It’s cliche to say, this year is moving fast. It’s also hectic and exciting.
It seems everyone in the digital health market is somehow participating in a rapidly changing cross-section between patients demanding direct access to manage their care and health systems trying to answer with better, easier systems.
This is a good thing. Demand is driving a bit of chaos, and better solutions will evolve. The Health industry has always lagged other industries in terms of technology innovation and productivity. But maybe that’s changing a little.
Two primary divisions within Federal Healthcare are Military Health and Veterans Health Systems, both are squarely in the middle of this evolution. Rarely do you see organizations of this size moving fast. Kudos to them for it too!
During these first 5 months, The Outpatient App team has unveiled a suite of groundbreaking features and prototypes. Our platform has already proven to save thousands of hours of productivity per clinic location, giving time back to the Medical Staff and Service Member-Patients. We’re now expanding further and drastically reducing administrative burden. The medical staff and providers supporting the patients and coordinating the appointments. We’re making their jobs easier, which is sorely needed and has been for awhile. We’re also expanding beyond Active Duty by adding Reserve components too.
Here’s how:
1) Multi System Integration for PHA Scheduling and Confirmation
This next step is part of an expanded PHA self-serve scheduling system that has been in use for nearly two years. The current system already saves thousands of hours per year mostly for the Service Members.
Now we’re adding a robotic process to simulate integration between the systems, which will eliminate significant medical staff administration burden. A collaboration with UiPath and their DHA approved software automation tool, it’s a game changer for the medical staff, which will literally save each Med Tech 3-4+ hrs per day.
Our collaboration partners include UiPath and Travis Air Force Base (60 MDG).
Self-scheduling QR Code Posters at Travis AFB:
The PHA Scheduling posters on display at Travis AFB, David Grant Medical Center. The Self-Serve scheduling system has seen great success.
2) Expanded Scheduling now includes Audiograms, DRHA, IMR + …
While we were implementing PHA scheduling, we started adding additional appointment categories. First, we added Labs and Immunizations, and just recently added Audiograms, DRHA, and other Medical Readiness appointments.
While working on the (3) Occupational Health tracking system, we added the hearing test. But really it’s an example of how it could be expanded further – there’s no reason not to include Dental and other routine appointing steps.
Our collaboration partners included Joint Base San Antonio (59 MDW Occ Health Teams) and Travis AFB (60 MDG)
3) Occupational Health and Employer Readiness Dynamic Checklist
In the first quarter of the year, we developed a new Occupational Health tracking system. For employees (civilian and service members) with jobs that require OH compliance measures, our system enables a Health Clinic to dynamically create the check-list required by job position (fire fighter, mechanic, police, etc) and then track the workflow to confirm compliance by each associated patient employee.
Our collaboration partners include Joint Base San Antonio (59 MDW, the Reid Clinic and BAMC). Colleagues from Dyess AFB (7 MDG) were early collaborators as well.
4) Physician and Medical Staff Scheduling Management
We enhanced our existing Med Staff On-Call system. The initial system was developed to support a Physician Consult messaging system. Providers needed to know who’s on call in Dermatology, for example, before messaging that person with a Consult request. Originally designed with JBSA – Wilford Hall, we then expanded to track staff schedules across large and regional health systems. (i.e. VA – regions; JBSA – all clinics; and other large MTF operations)
This is a major new feature that enables managing provider staff schedules across large systems, supporting administrators who oversee staff scheduling nationwide. It focuses on eliminating the massive burden on these support roles, while also providing a reporting view of staff schedules and the ability to export into other systems (or spreadsheets too).
Our collaboration partners included JBSA Wilford Hall, as well as Optum and Apprio working with VA Health.
5) PHA Part A – The PHA End to End Solution
Most recently, we presented a prototype of a working Part A Questionnaire on a phone / mobile device. In response to several comments from Military Health leaders, who saw the demo of (1) system integration for PHA coordination.
Recognizing the pressing need to streamline the Periodic Health Assessment (PHA) process, we presented a working demo of PHA Part A on mobile devices. This prototype represented a crucial step towards our vision of a full end-to-end solution, empowering patients and healthcare providers alike with unprecedented accessibility and efficiency.
Our collaboration partners included the Military Health leaders requesting the feature, as well as Leidos and their QTC division.
Conclusion
As we reflect on our transformative journey this year, the Outpatient App team remains steadfast in our commitment to innovation and excellence. Through our latest product releases and prototypes, we strive to empower healthcare professionals with the tools they need to deliver exceptional care in an ever-evolving landscape. Join us as we continue to redefine the future of healthcare, one breakthrough at a time.
The original Holloman AFB (49 MDG) team we started working with back in 2020. They have since moved to leadership roles at JBSA, Dyess AFB, Global Strike Command, and Eglin AFB.
