Like most health systems, Ohio’s MetroHealth has over the years made substantial investments in health IT, from telemedicine to healthcare education to, of course, an electronic health record.
THE CHALLENGE
While all these tools are important for care teams and patients, MetroHealth has not had a good way to connect them in a manner that is coordinated and tailored to the unique needs of each person IT staff serves.
Unfortunately, because the health system has so many different resources available, it is hard for patients and staff to know what is available to them. Staff knew there had to be a better way to tie all these tools and resources together.
PROPOSAL
Over the last several years, MetroHealth’s technology efforts have focused on building an access strategy that emphasizes aligning investments in digital – including the website and EHR – with a virtual-first care strategy.
“Our goal is to break down silos and create integration points across our health system and our patients’ care continuums,” said Dr. Nabil Chehade, senior executive vice president and chief clinical transformation, innovation and strategy officer at The MetroHealth System. He also is senior executive advisor to the CEO. “One major achievement for us over the last year was the launch of virtual-first care services, including urgent, primary and integrated behavioral health services built right on Epic, our EHR, through a strategic venture.
“These new offerings have resulted in more than 27,000 virtual visits to dedicated virtual care providers and thousands of referrals to our specialists within MetroHealth facilities in just the first year,” he continued.
Initially, MetroHealth launched this mission to build on and integrate across the Epic EHR. The challenge it faced was that when it surveyed the marketplace to find vendors to help the health system chart an effective strategy, it did not find companies prepared to fold into the healthcare organization and take advantage of the existing resources, tools and investments.
“We didn’t want a myriad of new point systems that would create even more confusion for our patients – we wanted one system that allowed us to take advantage of everything we already offered and make it easier for people to take advantage,” Chehade explained. “That is why we established this venture, alongside the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC Health), that could respond to the challenges health systems like ours face and develop technologies that address our unique needs.
“We also saw an opportunity to take those technologies and replicate them with other health systems across the country,” he added.
MEETING THE CHALLENGE
MetroHealth achieved a major milestone last year with the launch of those new virtual-first care services built on Epic. But that was only the start of its journey and transformation.
“For the last two years, we’ve been working with our vendors to design from the bottom up a new digital health experience that is available on Apple and Google devices, along with the web, to serve our patient populations in a way we were unable to serve them before,” Chehade said. “The result is MetroHealth MyCare Anywhere.”
Ovatient is the nonprofit virtual health provider for health systems founded by MUSC Health and MetroHealth. Built on Epic, they work with health systems to deliver comprehensive, easy-to-access virtual care, including primary care, urgent care and mental health services. MyCareAnywhere is the partnership’s new EHR-integrated patient engagement platform designed to offer hyper-personalized virtual care, expert health content and self-guided health journeys.
“As we worked on Ovatient, our joint venture with MUSC Health, to design MetroHealth’s MyCare Anywhere, our goal was to create a single location where a patient can go for all their MetroHealth needs,” Chehade explained. “Ovatient calls it the Digital Health Home. Like our virtual-first care offerings, MetroHealth MyCare Anywhere is integrated with MyChart, leveraging a single-sign-on and easy access to MyChart right from inside the app.
“It’s important to note, though, our goal was not to replace any of the existing tools and resources we offer, like MyChart, but instead to make it easier than ever for patients to access and use them,” he added.
RESULTS
The power of MetroHealth MyCare Anywhere is that it is home to the best of MetroHealth, all in one digital experience, customized to a patient’s unique needs, Chehade said.
“We use the connection to MyChart to use data unique to each patient, like their conditions and upcoming appointments, to deliver customized health educational resources or suggested health activities, from quitting smoking to eating healthier,” he explained. “We’re also taking advantage of our proprietary patient resources like MetroHealth’s Be SimplyWell and health education resources from UpToDate Patient Engagement, which includes helpful information to prepare for, recover from or manage procedures, conditions or chronic conditions.
“Before, all of these resources were available to patients, but they needed to go to different apps, websites, or even call on the phone or be seen in person to get access to them,” he continued. “That is not a patient-friendly experience. Today, patients can get access on their mobile devices or personal computers, whenever and wherever is convenient for them. MyCare Anywhere is designed to empower our patients.”
THE FUTURE
Chehade is excited about the future of MetroHealth MyCare Anywhere, noting it’s just the beginning with many important improvements on the product roadmap all with the goal of better helping patients navigate their health journeys.
“Immediate opportunities we see include increasing the number of educational programs and activities we offer, providing more access to in-person and virtual care, and including new specialties,” he said. “And coming later this year, we’ll be incorporating more AI capabilities to better learn what each user’s health goals are and deliver systems personalized for them to help them get there.”
Follow Bill’s HIT coverage on LinkedIn: Bill Siwicki
Email him: bsiwicki@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.
WATCH NOW: Epic Emeritus CMIO on becoming a CMIO – and succeeding ↓↓↓
