MedXCom

TODAYS’ PATIENT HAS ACCESS AND SUPPORT FROM THE INTERNET

annette — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 22:09:58 +0000

i-Patient

Today, the patient is able to take a more active role in the management of their healthcare, mostly due to the effects of digitalization of medicine.

Basically, the patient is aided on two main fronts; 1) Access to information, and 2) Support.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

We will dedicate a page to a list of specific websites for patients to obtain medical information, for this one of the biggest benefits of Internet Medicine. With the internet, and the proliferation of health websites, the patient of today is privy to almost an unlimited supply of medical information, and data. Website like WebMD and Medpedia inform the patient about symptoms, physical findings, and possible treatments of almost any medical problem. There are also websites certain diseases, providing much information, also, about symptoms, treatments, etc. For example, meningitis.com,, hemorrhoids.org, etc.

It merely is a question of being diligent about finding good informatOon, and collaborating with the healthcare provider to come up with a treatment plan. In this scenario, the patient is no longer just a passive partner, but an active, informed participant. There may be a slight learning curve for some patients to access this information, but most families and friends have someone who knows how to hunt information on the internet, and can be easlily retained by the patient. Furthermore, there is also a website which simplifies the “medspeak” that doctors use, the technical language that is common. The website www.medify.com takes the medical terms and puts it in laymens’ terms, so that anyone can understand the sometimes complex language that doctors use.

The internet also allows patient access to research doctors, their reputation, board certifications, etc.

Patient Blogs are Changing Healthcare

eHealth Forums

Ask a doctor, amongst other features

App records patient-physician communications: Report forMedxCom.com

Medxcom.com

MedXCom Smartphone App Provides Secure Medical Record Access for Doctors, Patients, And Daters

annette — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:28:26 +0000

by Cindi Brown, Inventor Spot, Serious Fun For the Inventor in all of Us

MedXCom is a new smartphone app that is changing the way doctors and patients interact by providing a central place for medical records and a secure way to exchange information, but that’s not all. The benefits of this little app extend well beyond the doctor’s office and into the singles bar.

MedXCom smartphone app

How MedXCom Helps Doctors

MedXCom is designed to provide primary care physicians with a convenient way to coordinate teams of specialists to effectively manage a patient’s care. It does so by allowing all of a patient’s doctors to access one another’s records, securely communicate with one another, and receive timely updates about changes in a patient’s medical status. This gives every doctor on the team access to all the information he or she needs to diagnose and treat, without wasting time asking a patient to repeat information already given to another physician.

Photo by phalinn, flickr.

How MedXCom Helps Patients

The patient version of MedXCom, called MedXPatient, puts patients in control of their own medical records by providing 24/7 access and a secure way to update their own medical information and have their doctors notified immediately. MedXPatient also allows patients to access information posted by doctors, such as lab results, instructions, and medication reminders.

How MedXCom Helps Daters

MedXCom has uses that extend beyond the doctor’s office. MedXPatient has a feature, MedXSafe, that allows users to securely exchange doctor-certified STD-free statuses. This feature uses the aptly-named “bump” technology, which allows users to exchange information by bumping their phones together. Gone are the days of taking a potential partner’s word for it!

Photo by Joe Mabel/Century Ballroom.

MedXCom can be downloaded through iTunes and is available for iPhone and Android. It costs around $50 for doctors, but is free to patients — a great price for peace of mind and 24/7 secure access to all of your medical records.

Doctors Show uses the MedXCom Patient App to demonstrate the Safe Bumping feature. February 7, 2013: “Safe Sex App?”

annette — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 15:14:51 +0000

Check out the video entitled “Safe Sex App” featuring the MedXCom Patient App on the Doctors Show February 7, 2013. Don’t miss it!

MedXCom: Platform for Docs to Text, Email Patients Securely

annette — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:58:40 +0000

Ed Rabinowitz, Monday, November 26th 2012

The phrase “in sickness and in health” has long been a mainstay in the exchange of marriage vows. Now, the findings of a recent survey sponsored by Seattle-based Varolii Corporation indicate that phrase has added importance to physicians and their patients.

According to the survey, 70% of respondents indicate their physician has never checked on them when they weren’t ill as a means to help them stay healthy. And, 50% believe that receiving regular texts and emails from their physician are part of the solution.

Easy fix, yes? Not really, says Michael Nusbaum, MD, founder of Giffen Solutions, a leading electronic health communications messaging company.

“The interesting caveat is that 70-80% of doctors don’t want to be texted or emailed,” he says.

The key, Nusbaum says, is finding a balance between those two disparate statistics.

Striking a balance
Nusbaum explains that mobile cell phone use has exploded, and health care systems have been quick to adopt the technology. All too often, however, physicians and providers are unknowingly answering patients via text message or cell phone in a non-HIPAA compliant manner. Nusbaum has experienced this dilemma first hand.

“In the past I was guilty of violating the new HIPAA regulations because I gave out my cell phone number to patients,” he explains. “I allowed patients to actually call me and text me — clearly a HIPAA violation.”

Nusbaum recognized that he needed to find a solution quickly.

The solution was MedXCom Patient, a cloud-based patient portal and iPhone app that allows patients to store and continually update their health profile. The latest feature to the platform is MedXCom, an iPhone and Android app that enables patients to securely text message with their doctors.

“The insurance companies should actually embrace this,” Nusbaum says. “If you think about it, the reimbursement rates are so low for telephone consultations right now it’s basically the equivalent of a co-pay. So, why not just allow a simple question which doesn’t really need an office visit to be done in electronic format?”

Saving dollars and time
What MedXCom does is allow those questions to be asked. Nusbaum calls it “Facebook for health care,” only done through a HIPAA-compliant process. Physicians actually sign a HIPAA form online, allowing them to participate in their patients’ health care. Doing so, Nusbaum says, saves time and money.

“Just last weekend a patient sent me a picture of her wound,” he explains. “Well, a picture speaks a thousand words. It would have taken her a long time to describe that wound; all she had to do was take a picture of it. I knew what was going on and I prescribed her an antibiotic. This issue was resolved. In the past, I would have sent her to the emergency room because the office was closed. And it would have cost a lot of money to do that.”

As for physicians being concerned that they don’t have the time to respond to the anticipated onslaught of patient emails and phone calls, Nusbaum says he has never experienced that deluge.

“I’d say that probably 99% of patients, knowing that they have that kind of access to me or to their physician, actually don’t take advantage of it,” he says. “They only use it when it’s necessary.”

The system also includes a computer-based patient navigator, which Nusbaum says examines a patient’s medical history, or the patient’s family history, and makes recommendations for screening examinations. For example, if a patient’s 40th birthday is approaching and they have two “first-degree relatives” with a history of colon cancer, the system will recommend the patient have their first colonoscopy at age 40 rather than waiting until age 50, thereby addressing the Varolii survey’s findings that patients want their physicians to contact them proactively.

Signing on
Nusbaum says the first step for physicians is to go to MedXCom.com and they can register for free messaging. There’s also the opportunity for physicians to have the entire MedXCom system take over their telecommunications, which basically takes over their answering service.

“There’s an on-call calendar, there’s a voice component to it, all the calls are recorded, they’re transcribed, and they can be shared with a patient,” he says. “There’s risk mitigation on the physician end, in that a lot of malpractice carriers are providing discounts for physicians using our system.”

The entire system is subscription based, but as Nusbaum points out, “It certainly costs less than a live operator would cost.”

The patient app, downloadable at MedXPatient.com, is completely free, and patients can invite physicians who are not currently on the system to join.

Health Tech Insights- Emerging Health Technology Spotlight on MedXCom

annette — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 23:52:20 +0000

5 ways mobile apps streamline patient-doctor communication

Much has been said about today’s mobile apps, whether it’s their ability to empower the patient or create a more portable practice for physicians. Yet, according to Michael Nusbaum, MD, founder of mobile application MedXCom, one of the most beneficial aspects of mobile applications could very well be better communication between doctor and patient. Nusbaum highlights five ways mobile applications are streamlining patient-doctor communication. Read more

New apps a shot in the arm for doctor-patient communication

annette — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:14:04 +0000

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-08-26/health/fl-doctor-smartphone-apps-20120823_1_health-apps-new-apps-smartphone

August 26, 2012|By Nicole Brochu, Staff writer

You have a rash or a small wound, and you want to know whether it’s anything to worry about. No need to make a doctor appointment. Your smartphone will see you now.

The doctor-entrepreneurs devising such apps are finding Florida to be an eager market.

“We have more physician customers in Florida and California than any other state,” said Dr. Michael Nusbaum, a New Jersey bariatric surgeon who launched the MedXCom app in February to protect both doctors and patients from misinformation that can arise from cellphone conversations, the most common mode of communication for a busy doctor.

The MedXCom app records every cellphone call between doctor and patient. When it comes to lengthy or complex medical instructions, the patient can benefit from a recording or a transcript of the call, both of which are provided by the app, Nusbaum said. And for a doctor having to protect himself in a litigious climate, the audio and printed record is proof that certain instructions were made.

“It’s kind of crazy that doctors and patients communicate so often after hours. It’s kind of this black hole,” Nusbaum said. “No one knows what’s being said, and no one is being held accountable.”

When a patient makes or receives a call from a doctor using the MedXCom app, a recording is first played, saying, “This call may be recorded for quality purposes.” By following through with the call, the patient consents to having it taped, which is necessary in many states with laws against secret recordings.

The patient, who pays nothing for the service, is offered immediate access to the recorded call and can opt for a transcript, which can take up to a day to process. The app lets doctors prescribe medications and costs $29.95 to $79.95 a month, depending on how many physicians make up their practice. (A bare-bones version with secure text-messaging is available for free.)

Hallandale Beach emergency physician Dr. Cornell Calinescu said the app has proven to be “an absolute godsend, one of the best things I’ve ever used.

“I have 8,000 patients, and my phone never stops ringing. It’s absolutely revolutionary. I tell all my doctor friends about it, and every time I do, their jaw drops.”

MedXCom on Project Millennial

annette — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 20:00:18 +0000

PROJECT MILLENNIAL

a generation challenging the current face of health care | redefining what it means to be against the status quo

THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT.

by Amy Myers

But really, there is. For everything. Chances are if you’re a Millennial reading this, you not only have a smartphone—you probably have it fully loaded with the latest apps, from the practical (mobile banking and weather apps) to those purely for entertainment (you never know when you might need a mobile light saber).

While everyone’s wheels continue to turn regarding theSCOTUS decision, the rest of the world continues to turn right along with it. One important thing to realize about ACA being upheld is that we should look to new technologies and innovative ways of delivering health services in order to keep costs down while still providing quality care. One emerging phenomenon is the integration of smartphone capabilities into our concept of how care is provided and supported. Let’s break down what this means for us and the future of health.

Level 1: Generation Me… NOW!

As Karan alluded to in the title of a recent post, the Millennial generation is commonly referred to as Generation Me. I would take it a step further and say Generation Me, Now. The previous generation was the first to really be characterized by individualism. Millennials are individualistic too, but we’ve grown up on a steady diet of evolving technology, and have grown accustomed to its constant flux and development. We welcome new tech, and are capable of picking it up quickly.

Level 2: Service to others

The above said, I’ve always felt that “Generation Me” portrayals are a biased view of our age bracket – perhaps coined by someone of another generation who wasn’t quite sure what to do with us when we came along and started coming of age. We do look out for ourselves and have grown accustomed to having answers and information quickly – because that’s all we’ve ever known. But I think we can all agree that we’re a little less selfish than that stereotype might suggest, wouldn’t you say? Our generation is characterized by more than the technology that’s been at our fingertips our entire lives: we are increasingly more involved in volunteering, service-learning classes and activities, and charitable organizations. In fact, it’s been said in the past few years that the Millennial Generation is the most civic-minded generation since the 1930s and 1940s. Working for the greater good seems to be an increasingly important ideal for people our age.

So what does all of that have to do with mobile health—mHealth? Plenty.

Wellness and prevention will become even more important once the remaining aspects of the health reform are put into place. Providers will want to work more closely with their patients to keep them out of the hospital and insurance companies will expect it now that they are required to pay for many preventative services. With an increased emphasis on preventable readmissions, you can bet that patient compliance and making sure the patient has all of the information they need upon dismissal will be vital. In order to create this working relationship between patient and provider, clinicians are turning to new technology that allows them to be in constant contact with their patients and track information relevant to individual care. A marriage between public good, wellness, and technology? Now that’s something that Millennials can get behind.

The latest apps for health and wellness may not be quite up to this Microsoft vision from several years ago (still one of my favorite “clinic of the future” ideas), but it is incredible what developers are trying to do – and some might not be too far off from that future ideal.

Here are just a few apps available for download right now:

DigiFit is a company focused on cardiac fitness that, as their website states, believes “a healthy heart is the foundation for a healthy life.” This company touts what closely resembles the technology seen at the beginning of the Microsoft video when the woman is running. DigiFit’s iPhone and Android apps track cardio, blood pressure, weight, and sleep patterns to ensure that you are doing whatever you can to maintain cardiac fitness whether it’s to treat a chronic illness or to make sure you are training correctly for athletic endeavors. Most recently they’ve partnered with FitBit to integrate calorie and fitness tracking with their all-important cardiac output.

Apps like MedXCom aim to improve patient/provider communication while protecting the provider from an increasingly litigious society. It allows physicians to set up auto-replies on their phone, forward calls in a secure manner, transcribe phone conversations and integrate with electronic health records and allows the provider access to patient information mid-call for time-sensitive questions. The transcription components help physicians avoid the he said she said arguments that can lead to lawsuits by providing solid evidence of patient instructions and the like.

WellDoc is an app that has been creating buzz recently for its ability to specifically help diabetics and their doctors. A June article from mHIMSS praises WellDoc for removing one of the major barriers doctors face in helping patients track their chronic disease – obtaining measurements. The article references a study done using the WellDoc app with diabetes patients that found the following: “…patients using mobile devices to report their blood-glucose levels to physicians saw their A1c reduced by 1.5 percent on average – and if physicians used clinical decision support in conjunction with those readings, the patient’s A1c level dropped an additional 30 percent on average, for a total of 1.9 percent.”

That’s not all. The mHealth industry is also on the forefront of utilizing mobile technology to provide needed services in undeveloped countries – but that’s a tangent for another day!

5 ways mobile apps streamline patient-doctor communication

annette — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 20:47:24 +0000

August 06, 2012 | Michelle McNickle, New Media Producer

Nusbaum highlights five ways mobile applications are streamlining patient-doctor communication.

1. Secure messaging. According to Nusbaum, HIPAA-compliant, secure messaging from doctor to patient is possible through certain mobile apps. “[Apps can] improve patients communicating with doctors and doctors communicating with patients, but, at the same time, provide doctors with the valuable information they need about the patient, when they need it most,” he said.

2. Appointment requests. Nusbaum said according to recent research, about 85 percent of patients would like to be able to request or schedule an appointment directly from their app. “And the whole system [should be] HIPAA compliant, so nothing is stored in your phone,” he said. Ideally, he continued, within a certain app, the database should be encrypted and the only way to access appointment requests and more is for the patient to give permission to the doctor.

3. Sharing lab results. An efficient app should enable a doctor to get and then share lab results with a patient. “So if you go to a lab, and information is pushed to me, I can review it on my smartphone, and I don’t have to be in my office,” said Nusbaum. “This makes it easy because I can do it wherever I am and whenever I have free time.” If a doctor receives blood work, for example, he/she can review it on the app and then push the information to a patient portal or a smartphone. “And then they can say everything looks good, and let’s check it again in six months,” he added. “It makes it easier for the patient and the doctor.”

4. Documenting personal health information. ”The idea here is to reduce mistakes,” said Nusbaum. Certain apps, he said, allow patients to scan information from their drivers license or insurance card, without either “ever leaving his or her hands,” he said. “This way, each time you go into the office, you don’t have to keep filling out the same forms. [The app] should also have a place for insurance info as part of a patient health profile.”

5. Voice communication. Recording conversations between a doctor and patient can come in handy during what Nusbaum calls “bad news deafness,” he said. “Whenever a patient hears something they’re not happy with…[he/she] tends to blank out and they don’t listen to anything the doctor says,” he said. Available apps now allow doctors to record conversations with patients, and then send the recording to them. “Systems can also transcribe conversations,” said Nusbaum. “This is important because a lot of the time, doctors will give instructions to patients, and it’s too much.” For example, if a patient receives instructions for wound care, the doctor can forward all steps involved to their app or patient portal. “It goes over [what the doctor] told you, so that it reinforces the instructions,” he said. “That’s unique.”

MedXCom Android App Available in Google Play

annette — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 19:34:23 +0000

Click here to Download

Healthcare IT News: New smartphone app targets clinical miscommunication

annette — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:12:30 +0000

New Smartphone app targets clinical miscommunication

July 06, 2012 | Eric Wicklund, Contributing Editor

MENDHAM, NJ – With more and more doctors using their smartphones to conduct business outside of the office, the potential for communication errors – ranging from misunderstood directions to “he-said-she-said” moments – is increasing dramatically.

A New Jersey-based surgeon has created a mobile app designed to help doctors make sure their phone conversations are understood properly. The MedXCom app, part of a line of mHealth products developed by Giffen Solutions, records and stores the phone conversation between doctor and patient, giving both parties a HIPAA-compliant means of checking the facts.

“All we’re doing is creating an environment where these messages are secure,” said Michael Nusbaum, a bariatric surgeon at Morristown Medical Center who launched Giffen Solutions in 2010. “If (both doctor and patient) know their conversation is being recorded, this makes them more comfortable. This actually bumps up the level of conversation and improves the level of care.”

[See also: Smartphones gain appeal with more docs.]

Nusbaum said the idea of securely recording doctor-patient conversations came out of an unfortunate legal situation faced by a colleague. A woman had filed suit against his colleague over medical instructions given over the phone for her husband, and Nusbaum was drawn into the court battle over exactly what was said in the phone conversation.

“We need to avoid those ‘he-said-she-said’ moments and make sure there are no mistakes,” said Nusbaum. “The future is in smartphones, and they’re becoming a comfort tool for doctors.”

Nusbaum began his career in mobile health IT back in 1998, when he founded Hamilton Scientific on the concept of creating a cloud-basedelectronic medical record. He eventually sold the company to MeridianEMR, and continued to explore how EMRs could evolve from what he called static data repositories to systems that could be more dynamic. Giffen Solutions was borne out of that idea, and MedXCom was created to connect EMRs to mobile devices and allow for real-time access and adjustments.

MedXCom, which is designed to work with any EMR, enables the physician to access a patient’s medical records on a smartphone before or during the conversation, and to add the conversation to the medical record. The patient-facing side of the product enables patients to add information to the app, make appointments and receive reminders. Another product, MedXVault, allows consumers to use the app regardless of whether their physician is a MedXCom subscriber.

Nusbaum, who sees MedXCom as an alternative to answering services and after-hours messaging services that many physicians now use, said he’s hoping to have more than 50,000 physicians in all 50 states using MedXCom by the end of the year.

Among the physicians using the app now is Richard Garden, DDS, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon with Chesapeake Oral Surgery Associates in Wayne, N.J.

“As a surgeon, I receive numerous phone calls via my smartphone on the weekend and after hours,” Garden said in a press release issued on June 6. “MedXCom allows me to record all calls in order to improve the quality of care I deliver to my patients. My primary goal is to make sure that my patients are comfortable and well cared for in all instances, and the technology allows me to deliver superior service and communication.”

“MedXCom’s platform allows me to connect instantly with my patients and their health profiles,” Garden added. “The ability to have all secure pertinent information at my fingertips while all communications are recorded and archived is critical.”