2020 has taught us many things, to say the least. Looking ahead, we can leverage what we’ve learned to help propel us into a more patient-centric and sustainable healthcare system. This is especially true for how we choose to move forward with digital health strategies, driven by patient expectations and provider needs, not just in Canada but around the globe. 

Recently, MEDITECH's Carol Bird had an opportunity to sit down with Dr. Doug Kanis, an Internist and CMIO at Pella Regional Health Center (Pella, IA). They discussed how Expanse's intuitive design, mobility, and interoperability helps physicians increase efficiency and improve patient care. The excerpts below are a few highlights from their conversation. To learn more about his experience using Expanse, watch our video interview with Dr. Kanis.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth has gained recognition as an effective and sustainable step for slowing the spread of the virus. Bridging the gaps between patients, physicians, and health systems, telehealth enables communication through virtual channels, protecting the public and the medical staff on the frontlines.

There’s nothing quite like a pandemic to get you to reflect on your ten-year cancer anniversary.

I became a self-taught expert in navigating the U.S. healthcare system beginning around February 2010, when I was 35. I was sitting at work one morning and I felt an explosive pain in my abdomen. A can’t-breathe, can’t-move kind of pain. I knew it wasn’t normal, but I wanted to convince myself that bodies are weird and do weird things, and I’d worry about it if it happened again. And, of course, it happened again soon enough.

This year, Patient Experience Week is taking on a whole new meaning. Consumers, who once may have rated their healthcare providers based on cafeteria food or convenient appointment times, are now shifting their focus to the most important question at hand — how are you helping to keep me safe during this pandemic? 

As clinicians and caregivers fight against the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, their focus is on the urgent needs of the patients they are currently treating. But healthcare organizations have another role to fill: supporting the mental and emotional well-being of their patient population during a global pandemic, even if they aren’t among those being treated for the virus.

Recently Leah Farina, MEDITECH vice president of client services, had an opportunity to discuss the impact of virtual visits and telemedicine on patients and providers at Citizens Memorial Healthcare in Bolivar, Missouri. She spoke with Louis Harris, MD, a family medicine physician and Chief Medical Information Officer at CMH, a small, level III Trauma Center in southwest Missouri with 86 licensed beds, 32 primary and speciality services, and seven long-term care facilities serving seven counties.

Even with recent increases in the percentage of Medicare recipients who have Annual Wellness Visits (AWVs), less than 20 percent of eligible patients availed themselves of this new benefit provided under the Affordable Care Act, according to a JAMA study. 

At Frisbie Memorial Hospital, we saw this as an opportunity to enhance population health efforts and increase revenue through a relatively easy appointment.

At one time or another, we all know what it’s like to be a patient sitting in an ED waiting room. From the waiting room to the exam area, and maybe even an inpatient stay, healthcare organizations are always striving to do anything they can to make the experience smoother and more comfortable for their patients. At King’s Daughters Medical Center, they have embraced MEDITECH Expanse, to make things easier for their staff and increase patient satisfaction.

Reading about a hospital’s success is one thing, but hearing stories face-to-face with clinicians is something entirely different. I recently visited Halifax Health to hear how MEDITECH Expanse is helping real doctors care for real patients at this busy trauma center and health system.