Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), is an acronym we’ve seen everywhere lately from news headlines to supply order forms. Like with any other aspect of the healthcare world, PPE essentials are an element of daily practice with a trickle-down effect from administration to patients. 

Supplying proper PPE requires funding, organization, and education. That’s a lot of factors contributing to the use of this essential gear. 

What are PPE Essentials and Who Needs Them?

The purpose of PPE essentials are to protect both practitioners and patients from the transferring and spread of germs and viruses. We learned all too recently the value of having an appropriate supply of PPE on hand but it’s also important to understand it’s uses.

The CDC has determined that both health care personnel and patients should utilize PPE for their safety. PPE provides full-body coverage and includes:

1. Isolation gown
2. NIOSH-approved N95 filtering facepiece respirator or higher 
3. Face shield or goggles
4. Gloves

When we picture medical professionals donning PPE, we usually imagine one of two scenes – either an intensive hospital setting, or an exotic outbreak location. In the U.S. under pandemic restrictions there is a great focus on outpatient settings, assisted living facilities, and in-home visits. PPE protocols for these outlying locations are slightly different.

Here’s what you need to know: 

1. The CDC recommends developing and maintaining infection prevention and occupational health programs.

This requires communication and organization within your own practice, community, and state. A telehealth system can help facilitate this by keeping information flowing between practices, patients, even non-profit organizations. 

2. Make sure you have sufficient supplies that adhere to the needs of Standard Precautions (e.g., hand hygiene products, personal protective equipment, injection equipment).

Bonus Resource: In addition to PPE instructions, the CDC has provided the NIOSH PPE tracker App to assist in inventory management for PPE supplies.

3. Assure at least one individual with training in infection prevention is employed by or regularly available (e.g., by contract) to manage the facility’s infection prevention program.

4. Develop written infection prevention policies and procedures appropriate for the services provided by your practice.

We’ll take this a step further here to highlight the benefits of easily adding notes to your CRM, specifically regarding PPE precautions for at risk populations in non-traditional settings due to the pandemic. Simply dictate your notes and flag specific patients who require stricter precautions, protocols, or accommodations when receiving their care. 

Now let’s take a deeper look at how apps can streamline your safety efforts. 

Technology: The PPE you Can’t Afford to Ignore

With at-risk populations like the elderly, physical distance is currently a method of preventive care yet this population is arguably the least tech savvy. 

Utilizing Primavera’s easy to read and navigate interface breaks through this communication barrier with a few simple swipes – the same ease as making a phone call – and provides an instant channel between practitioner and patient. 

Easy-to-use isn’t the only pressure on healthcare specific technology – support for case management and secure management of data are also needed. 

Intuitive Case Management

Case management is a key part of maintaining best practices and proper patient care in extreme circumstances. Especially when conserving resources and minimizing contact are priority considerations. 

Case management has three aspects that stand in relation to patient protection:

1. Intervention

Receiving real-time hospital alerts and case information creates the opportunity to intervene on procedures and services that may be unnecessary, costly, or harmful. Intervention also plays into communication and logistics; organizing transportation when needed and keeping patient files up-to-date in real-time.

2. Education

Guidelines and parameters provided by entities like the CDC are informative but individual safety recommendations can be more powerful. With telehealth, there is a built-in platform for providing knowledge to patients one-on-one with suggestions and protocols specific to their needs. 

Guide to Protecting your Data

Since we’re talking about your data, let’s talk about how to keep it secure. Information protection trickles down in much the same way as safety regulations. Primavera employs best practices for HIPAA compliance but that’s just the equivalent to donning our PPE. Security, to us, is about protecting your personal medical information from online attacks and other threats. We do this in a number of ways:

• Standard HIPAA Compliance
• Two Factor Authentication
• Secure Socket Authentication
• Encrypted Patient Data
• Segregated Data Storage
• Data Access Logs
• Strict Authorization Protocols

All of these methods work together to create a layered approach for your protection. 

Software & Security

Safety and security are frequent words in our daily vocabulary under present circumstances. The solution to organizing secure protocols is to centralize information on a single platform. Check-in with your patients within social-distancing parameters, update providers to protocols and PPE requirements and feel confident that your most sensitive information is protected with Next Level Security. 

Operate with an Emphasis on safety. Use technology and other products made specifically for healthcare use, including your software with Primavera.

As the digital information landscape becomes more and more widespread, and technologies become more integrated with innovative software, the opportunities for advancements in the way we interact with our healthcare needs become almost limitless. Today we explore the influence of data analytics on our healthcare system.

Our personal devices can now be synced with our medical devices, and all our records and data can travel instantly wherever they are needed. 

This is the world of big data. 

How are Data Analytics Applied to Healthcare?

Data in healthcare is going through the same process that the old Hollywood movie studios did when there was a movement from the studios managing and representing all their own actors, to the actors managing and representing themselves. 

Healthcare is becoming more and more patient-centered and data analytics allows that to be possible. 

Using Data Analytics in healthcare has a few facets:

• The data needs to be actionable

The business foundation of healthcare is fueled by actionable data. So, one aspect of the influence of data analytics on healthcare has to focus on cost analysis. Considering the $16 billion market that makes up data analytics in healthcare alone, it is key. 

Elements like MLR, MRA, claims, capitation, and all of the other skeletal aspects keeping things running from a business perspective have to be incorporated.

• The data needs to be collected and displayed in real-time

In order for a patient-centric healthcare system to work across multiple platforms, practitioners, and practices, data collection has to be powerful, 24/7, and user-friendly. 

• There needs to be a strong element of analysis

Data on patients, payors, providers, and geographical and population trends all needs to be collected but it’s useless if it can’t be read and analyzed. Analysis is two-fold; the programs processing the data have to accurately analyze and convert to readable charts, graphs, and alerts to allow for well-informed human analysis and decision making.

• The data needs to be projectable for risk management

Risk management takes analyzed data one step further by integrating patient profiles and information with data from the rest of the system to identify high utilizers, establish individual levels of risk for each patient, and develop a care strategy. 

What are the Benefits of the Influence of Data Analytics on Healthcare?

Big data means complex data and has just as much to do with volume as it does with complicated data sets. We’ve broken down the monster task of what data and data analytics needs to accomplish but what are the measurable benefits?

Removing Bias and Prejudice in Data Collection

Data at its core is just a bunch of 1s and 0s. Data collection without any pre-existing notions or inherent biases about a given patient population leads to more accurate data collection. Taking that a step further and facilitating data entry privileges for the patient creates a network of the most unpolluted data we’ve seen in healthcare to date. 

Access to Life Changing Data for Practitioners and Patients

The flip side to collecting data is providing it. And that can be done in the form of self-care guides to patients, accurate information on health conditions and chronic illnesses, and logistical guidance regarding nearby experts, pharmacies, transportation services, etc. 

For practitioners, having instant access to all relevant medical data for a patient, the ability to instantaneously assess risk, and the tools to compare trends in local populations is invaluable. 

An Open Source Future

As softwares and technologies continue to develop, and data continues to be collected and shared, the Healthcare world moves more and more into an open source format when it comes to data management and data analytics. 

On the positive side, there are important benefits. Big data offers an unobstructed, comprehensive view of health trends; information like this being crucial for preventing and tracking widespread viruses, monitoring increases and decreases in illness types on a major scale, and identifying and addressing trends within certain populations

What are the Risks of the Influence of Data Analytics on Healthcare?

No system is perfect. And we’re potentially talking about a very, very big system. Streamlining the process of data collection, and bringing ease to the user when it comes to analysis and projections can be turned to a negative direction when we consider the potential ramifications on patient privacy and confidentiality. 

The concern from patients about having their data reverse engineered and used against them has to be met with strong security protocols both from the patient side and the practitioner side when it comes to data protection. 

For this, a next level security plan is needed that encompasses:

1. HIPAA compliance
2. Data encryption
3. Advanced (Two Factor) Authorization
4. Best internal security practices from your App or software provider 
5. Accountability through secure logs
6. Secure data storage 

The struggle between protecting patients’ privacy and treating them effectively is playing out on a digital data field – and it will take both effective data analysis and human analysis to navigate.

Data Analytics in Action

In an extensive 2014 study done by BMJ Quality & Safety, over 12 million adults receiving outpatient care are being misdiagnosed annually in the U.S.  That boils down to 1 out of every 20 patients. 

To put this in even more perspective, a 2018 National Health Interview Survey conducted by the CDC found that just over 84% of adults had contact with a healthcare professional that year. The potential for data analytics to cut down on misdiagnosis through an improvement in accurate reporting and analysis of large data sets is astronomical – nearly as big as big data itself. 

The first step is always knowledge. Make better decisions and understand your patient population with real-time data from Primavera Data Analytics and Case Management.

Social health is important as mood plays a big part in motivation and personal care. During an international time of self-isolation and strict social parameters, how do you stay alert, engaged, and in good spirits? Additionally, how do you give back to those in need, supporting others, and ensuring a better overall population health? 

Health and Loneliness

Before we jump into a pile of resources for keeping yourself occupied and connected, let’s take a look at the effects of isolation. According to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, social isolation contributes significantly to a range of health concerns as outlined in the following points. This is partly due to an increase in inactivity, and partly as a result of isolation itself. 

1. Social isolation significantly increased a person’s risk of premature death from all causes, a risk that may rival those of smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity.*
2. Social isolation was associated with about a 50% percent increased risk of dementia.*
3. Poor social relationships (characterized by social isolation or loneliness) was associated with a 29% increased risk of heart disease and a 32% increased risk of stroke.*
4. Loneliness among heart failure patients was associated with a nearly 4 times increased risk of death, 68% increased risk of hospitalization, and 57% increased risk of emergency department visits.*

* National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: Opportunities for the Health Care System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25663

Health and Home Hobbies

Under National restrictions, the only space you have complete control over is your own. So it’s no surprise that home improvement projects, gardening, and crafting have jumped to the top of everyone’s list. The average polled homeowner spent $1,750 on DIY endeavors! You don’t need to be a MacGyver to build a new end table or spruce up your living room floors. To illustrate, here are some achievable ideas for in-home renovations:

1. Paint your cabinets and brighten up your storage spaces
2. Convert that old dresser into a kitchen island to make room for all the new recipes you’ve been trying
3. Add some whimsy to your yard with an outdoor chalkboard wall for a game night with your neighbors (at a safe distance of course)

DIY projects aren’t the only avenue. With a never ending stream of cooking videos and online courses, there’s never been a better time to dust off your aprons and spice up your days with some fun new recipes and flavors. 

Sign up for a virtual cooking class or enroll in a Senior Education Program. Truly, your local university, community center, or library are great resources. Go the extra mile and grow your own herbs and vegetables! If you don’t have the outdoor space, you can cheat with an idea like these!

Health and Isolation: Enjoying the Downtime

You may not always feel like doing something. Sometimes, stopping to smell the roses still rings true even when you have nothing but time. Start a nightly routine and revisit some of your favorite memories with old radio stories through modern podcasts. Have your family listen as well at the same time. Then have a video chat afterwards to talk about it and enjoy the stories together.

Other “rainy day” pandemic ideas:

1. Complete a puzzle
2. Learn to play chess (you can even play against yourself for an added challenge)
3. Practice drawing, your pet or potted plants make perfect subjects

Technology: Virtual Classes for Seniors

For a lot of seniors, isolation isn’t a new challenge brought on by COVID-19 – it’s already established in their daily lives. The difference now, is in the number of available resources, like virtual technology classes for seniors. These classes are often taught by other seniors through outreach programs, schools, and funded programming.

1. Learn how to use your smartphone; 
2. change the text settings to a larger font size
3. operate your phone’s camera for some great at home photo sessions
4. set reminders for your medicine schedule
5. send messages, participate in group chats and video calls

… and all of the other modern conveniences provided by smart devices. 

Many seniors have even taken to blogging to share their experiences and pass down their knowledge to their friends and family. Websites like wix.com, wordpress.com, and squarespace make it easy to create a blog – and of course, there are virtual classes for this as well. 

Togetherness: Companionship and Staying Connected

Not everyone is isolated with a loved one, many seniors are going through this experience alone. As a result, there has been a great spike in pet adoptions but also with therapy animals and service dogs. As isolation is proven to have a deteriorating effect on personal health, a service dog might be a great solution for many individuals. There have been several studies over the years showing that population health improves when communities embrace pets and pet-friendly lifestyles. Visit the ADA National Network for more information and resources.

Togetherness has been the main theme throughout this pandemic with technology as our collective aid, with an emphasis on staying connected but also on staying safe. The resulting resources are impressive but sometimes finding them can be tricky, especially if technology isn’t your first language.

Population Health: Uniting Physicians and Patients  

Primavera offers physicians the ability to stay connected with the senior population through this cutting-edge technology called Connect Telehealth. Knowing that most people in the senior age group are not necessarily tech savvy, the Telehealth platform was made specifically for healthcare and to be easy-to-use. No application download necessary for the patients. These important details ensure a better patient population health. 

The entire Primavera healthcare software suite is able to simply collect the patient information to expedite care and create ease through establishing communication with all medical providers. Patients can receive help to connect with their general practitioner, specialists, and mental health professionals when they cannot be seen in person. Help is just a few screen taps away when needed most. Reach out today for more information about any of the Primavera products like Connect Telehealth, Population Data Analytics, and Case Management.

The demands on the healthcare industry are growing; hospitals and practices are tasked with innovating new ways, not only to organize and communicate, but to increase positive patient care outcomes. In our modern world, the answer is simple; don’t just treat the patient in the moment – plan for every aspect of their care journey while reducing risk along the way.

How is Data Analytics used in a medical practice? 

Traditional data analytics is true to the image you conjure in your mind when someone says the words, “data analytics”. A tedious, data-heavy system, often delayed by it’s limited processing power…and probably housed in a basement somewhere. 

The critical error with these OG data systems is that it affects your decision making. Data isn’t just meant to be stored, it can be used. But if you’re making decisions based on old data, or incomplete information then the system needs work.

What you should look for:

1. Easy to use – a simple interface that guides you through adding patient information
2. Real time – synchronized updates from hospitals, insurance companies, and providers
3. Cost management – cost analysis features, centralized info for multiple payors
4. Reports and Metrics – a smart system that analyzes your data for you
5. Usage – track pharmaceuticals for each patient
6. Risk Management – risk analysis per patient based on all submitted data

Real-Time Analytics and Reducing Risk: Industry Game Changer

The shift from traditional data analytics to real-time analysis is nothing short of a revolution. 

The premise is simple – view the patient’s entire history, input other contributing factors, and gain visibility on their outcome. This new approach to data can be harder than it seems to accept, especially if practitioners are working in the trenches, focused on acute care and unable to zoom out and gain perspective. 

Here’s how real-time analysis helps in an acute setting:

In a study conducted by the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC), real-time data was applied to understand and reduce operating room delays and prevent cardiac arrest among high-risk patients. 

Data strategies helped manage workflows by sending alerts and notifications between teams and at shift-changes. Turnover time decreased by 15-20% (about 4 minutes per room), as a result of using the data. In terms of dollars, this equaled up to $600,000 annual savings in operating margins.

Minutes are worth a lot of money. With a large patient pool, real-time data not only improves quality of care but significantly reduces cost. And though this example is case-specific to a hospital setting, imagine the benefits towards a non-profit healthcare facility. 

Issues, Strategies, and Resources

Let’s talk about Risk Management.

Primavera’s data analysis turns information into actionable data with a number of interactive resources. With Risk Management, patient care is managed based on the most recent and urgent data available. 

Risk management can’t just be a point A to point B iteration. Managing and reducing risk in healthcare benefits from predictions updated step-by-step throughout the patient’s journey – so the system is constantly updating based on prognosis, treatment, and patient response.

Patient Case Management and Reducing Risk

Prioritizing patients is becoming more and more crucial so determining which patients are in need of critical care is a main asset of data analytics.

How does this work?

By managing metrics, the data system creates hierarchy for patients at risk. This is based on different factors that investigate each patient’s health profile and rank them according to urgency while also detecting outliers, high risk patients, and high utilizers. As patients progress through their care, the system updates and re-ranks. 

Intelligent Analysis at Your Fingertips

Comprehensive views are a big part of data analysis, so the system also factors in administrative data. 

1. Funding PMOM
2. Inpatient/outpatient Claims PMPM
3. Medical Loss Ratio (MLR)
4. Profitability Driver: MRA
5. Enrollments, Churn, and Retention

With everything together in one accessible format, developing a patient care strategy that benefits your practice at an organizational level is simplified. 

The Primavera Healthcare Suite breaks this big data approach down into three phases:

Collect – Data entry is simplified in a guided, uniform format. Open your computer, and everything is accessible by easy to navigate categories. Everything automatically populates in real-time, and is accessible across teams. 

The Healthcare Suite is a centralized information hub that facilitates communication and coordination between practices, providers, pharmacies, and patients but also lets you track prescriptions, patient usage, and logs communications. 

A key bonus to Primavera is that it was developed by healthcare industry professionals so the infrastructure reflects the observed needs of practitioners and healthcare organizations. 

Analyze – Access all your reports and metrics instantly and sort, filter, and apply that information in any way you like. Organize by patient, payor, provider, or urgency level and toggle between views. Reference easy to read charts for quick analysis or dive deep into the data to investigate outliers and patient anomalies. 

A breakdown from multiple perspectives makes it easier to respond to red flag situations and – like with the UCMC study – reduce potential costs while boosting patient care and response time. 

Act – Big data – understand current and future costs with real-time data across your patient population and key metrics. Utilizing data equals better decision making. 

This is due to the real-time syncing features of Primavera’s Healthcare Suite. If you have all relevant information at the touch of a button AND the data is as current as possible – decisions, even small ones, become easier and carry more weight.

Primavera’s data analytics also saves time by eliminating the need for investigation into patient history via outdated data systems and bridging communications between all parties. 

The Future of Data Analytics

Real-time data is the future of healthcare organization so let’s make it Easier Together. Get the information you need exactly when it’s needed. Manage multiple payors, use current and historical healthcare data, and ease communication; from reaching out to patients, to scheduling transportation and updating your team. 

See how simple elevating your practice can be and schedule a demo today!

As a team, we spend a lot of time with technology. But that’s not all we do. You might be surprised to find out that, daily, we speak to our customers and listen for ways we can improve our service and their user experience.  We understand the impact and importance of our healthcare technology. Primavera is more than just telehealth, priority alerts and data analysis. Primavera gives back. 

Our team is passionate about giving back to those in need in our communities. This has been a driving force behind our work from day one. We understand the big picture and are proud of the work our team and our customers do each day. 

Many of our customers provide the very best in healthcare services to those in great need at healthcare offices like Managed Care Service organizations (MSOs), Non-Profit clinics, and Primary Care Physicians. From Cardiologists to Mental Health professionals to Allergists and everyone in between, the Primavera team is inspired to use their technical expertise to give back through these highly-skilled medical professionals. 

How it works: Primavera Gives Back

As a token of gratitude to those who have helped to lift all of us in our own times of need, we would also like to announce our plans going forward. Primavera gives back: we will donate the first month subscription payment from each of our new customers to the charity of their choice. If the customer does not have a chosen charity, we will donate to a charity close to our hearts, the Jorge Nation Foundation. Jorge Nation is a South Florida charity that provides children stricken with serious or terminal illnesses with a once-in-a-lifetime, all-inclusive, dream trip. Find out more here. 

What is Primavera? 

Primavera offers a full healthcare software suite of intuitive applications including Connect Telehealth, Population Data Analytics, Case Management, and a Complete Member Record to optimize your medical or dental practice. We understand that putting positive health outcomes and ease-of-use as our focus, we can provide the best healthcare solution for our customers. This healthcare software suite simplifies workflows, provides actionable data and improves communication among providers, patients, and payors. We love to hear from our customers who actually enjoy using the technology. 

“As a free clinic we were in real need of setting up a telehealth platform during the COVID-19 pandemic so that our healthcare team could continue providing care to our patients. Primavera has proven to be very user friendly for both the patient and the provider and has met our needs for continued interactions when in-person appointments are not possible.” Executive Director, St. John Bosco Clinic, Miami

With Primavera, it’s easier together. Reach out today to schedule your demo. Be sure to have a charity in mind when you pick a time.

Case management has always been a collaborative integration of patient care services; care coordination, facilitation, and advocacy. 

At its core, case management is communication based – relying on the awareness and information exchange between practitioners, patients, and other providers. In our modern world, the added layer of apps and endless pathways of connection are influencing the healthcare continuum in a surprising way. As the technologies expand case management becomes more community based as a result.

It seems counterintuitive. So, How does it work? How does streamlining case management with more tech and telehealth lead to greater individualised care? 

A Quick History of Case Management

Financially, case management systems are structured to provide the most benefits when the patient is at their healthiest. Case managers work to strike a balance that suits both the medical needs of the patient and the payment requirements of the providers and reimbursement sources. That’s a hard balance to strike. 

Historically, case management processes began as community-based solutions to manage the care programming for patient populations in the psychiatric and social work settings of the 1920’s. This involved patient advocacy, and networking among the healthcare community to create channels for coordinated care.

The Timeline

From the 20’s through the 1980’s, case management remained in community settings – much of it driven by nurses and centering around university nursing programs (Yale), and a focus on behavioral work with WWII Veterans. 

The 1980’s and 90’s saw legislation to integrate case management on a larger scale, making medicare and medicaid waivers available to support cost. This brought about a surge of activity and expansion as case management moved into hospitals and acute care. But it was primarily run as an extension of nursing services.

Where Are We Now?

After its integration into the hospital setting, case management caught like wildfire as other systems bought into the processes and expanded the services. Popularity equals power. Now, case management departments are no longer seen as systemic programs, but physical organizations present in all communities and healthcare sectors. That brings about a whole new set of challenges. And also brings us to the critical role of telehealth. 

Rise of Telehealth: Influence on Case Management

As technology has progressed, case management systems have adapted. They expanded from small sectors to the epicenter of hospital infrastructure. Then they came full circle with a return to community based approaches as case management has spread throughout the healthcare continuum from social work all the way to massage therapy. 

What are the Challenges Today?

The main challenge is clarification. Case management encompasses a minimum of:

• Basic Patient Care
• Specialized Care
• Transportation
• Client Intake & Records
• Insurance Providers
• Government Programming
• Patient Advocacy & Funding

Take that list and apply it just to the patient population of a single hospital. Now you can begin to see the critical importance of organization and communication. 

Telehealth offers communication and data support to the growth of case management.

Benefits of Telehealth for Case Management

Intuitive Case Management

Primavera provides real-time, live feeds from hospitals bringing a new level of tracking and management to patient populations. Constant status updates may be annoying on twitter, but in a clinical setting they are crucial to care. These alerts essentially create a live stream for each patient’s data. 

Instant information also promotes a greater connection between practitioners and patients by putting pertinent records at the fingertips of those who need to access it most. While data analysis gives way to prioritizing care to the patients with the greatest need, and algorithms work to analyze all data and prioritize tasks based on urgency. 

Synchronizing Data

It’s great to have live feeds from hospitals but that’s not enough to get the full picture. Data synchronization combines access to the patient’s entire care history and records in one central hub. Additionally, it loops in a tracking element for activities like transportation, prescriptions, and payment.

Clarifying Roles

One of the biggest hurdles has been clarifying roles among all of the case workers, practitioners, offices, providers, and financial institutions. The patient care continuum is much like the space/time continuum – ever expanding and constantly confusing. 

A Telehealth program acts as a guide, structuring the communication process by offering ways to assign roles clearly, follow up on responsibilities, and map out a plan on one scheduling platform that all contributors can access – including the patient. 

Risk Management

Commit these two words to memory; predictive data. Ai and algorithms play a big part in all of our technologies from our social engagements to our shopping habits. Telehealth can bring a smart interpretation of that phenomena to your risk management by combining prioritized tasks, patient data, and statistical information to create a hierarchy of urgency within your practice. 

Combine that structure with an element of constant updating of new information, and the end result is a science-backed care strategist that can fit in the palm of your hand.

Consistency without Compromise

As patient populations grow we need to remind ourselves that case management is about preventive care. So, analysis is important to establish each patient’s individual baseline and bring them up as much as possible through an inclusive care program that benefits all. 

Consistency is a key player – by simplifying the case management structure and putting data on a secure platform. At that point, accessibility is increased which switches the focus from the process back to the patient. In this way, a widespread simplification of the tech boosts care to each individual patient.

Return to Community

Let’s sum this up. 

Real time information, live feeds from hospitals, synchronization, and predictive data are all combined with updates and scheduling. From the patient’s perspective, this integrated backend is secondary to the open channels of communication, video calls, and easy access to care providers. 

Primavera considers the administrative perspectives, business aspects, and patient experience to support needs of Practices from treatment to transportation. By making processes Easier Together we can continue to build a care-centered approach that doesn’t fall short of the demands of case management. 

Don’t just take us at our word, schedule a demo today!

Many industries have scrambled to become remotely accessible since Covid-19 entered the picture and demanded a renewed push to integrate technology into our daily routines in new ways. This is not just for our social and work lives, but for our healthcare. 

So what does post Covid-19 Telemedicine look like? Is it practical? And does it support personalized care?

What has changed with telemedicine pre-Covid-19 to now?  

Let’s talk about supply and demand. Social distancing practices created the need for alternatives to in-office visits. Pre-pandemic, Telemedicine existed as a fringe option, often unsupported because of the way it was being reimbursed.

Telehealth claims in the Southeast grew 6038.5% from April 2019 to April 2020 with the bulk of the increase happening during stay-at-home orders, and claim lines have increased 4,347% nationally as of March 2020. 

Often, services in the healthcare field are influenced by legislation; now, demand is forcing legislations to adapt and support the rising wave of need for Telehealth.

Which Practitioners are Using Telemedicine? 

Everyone from dentists, to therapists, to specialists like cardiologists and endocrinologists have made their expertise available via Telemedicine. 

Physical therapists use it to coach patients on proper form for their prescribed exercises. Psychologists use it to continue communicating with their patients. Even general practitioners and primary care physicians whose offices had no virtual practices in place have invited their patients to join new virtual healthcare programs. 

Why should I Try it? Will I still Receive Quality Care? 

High-risk patients like the elderly will benefit greatly from Telemedicine. Consider how eliminating transportation and waiting rooms alone reduces the risk of exposure for patients with low-immunity or mobility restrictions. 

Virtual care doesn’t just benefit special populations, it helps families by saving them on childcare or taking a half-day off work in financially-tight times, and even extends to non-profit clinics where Telehealth programs consistently reduce patient wait times and increase access to health services for the underprivileged in need of care.

The more Telehealth is integrated, the more obvious it becomes that convenience contributes to general health and wellness in a way that hasn’t really been considered before now.

For doctors and practitioners, Telemedicine and virtual care enable them to see more patients in a day, and promotes the safety of their medical staff; less cleaning of the office, less sick patients coming into contact with one another, and a decrease in the spreading of germs. 

Frictionless Telehealth

Healthcare facilities will always need physical locations. Telemedicine can’t completely replace the need for in-person physical care but by bringing greater access to these new lines of communication, a smarter approach to patient care can emerge and access to care can evolve.

Think back on your own personal history of medical visits. How often did you spend hours waiting in a crowded lobby retracing the puzzles in Highlights magazine, or reading People from 2007? Patrick Dempsey will always be 2007’s, “Star of the Year”, but reading about Dr. Mc Dreamy while waiting hours to see your own Doctor – only to leave after a 4-minute visit with a prescription note – no longer needs to be reality. 

Increasing and supporting virtual and remote practices will lead to a frictionless Telehealth system that benefits both patients and practitioners.

Why Have Doctors Resisted Telemedicine before Now? 

Short answer? They may not have been.

A lot of patients have been asking for access to Telemedicine for years, and many doctors were already acknowledging the benefits of reducing risk to infected patients while increasing communication and building relationships with all patients in their care. 

So what was the hang up? Legislation and Insurance coverage.

In 1997, Telehealth became officially recognized as reimbursable but only in particular circumstances for extremely rural patients. Even then, the patient had to drive to the nearest clinic and receive Telehealthcare in a professional space to be eligible for reimbursement. 

2019 saw an increase in accessibility to Telemedicine for the Medicare population but to put this in perspective, just last year, less than 1 in 10 Americans were even using Telehealth services and now policies and practitioners are struggling to adapt.

The New Healthcare Technology: Building a Better System 

Just like the rise of social media in the mid 2000s, there will be many new Telehealth platforms making their market debut in the coming months. Here’s what you should be looking for:

• A system made specifically for healthcare 
• Easy-to-use for patients of all ages and abilities. No downloads required
• A predictive system that is integrated with the rest of your patient care

Primavera is an easy to use, secure Healthcare Technology built by professionals in the Healthcare industry. Primavera combines a variety of services from care coordination; transportation arrangement, and intuitive case management. The platform is easy to use for patients, as simple as FaceTime, and requires no external apps. 

The goal is to make patient care Easier Together through an all-encompassing Telehealth Suite with advanced data metrics that help you prioritize and communicate within your practice.

Don’t hesitate to embrace this new wave of accessibility and evolution in patient care. Schedule a demo today!

Telehealth is a digital healthcare service which provides remote access to care. It has gained widespread popularity during COVID-19 as it supplements medical visits for vulnerable, aging and disadvantaged populations. The rise in this technology is a global industry trend with the potential to become permanent.

Benefits of Telehealth

For many years, patients have demanded this kind of access to their physicians. Some people cannot make it to doctor’s appointments due to transportation issues and work conflicts, while others see these visits as inconvenient, expensive and time-consuming. The benefits of telehealth are clear: it saves time and money, decreases the chances of getting sick, eliminates the need to take off work, improves engagement and is easily accessible. 

Despite the benefits, certain demographics are less inclined to adopt telehealth than others. Seniors, for example, are the least likely to use it even though they are the most at risk.

The following are statistics from the Better Medicare Alliance survey conducted in May 2020: 

• 24% of seniors used telehealth during the pandemic
• Only 52% said they’d be comfortable using this service
• 30% said they’d be uncomfortable
• 18% were undecided

The majority of the older generation is hesitant to try telehealth because they are intimidated by the learning curve. While 65 year olds may have a slight upper hand, those in their 70s and 80s are often not tech savvy. They are already in an unfavorable position due to the pandemic, so the added stress of new technology makes their situation even more frustrating. 

A clunky telehealth system interferes with the positive relationship between physician and patient, which relies on good communication. Telehealth systems that are not user friendly have created more barriers to care and frustrated patients. In the digital world, people don’t like extra steps. Another app to download, page to navigate or form to fill out could be the difference between getting care and giving up. 

Frictionless Telehealth

Primavera created a frictionless telehealth solution designed to solve these problems. With this platform, patients and physicians enjoy an intuitive, user friendly experience. Seniors are empowered to take control of their own healthcare. Those who cannot drive, don’t own a car or have to work around their caregiver’s schedule have instant access to care. They gain peace of mind with the ability to communicate with their physician immediately rather than having to wait. All patients on the call can hop on without ever needing to download an app.

Primavera Connect Telehealth makes life easier for physicians and simplifies their work. The telehealth platform keeps all data under one roof so doctors don’t have to toggle between systems with no functionality. Telehealth works seamlessly with Case Management and Data Analytics, and physicians can easily loop in colleagues, specialists, translators and caregivers. This provides a way to communicate with caregivers when they are outside of the home, and streamlines collaboration for physicians who need to consult other doctors about care plans. Additionally, safety and security is not an issue with NLS (Next Level Security).

Connect Telehealth Features

The full list of Connect Telehealth features and benefits is extensive, and includes:

• No app download required by patients
• High Resolution Video
• Send invites to session via SMS
• Built-in Scheduler for Providers
• Intuitive Dashboard with Usage Analytics
• Available in Multiple Languages
• Seamless Integration with the entire software suite
• Add Multiple Participants to a session including a caregiver or colleague
• Manage your patient population by program priority or diagnosis
• Remote Monitoring Option for Devices
• Audit Trails for Transparency
• SSL Encrypted Connections
• HIPAA Compliant
• Get up and running in minutes!

Primavera takes the challenges of traditional telehealth and turns them upside down to meet the most basic patient and physician needs. When it comes to industry trends in telehealth, the most important factors are cost-efficiency and a user friendly platform. 

Have you struggled with the expense of either developing or implementing a telehealth platform before? We know cost is a salient consideration, which is why Connect Telehealth was designed to be affordable for all. You gain peace of mind knowing it’s affordable for your business, and can assure patients that it’s more than manageable for them as well. For those patients who are still hesitant to give a new technology a try, start the conversation and highlight the benefits. Appointments scheduled via Connect Telehealth give the freedom, autonomy and accessibility you deserve.

Primavera’s platform is user friendly and accessible to everyone. It enables healthcare providers to deliver quality virtual care when in-person visits are not possible or not advisable. Because the system is incredibly intuitive, there is very little training or onboarding required. Communicating with your patients has never been easier. You can call us and be up and running the same day! 

Join us in transforming the office visit. Reach out to one of our healthcare experts and get a demo today. With Primavera, telehealth is easier together.

August 3, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Healthcare Software Company Announces Telehealth Platform Designed For Non-Tech Savvy Users

Developed for medical use and for the non-technical user there is NO APP download needed for patients. Patient-Doctor communication is now “easier together” with Primavera.

South Florida-based healthcare software company, Primavera, launches the latest in telehealth, a platform made specifically for medical use that does not require an app to function. During the pandemic, physicians found the need to communicate, now more than ever, with their most high risk and fragile patients. Typically these patients were either senior, dependent on others, or did not have access to technology. Frustrations with other telehealth platforms lie with the use of multiple systems, downloading apps and the requirements for each step. The process can be arduous for those who are not tech savvy. This stress takes away from the appointment itself and, in some cases, the technical barriers make the appointment inaccessible.

Tired of using third-party video conferencing tools made for the board room, the Primavera team created Connect Telehealth specifically for the medical community with a focus on ease-of-use – made for the 65 and older age groups. It is the first frictionless telehealth platform created. It features high resolution video, options for both voice and video, invitations to sessions sent through SMS, available in multiple languages, built-in scheduler, intuitive dashboard with analytics, seamless integration, ability to add multiple participants including caregivers or colleagues, remote monitoring option for devices, and audit trails for administrators. To address safety concerns, the Primavera platform adheres to best practices for HIPAA compliance. To take security a step further, deter and prevent cyber intrusion, and protect data, there are strict internal procedures for access control to patient data. This is the Primavera NLS, Next Level Security. 

Primavera’s COO, Rolian Ruiz , said about the Connect Telehealth announcement, “Telehealth is a fantastic way for doctors and patients to connect. Unfortunately, the patients that needed it the most did not have a realistic mechanism to connect. We felt the absolute need to create a system that works for everyone – the seniors, the low income, and those with inherent issues accessing care. Our company’s solutions were already geared to managing this population and this was a natural extension. Working together with the providers, we are able to make their work easier and more productive.” Connect Telehealth technology is a part of a total healthcare software suite where managing your practice is now “easier together” with Primavera. It also includes data analytics, case management, complete member records, administration and scheduling. Each part was developed by actual users in need of simple and streamlined software. Healthcare practices utilizing the Primavera platform are showing better retention and better results. Primavera was developed for MSOs and Primary Care Physicians and then expanded to a wide range of specialties including Cardiologists, Dentists, Endocrinologists, etc. to manage their patient population and multiple payers like Medicare, BCBS, Humana, and other regional health insurance payers. 

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About: Primavera is an integrated healthcare software suite created to simplify data into actionable intelligence improving patient outcomes and overall practice performance. The Primavera team, over the last two decades creating, developing, and managing complex IT architecture and relationship database systems, honed their skills constructing innovative tools to empower users for the best outcomes. 

Recently, in the last few years, the team turned its creative focus to find a healthcare solution for the all-too-common information gap. Together, the team consisting of technologists, practitioners and healthcare business executives, created a revolutionary healthcare operating system, called Primavera, to transform the patient-doctor-payor relationship across the care continuum. 

This information-rich environment creates efficiencies and transparency to align goals and create better healthcare and financial outcomes. Simply put, Primavera has the clinical and financial tools to run your practice at peak performance.  

For more information on Primavera, visit Primavera.care  

Schedule a demo today.

The change from a fee-for-service model to a full risk model can seem daunting. After all, it is quite different in many ways. There is peace-of-mind in the fact that many organizations have done this previously and with great success.

Outside of the change in the medical organization itself, there have been efforts for many years to modernize federal laws, payment methods and incentives to benefit a value-based model. You have the technological tools and examples of many to emulate, improve upon, and to set up your medical or dental group for success.

Healthcare Industry Spending

The inefficiencies in the American healthcare system have been analyzed by countless experts in recent years. For example, the Health System Tracker experts charted the GDP per capita and health consumption spending per capita, 2017 to find that, “Relative to the size of its wealth, the U.S. spends a disproportionate amount on healthcare.” Lawmakers have been looking for new ways to cut spending and improve healthcare outcomes for quite some time.

The fee-for-service model that was once attractive to physicians made sense. You get paid for the work you do. In the end, this healthcare model created a misplaced incentive that has been linked to physician burnout, increased spending, and has not shown direct improvement in healthcare outcomes.

For those who have made the change to the Full-Risk Capitation model, the consensus among physicians is a feeling of freedom. Many doctors will tell you that although the value-based model is not perfect, it has been nice to not have to “play the games” to get paid for services rendered.

Additionally, the focus on prevention and collaboration across the care continuum is fulfilling. Instead of reviewing your monthly reports for how many services rendered, it is rewarding to see the numbers show positive healthcare trends for your patient population. It is well-documented that prevention and early detection are effective at improving patient healthcare outcomes.

Hospital Readmission Reduction Program

In 2012-2013, the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program was created by CMS, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to help mitigate the issue of very expensive readmissions to the hospital. A large number of patients were spending more time and money in the hospital than they were with their doctors for preventive care and follow-ups. To improve the patient outcomes and keep them out of the hospital for unnecessary visits, care teams implemented better post-discharge plans with a higher touch point of communication. Experts predict we will see more of these types of programs across multiple payors in the coming years. Every payor has been and will continue to look for new ways to reduce unnecessary costs when possible.

Managing the Transition from FFS to Full Risk Model

Understanding the Healthcare Metrics

First things first, you need to know if the numbers will work. If you cannot stay in business, then this won’t benefit anyone. Begin by understanding your KPIs: Funding PMPM, Inpatient/Outpatient Claims PMPM, Medical Loss Ratio (MLR), Percentage of Generic Rx, Profitability Driver (MRA), etc. These basic statistics will be your new measures for your organization’s financial success.

Using the Metrics to Effect Real Change

Second, you must understand how to effect change in these numbers. By understanding which patients are at higher risk or higher utilizers, you can make meaningful change for both the practice and the patient. Alerts, notifications, industry benchmarks, and real-time data available through data mapping with insurance companies are all key to managing a full risk capitation model. This may mean a culture shift focused on measuring the true value of a procedure and weighing the full cost (emotional stress and physical stress) to the patient before recommending.

Better Communication Tools

Third, your care teams must have access to easy communication with your patients and other medical professionals on the care team. Emailing and personal phone calls will not go away, but additional tools like telehealth need to fit seamlessly into the necessary day-to-day activities.

Tip: During this transition time, it is important to modernize your healthcare software to anticipate your new needs and overcome old hurdles.

Care Team with High Touch Points for Clinical Integration

Additionally, you need a great care team to rely upon to give comprehensive care and a good patient experience. For the full risk healthcare model to be financially successful, the healthcare outcomes must be good. For the healthcare outcomes to be good, your team must be good at communicating with your patients and following up regularly. This model performs best when care teams are in regular and consistent contact with the practice’s entire patient population.

Fee-For-Service to Full Risk Transition Solution

The latest in technology and data analysis to help with a smooth transition from fee-for-service compensation to full risk compensation is here! Primavera provides the technical and professional tools used to measure your practice’s strengths, opportunities, and partnership needs as you explore the possibilities of accountable care organizations and value-based contracting. We’ll map out the steps you need to take to transition your practice.

Step One: Obtain the financial performance of your patients, not only the clinical.
Step Two: Determine positive trends amongst different insurance companies.
Step Three: Determine your ability to negotiate higher capitation payments and either partial or full risk deals.
Step Four: Demonstrate your business’s maturity and sophistication to strategic partners including MSOs, Insurance Companies, and Capital partners or investors.

Reach out today for a practice assessment or a simple technology demonstration. With Primavera, it’s easier together.