Health’s North Colorado Family Medicine. This proof of concept study is important for moving adolescent behavioral health and resiliency forward for primary care clinics,” says Mehmet Kazgan, CEO at cliexa.

About cliexa: cliexa is an end-to-end integrated virtual health platform that enables custom patient onboarding and remote patient monitoring, supporting multiple subspecialties including, pain, mental health, cardiology, adolescent behavioral health, podiatry, gastroenterology, and endocrinology. Learn more at cliexa.com.

About Banner North Colorado Family Medicine: is a cornerstone for family medicine health promotion, disease prevention, and chronic illness management for family members of all ages. Their team of ten physicians supports patients with their wellness and chronic care management. The clinic is located at 1600 23rd Ave Greeley, CO 80634, and includes a vibrant Family Medicine Residency Program. Learn more: Banner North Colorado

how is remote patient monitoring changing the game

Remote patient monitoring is a game changer during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Many questions have been brought up regarding the status of our current healthcare system. How can I get in touch with my physician? How are healthcare clinics handling social distancing and quarantine? Are they still able to meet with me? Do I have any symptoms of Coronavirus? How do I know whether I need to go to a hospital for testing?

Over the last few weeks, our healthcare environment has turned upside down by the emergence of Coronavirus in the United States. Serving patients during this time presents new challenges and has established a “new normal” for clinical workflows.

What exactly is Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)?

Imagine you are experiencing some symptoms that you’d like your clinician to know about. Maybe you have some preexisting healthcare conditions that make you concerned. Remote patient monitoring allows your clinician to monitor your symptoms and reach out with any changes you should make to your current treatment plan. Most RPM platforms are online or through a mobile application that allow for secure communication with your healthcare provider from the comfort of your home.

cliexa utilizes Remote Patient Monitoring to improve patient care. The platform provides clinically validated assessments with automated disease activity scores, allowing clinicians to tap into wearable devices for real-time data. These wearables provide actionable data that otherwise could go undetected through general patient reported outcomes. This way of closely monitoring patients can lead to an improved patient satisfaction with overall care.

How can Remote Patient Monitoring help during the COVID-19 outbreak?

Remote patient monitoring with cliexa is changing the game in healthcare. Recently, many digital health companies have been working towards telehealth solutions for clinics. With cliexa’s remote patient monitoring, patients do not need to be physically present to onboard. Instead, they can receive care and information from a clinician with a fully remote platform. cliexa addresses the needs of each clinic’s specific Coronavirus response. cliexa enables remote check-in, customized clinical intake, secure transfer of medical history records, and remote patient monitoring. All of these functionalities in the platform seamlessly integrate into the existing EMR system. These functions allow patients to conduct all necessary actions from home on their mobile phones prior to telehealth or in-person visits.

Providers can leverage these services, along with cliexa’s COVID-19 screening, to triage patients with chronic conditions based on their risk level. The cliexa COVID-19 screening capabilities follow the CDC’s guidelines to assess risk factors for patients, including preexisting medical conditions. cliexa allows clinicians to utilize virtual health functionalities including remote monitoring and telemedicine visits.

How does Remote Patient Monitoring differ from Telehealth?

Telehealth allows for physicians to meet with their patients virtually – through video or audio communications. However, telehealth requires that patients have previously gone through an onboarding process with their specific clinic or physician. Many telehealth services still require patients to visit their healthcare provider’s office in-person for onboarding. During this initial office visit, the patient fills out onboarding documentation including waivers and past medical history documents. After all patient information is entered into the clinic’s EMR, only then can the patient enroll in telehealth functionalities.

This is where cliexa’s remote patient monitoring platform differs. Our platform eliminates this step completely. Clinics fully digitize the onboarding process and customize it to their specific clinic needs with cliexa. With remote check-in and customized clinical intake features, patients can enroll with a clinic of their choice and start using telehealth services safely from home. This eliminates the need for an initial in-person visit with a healthcare provider, reducing COVID-19 exposure in hospitals and clinics.

How can I learn more?

During this chaotic time, it’s important to stay informed with what’s happening in our current healthcare system. Using remote patient monitoring in healthcare today is outlined in online articles released almost daily. Participate in webinars to learn more about what digital healthcare companies are doing to help – and review materials like this on your own.

cliexa is determined to do all we can to help healthcare providers overcome challenges and promote better care for patients. To support our healthcare partners through this pandemic, we are waiving all implementation fees until further notice. COVID-19 has distanced us, but with the right tools the show can and must go on.

For more information, check out our brief explainer video or schedule a demo of the cliexa platform with our team here.