Patient Engagement Systems Wins IBM Global Entrepreneur Slot

On April 10th, IBM Global Entrepreneur hosted a Mentor Day at the Waltham, Massachusetts IBM Innovation Center. The morning's mentoring sessions were coupled with the Waltham Innovation Center's famous Connecting Companies with Capital event in the afternoon. The startups first presented their business pitches in the morning and then again later on in the day after intense mentoring sessions, and the improvement was visible. Robert DeNoble, COO at iHASMD and one of the day's mentors said, "The value of the mentoring sessions provided immediate results as shown in the significantly improved quality of the company presentations during the afternoon session."

At the end of the day Mindful Scientific and Patient Engagement Systems were selected as the two companies qualifying for an interview for the SmartCamp Silicon Valley Regional competition.

Find more about IBM Global Entrepreneur program here.

Halfpenny Technologies integrates clinical decision support platform to enable Health Plans to improve chronic care

Halfpenny Technologies has selected Patient Engagement Systems' (PES) platform as a feature enhancement to its ITF-HUB solution, a cloud-based clinical data exchange solution enabling health plans to access members' clinical data from a wide variety of hospital and commercial labs through only one data connection. The enhanced solution will now leverage PES' expertise in developing patient centric clinical decision support tools and utilities for member engagement, enabling health plan clients to manage chronic care programs down to the clinic level to improve quality and cost.

"We are very excited to be partnering with a leading provider of data interoperability and health care intelligences services," said Halfpenny CEO Tim Kowalski. "We are pleased to be partnering with PES to further enhance our unique clinical data exchange offering to Health Plans. As Health Plans strive to improve the quality of care of their members and reduce their costs, they need improved tools and data to make the right decisions at the right time. Our ITF-HUB solution, which will now have PES' modeling capabilities imbedded, offers Health Plans the best solution to solve their quality of care and cost challenges."

Read the press release here.

ESSENTIAL TOOLS FOR PATIENT ENGAGEMENT

Meaningful Use Stage 2 rules mean patient engagement is more important than ever. InformationWeek HealthCare included Patient Engagement Systems (PES) in their listing of core tools.

DATA INNOVATORS AND DIABETES MANAGERS: pes

Patient Engagement Systems (PES) has been selected to demonstrate its technology solutions for health care improvement at two prestigious events. On October 3rd, 2012, we will be presenting, "Leveraging Data for Smarter Healthcare" at HealthMart '12 Datapalooza in Worcester, MA. On October 11th, 2012, PES will present "Successful Patient Engagement Improves Diabetes Outcomes in Seniors" at URAC's Global Diabetes Management Summit in San Francisco, CA.

Read the article here.

The Next Frontier: Patient Engagement

Seeking the best return on shared-savings programs such as PCMHs and ACOs, health plans are investing in ways to attract and hold patients' attention. Joseph Burns, contributing editor of Managed Care magazine, makes a simple assertion in his June cover store: "Patient engagement is the next frontier for managed care plans." We agree.

Read the article here.

Patient Engagement Requires Right information technology Tools

Federal and private policy makers are insisting that healthcare providers get patients more involved in their own care, but that's not going to happen without a careful analysis of your IT strategy.

Paul Cerrato, Editor, InformationWeek Healthcare, emphasizes the critical role of patient engagement:

"As most healthcare providers know, the federal government is insisting that hospitals and practices improve their e-patient engagement strategy in order to meet Stage 2 Meaningful Use criteria. Private insurers are already going down this same path. When faced with such mandates, health IT executives and clinical leaders can take the parts changer's approach to patient engagement, or do a deeper root-cause analysis to find the best technology to address the issue."

Read the complete article here.

WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT CKD WILL COST YOU!!

It is startling to learn that 1 in 6 American adults has chronic kidney disease, and that it's underdiagnosed. The good news it is manageable. Also, there are tools you can use that help identify patients early, which is good for all concerned—patients, physicians, and plans. In this webinar Jeff Brunkow, of OptumHealth, and Benjamin Littenberg, MD FACP, of Patient Engagement Systems, map the CKD landscape and address effective management.

Watch the webinar (54MB).

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE IMPROVES THE BOTTOM LINE

Business intelligence is finding myriad ways to improve the healthcare organization's bottom line, whether it's through clinical improvement, greater operational efficiencies or enhanced revenue cycle functionality, system designers say.

Take, for instance, medical device integration into the electronic medical record. The focus of the project from a BI perspective is to process clinical information at the point of care, where the data can be used to drive better clinical outcomes, says Dave Dyell, founder and CEO of Panama City, FL-based Isirona.

"Making better decisions with data-driven care is the BI angle," he said. "It is about clinicians using the data to treat patients."

Making existing staff more efficient is another bottom line benefit of BI, Dyell says – especially in light of the nursing shortage that many providers have experienced. Automated point of care information saves valuable nurse time on taking patient vitals, which can easily add up to a couple of hours per nurse, per shift, he says.

"Another benefit we see on the data analytics side is the ability for early identification of potential problems and earlier intervention," said Dyell.

To be sure, access to critical information in real time is the hallmark of a BI system, says Eric Mueller, services president for Seattle-based WPC.

"BI is about making good decisions with accurate information in as close to real time as possible," he said. "That is important because if the information in front of you is 40 to 60 days old, that isn't business intelligence, it's business history."

Read the complete article here.

THE 4 KEYS TO ENGAGING PATIENTS AND OPERATING IN AN OUTCOMES-BASED REIMBURSEMENT ENVIRONMENT

Emerging models such as accountable care organizations will require better care coordination among providers, hospitals and their patients. Furthermore, Medicare, Medicaid, private and self-insured payors will continue to pay hospitals and physician practices based on quality of care measures, eventually moving to outcomes-based and bundled payments that are predicated on outcomes. The more engaged and involved patients are in managing their conditions, the greater the likelihood that they will experience better outcomes and satisfaction while avoiding adverse events, such as readmissions, that negatively impact their health as well as the hospital or health system. Here are four strategies and tools to help realize those goals. 

Read the complete article here.

BENJAMIN LITTENBERG, MD FACP, CHOSEN AS HEALTH CARE TECHNICAL ADVISOR FOR STATE health care reform INITIATIVE

Benjamin Littenberg, MD FACP and Chief Medical Officer of Patient Engagement Systems, has been selected from a statewide pool of health care and technology experts advise Vermont's Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) on improvements to the State's health care system. GMCB is tasked to chart a path for the State of Vermont that is coordinated with the requirements of, but be independent of and more comprehensive than, the Federal Affordable Care Act.

In this role, Dr. Littenberg will contribute to GMCB's Health Care Professional Technical Advisory Group, which will serve as a sounding board on various technical issues related to the GMCB's work, including data analysis, development of provider payment models, and development of a unified health care budget for the state. "I am eager to contribute to this important effort for the state. The panel represents experts from across the state, and I am honored to be selected," said Dr. Littenberg.

Read complete press release.

Patient Engagement is "The Next Frontier for Improving Healthcare." James Rose, PES Senior VP, answers questions for Medical Home Today

For Jim Rose, the senior vice president of business development with Patient Engagement Systems, the concept of patient engagement is at the root of major changes in healthcare today. The only question is: What does patient engagement look like?

Perhaps the term is best defined by what it's not. "Engagement is not synonymous with compliance," said Rose during a presentation at the National Medical Home Summit in Philadelphia. Engagement, rather, "signifies that a person is involved in a process."

It can be a nebulous difference, but emerging models of care, such as the medical home, consider that difference a core component of the delivery process. To gain a better understanding of how patient engagement can improve care, Medical Home Today sits down with Rose over a sextet of questions.

Medical Home Today: Patient engagement is key to the medical home. What dividends are possible from robust patient engagement?

Jim Rose: Apart from the "Hippocratic dividend" of providing better care to patients, there are now documented cases of bottom line improvements from engaging patients. These include shared savings and incentive and bonus (P4P) payments, reduced total costs of care (especially inpatient and emergency room utilization), and even staffing efficiencies.

Read the entire article here.

DEFINING PATIENT ENGAGEMENT: jIM ROSE AT NATIONAL MEDICAL HOME CONFERENCE EXPLAINS, "IT'S THE MESSAGE, NOT THE MEDIUM."

Jim Rose, Senior VP at Patient Engagement Systems explained to the NMHC attendees how an expensive web portal or printed health information in your office does not equal patient engagement. Steve Wilkins, MPH, put it like this on his blog, Mind the Gap:

“I love the point made by James Rose, Patient Engagement Systems, regarding the marketing hype surrounding the concept of patient engagement.  Rose correctly noted that patient engagement is more about the message you convey than the media used to convey the message.  Too often providers incorrectly equate web portals, in-office kiosks, and even printed health information with patient engagement.  What engages patients (or not) are the messages conveyed by these different media.  Often a simple verbal exchange between physician and patient can do more to engage patients in their own health than the most expensive web portal.  What’s your message?”

Delivering a message that communicates to your patients that they are important and that you care about them is how to produce real patient engagement. It’s not magic, but if you can do it the results are.

"In Search of Patient Engagement," a presentation by James rose at Fourth National Medical Home Summit

James Rose, Senior Vice President for Patient Engagement Systems, will present "In Search of Patient Engagement" at the Fourth National Medical Home Summit in Philadelphia. Mr. Rose's presentation is scheduled for February 28 at 2:15 p.m. (eastern). The Medical Home Summit is the leading education event to address patient centered medical homes. The conference will be streamed live via the web.

Read complete press release.

PATIENT ENGAGEMENT SYSTEMS CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE SOLUTION IMPLEMENTED NATIONALLY

Patient Engagement Systems (PES) is launching its new Chronic Kidney Disease Patient Engagement System (CKPES) with two clients in California. CKPES will enable these clients to better monitor, engage with, and manage patients who require attention for the health risks and progression of chronic kidney disease. 

PES delivers better outcomes for CKD by attacking the problem through both provider and patient action.  CKPES delivers critical clinical information to primary care providers to help them better adhere to recommended guidelines of care, such as the National Kidney Foundation’s KDOQI guidelines.  CKPES also delivers personalized clinical information to patients to ensure they are aware of and activated for recommended care.
Read complete press release.

Patient Engagement Systems® Introduces Solution for Improving Management of Chronic Kidney Disease

Patient Engagement Systems® today introduced the Chronic Kidney Patient Engagement System (CKPES). The announcement was made at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's 23rd Annual Forum on Quality Improvement. CKPES helps primary care providers identify patients at risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD), manage treatments to recommended guidelines, and reduce avoidable costs and inconsistencies in patient care.

Find more details in the press release.

Patient Engagement Systems® Supports ONC with Consumer Health IT Adoption Initiative

Patient Engagement Systems® pledges to HHS to empower patients through information technology.

Find more details in the press release.

Patient Engagement Systems® Awarded Bronze Honors for Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection Program from URAC

National Award Recognizes Patient Engagement Systems® out of over 60 Applicants as an Innovative Consumer Decision-Making Program.
Find more details in the press release.

Webinar Discusses Advanced IT for the Medical Home: Engaging the Patient

On October 3rd at 12:00 p.m. ET, Benjamin Littenberg, MD, Chief Medical Officer at PES, will lead an interactive discussion on how information technology, when applied strategically and purposefully, can create engaged patients and be a key difference maker for Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) efforts.

Find more details in the press release.

Patient Engagement Systems® to Present "Automating Provider-Patient Communications to Improve Chronic Care Outcomes" at URAC Conference Session for Award Finalists

Patient Engagement Systems® session featured with other URAC Award Finalists for Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection at 12th Annual Quality Summit on October 4th - 6th.
Find more details in the press release.

Patient Engagement Systems® Chief Medical Officer Presents at The National Medical Home Summit

Benjamin Littenberg, MD, leads a Mini-Summit presentation on September 21, 2011 at The Fourth National Medical Home Summit in San Francisco, discusses how engaging with patients is critical to the financial and clinical success of the primary care practice research and how - with the right information utilities in place to engrain new methods of health improvement - the Medical Home model will help this evolution happen.

Find more details in the press release.

PATIENT ENGAGEMENT SYSTEMS® NAMED URAC FINALIST

June 6, 2011

PATIENT ENGAGEMENT SYSTEMS® ENTERS UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT HALL OF FAME

Company founders Dr. Benjamin Littenberg, Dr. Charles MacLean, and Mr. Michael Gagnon were honored June 13, 2011 with a Hall of Fame Award at the 6th annual Invention to Venture (I2V) Conference. The Hall of Fame honors inventions that have contributed to advancing the mission of the University to disseminate knowledge and serve the people of Vermont.

For more details read the press release.

March 21, 2011

VERMEDX EXPANDS SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM WITH HIRING OF JAMES L. ROSE AS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Stanley Goldstein, Chief Executive Officer of Vermedx, announced today the appointment of James L. Rose as Senior Vice President of Business Development. "We are delighted to welcome Jim to our management team," he said. "Jim brings not only the ability to develop strategies, but also many fresh ideas and a creative approach." Mr. Rose has more than two decades of health-care industry experience. He will focus his efforts on the main technology platform of Vermedx, specifically the company's flagship program for managing diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
For more information, see the press release.

March 17, 2011

VERMEDX TO PRESENT RESEARCH RESULTS: HOW TO ENGAGE PATIENTS FOR BETTER CHRONIC CARE MANAGEMENT

Vermedx will be presenting research on "How Engaging Patients for Better Chronic Care Management Results in More Appropriate Medical Service Utilization" at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's (IHI) 12th Annual International Summit in Dallas later this month.

The Vermedx technology improves coordination, compliance and the overall management of chronic conditions by supporting physician decision making and communication with their patients.

At its conference session, Vermedx will discuss how patient engagement improves the overall clinical experience and what that means for providers; how large physician-lead groups have implemented and are measuring technology solutions that better prepare both providers and patients for more effective clinical encounters; and will outline the anticipated impacts - risks and rewards - of pay-for-performance and health-care reform on how providers and patients interact.

The Vermedx presentation will take place at 12:45 pm on Monday, March 21 in room "Austin 5". Vermedx also will be exhibiting at Booth 1224. The IHI Summit on Improving Patient Care in the Office Practice & the Community will be held at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Dallas from March 20–22.

See the press release for more details.

May 3, 2010

EMPIRE PHYSICIANS GROUP TEAMS WITH VERMEDX

Vermedx, Inc. announced today that the company has been selected by the Empire Physicians Group to provide central elements of its patented technology to its patient population.

Empire Physicians Group is an Independent Physicians Association (IPA) comprised of more than 40 primary care physicians and over 200 specialists. It is located in the Coachella Valley of California.

According to a study released by the California Diabetes Program, California has nearly three million people with diabetes, meaning that more than one out of ten adult Californians has diabetes. From 1998 to 2007, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes rose from 5.5 to 7.6 percent, representing a 38 percent increase in one decade. California has the greatest number of people in the U.S. who are newly diagnosed with diabetes. Vermedx® technology will help Empire Physicians Group provide improvements in quality of care, which translates into cost savings.

The press release includes additional details.