Service Expansion for MedTechs & Where Jack Imaging Fits

Recently L.E.K. Consulting released an Executive Insights article titled, "Beyond the Product: Service Expansion Opportunities for MedTechs."  In the article, L.E.K. detailed that hospital systems are increasingly looking into external sources to overcome various challenges as opposed to hiring or training internally. Challenges mentioned can include achieving more advanced IT systems, better workflow efficiency, fewer hospital-acquired infections, and reduced readmissions.

To address these resources that hospitals may look into, L.E.K. has developed a framework to expand upon the relevant services offered. This framework includes four broad categories: Product related, Operations efficiency, Clinical care delivery, and Hospital strategy. 

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Jack Imaging is a powerhouse in that in falls within two categories, Operations efficiency and Clinical care delivery. Firstly, with its set of patient management tools, Jack Imaging is able to streamline workflow and thereby increase operational efficiency. For example, managing a patient's condition is simplified with the case management feature. Since doctors, caregivers, and patients can all access a shared case, retrieving and exchanging relevant medical images and documents is simplified. 

Furthermore, Jack Imaging can improve clinical care delivery with its telehealth features. Besides the convenient sharing of medical images, Jack Imaging also provides secure video conferencing and messaging between relevant parties. Say a patient needs to receive a second opinion consultation-- she can simply share her case with her doctor of choice. After the doctor has reviewed all of her images and reports saved within the case, the patient and doctor can hold a video conference, to discuss the doctor's findings and suggestions. 

Video conferencing with screen sharing and real-time annotation capabilities is depicted. 

When asked whether hospitals would be interested in additional services from external MedTech companies, 60% of C-level respondents were in favor. As hospitals work towards increased technological innovation and improved efficiency, Jack Imaging can help with its full suite of multi-specialty care solutions. 

To stay up to date with Jack Imaging, follow us on Twitter.

What's going on in healthcare right now?

We have curated a list of some of the most interesting and thought-provoking pieces in recent healthcare news.

Medical Imaging: 

Advances in medical imaging allow the scan to fit the patient

Advanced medical imaging is helping to drive the “precision” medicine movement, leading to enhanced diagnosis, informed treatment options, and targeted treatments.

Mayo Clinic algorithm reduces CT use for appendicitis

According to Reuters Health,  Mayo Clinic researchers have created an algorithm that can help appendicitis diagnosis in children and reduce CT usage. 

Health IT: 

6 ways big data can lower costs

A study published in the July issue of Health Affairs highlights how big data analytics is driving cost reduction including reducing preventable readmissions, effective triage, and more. 

Online appointments gain favor as ED wait times soar

ED visits have increased with ACA implementation. To ease wait times and reduce crowding, more and more hospitals are allowing patients to book appointments online. Learn how Jack Imaging can aid the ED here.

Digital Health: 

Telemedicine gains ground in treatment of injured workers

Telemedicine is increasing in popularity for treatment of injured workers to expedite their evaluation and even reduce expenses employers pay. Learn our telemedicine functionalities here. 

Survey: 75 percent of patients want digital health services 

Based on a McKinsey survey of thousands of patients in Germany, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, over 75 percent of those surveyed are in favor of digital health service implementation. Learn about apps for caregivers and managing your condition.

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911 to Operating Room: How Jack Imaging Expedites Treatment

The following is a hypothetical situation in an ER setting in which Jack Imaging proves to be an integral part of care that made a positive impact on patient outcomes.

The patient is a 20 year-old male involved in an altercation escalating to a penetrating gunshot wound to the right upper arm. Immediately following the gunshot, the dispatch transferred the patient to the nearest emergency room.

At the emergency room, an X-ray was ordered to determine the extent of the damage.

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Radiograph revealed a complex fracture of the right upper humerus. The ER resident believed the extent of the damage warranted surgical intervention. In order to confirm the decision with an offsite ER Chief, the resident used Jack Imaging to securely share the case with the Chief. From her home office, the Chief logged onto Jack Imaging from a web browser and evaluated the X-ray, approving the course of action by sending a secure message back to the ER resident.

Because this small clinic hospital did not support complex orthopedic cases, the ER resident must transfer the patient to a larger hospital in order to get him into surgery within the next 12 hours. Again, he used Jack Imaging to forward the patient’s case to the receiving hospital to prep for the surgery ahead of time.  

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While the patient was in transit, the orthopedic surgeons at the receiving center briefed themselves by reviewing the X-ray and the relevant patient history via Jack Imaging. Once the patient arrived, the surgeons were already familiar with the case and had mapped out the necessary procedure. The patient was successfully operated on with zero complications.

Jack Imaging provides a platform for efficient collaboration between care teams by securely sharing medical images and patient records. All of this culminates into delivering the most comprehensive care for the patient.

A free demo of Jack Imaging is available here. 

Guest Post: How Jack Imaging helps me manage my condition

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Today we share a guest post from one of our users, Sarah*. Sarah shares her experience with idiopathic condylar resorption and how Jack Imaging has helped her manage her condition. Read Sarah’s story below:

In the summer of 2012, an ordinary consultation to get my wisdom teeth removed led to a startling discovery.

“Do you know that you have idiopathic condylar resorption? Only your back molars touch,” stated the dental surgeon.

I replied, “No... I just thought food was extra tough to chew.”

And with this, my journey with idiopathic condylar resorption began. Idiopathic condylar resorption (ICR) is defined by the Baylor University Medical Center as, “ a specific condition that affects the jaw joints (temporomandibular joints or TMJs) and most commonly occurs in teenage girls.” Because this doctor was specialized in wisdom teeth removal, I sought a second opinion and even a third. Both maxillofacial surgeons I saw informed me that surgery would be required lest with old age, I would deal with joint issues.

Before the preliminary steps to such a surgery can even be taken, it must be determined that the disease has been in remission for at least twelve months. Since there is no definitive way to determine whether or not resorption has ended, the area is observed biannually to see if there is any measurable change. As a result, every six months since my diagnosis, I have had X-rays taken of my jaw and the occlusal gap (overbite) is measured.

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Because of the need for constant monitoring of the disease, I have amassed numerous X-rays and other medical records in order to build a comprehensive portfolio of my condition. Previously, I would have to retrieve all these X-rays prior to each doctor’s visit, which became an increasingly tedious process as I amassed more medical images. With Jack Imaging, I am able to organize all of these medical images and monitor the progress of my condition chronologically. It has been two years since my diagnosis and I will soon begin the preparatory steps for my surgery. When the time comes to coordinate with an orthodontist for my pre-surgery preparation, I will be able to easily share my X-rays with him/her via Jack Imaging rather than bringing in my assorted medical image discs. After the surgery, I must continue to monitor the jaw joints via X-ray for about a year to ensure that the surgery was a success.

Rather than sending in a request to retrieve my medical images for viewing, I am now able to monitor my condition on my laptop using this online platform. I feel empowered knowing that I can keep track of my health from my own home. 

*name has been changed for privacy

Nephosity teams up with the CSC Benjamin Center in Tech Tools for Care Management

Earlier this month, Nephosity was kindly invited to teach a course on tech tools for care management - introducing cancer patients at the CSC Benjamin Center in Los Angeles to helpful (and free!) web or mobile based tools to help manage care.

The Benjamin Center is an extremely warm and welcoming home to all individuals touched by cancer - offering free-of-charge services including educational classes, support groups, fun activities and more. Whether you are a patient, a caretaker or just supporting a loved one going through cancer, you will be welcomed with open arms at the CSC. It is truly a wonderful place.

CSC Benjamin Center located in West LA, CA

Our course on patient tech tools received an overwhelmingly positive response from the group, and it was an amazing experience to hear patient and caretaker stories regarding their frustrations with currently available "technologies". We were so grateful by the positive response from the group that we were inspired to share our materials with others who might find our content useful. 

All technology tools we've curated are free (or low-priced) web and mobile applications aimed at helping you - or your caretaker, or loved one - better manage your health as you battle illness.

The list includes tools to help you:
- locate lower cost prescription drugs at nearby pharmacies
- upload and share your medical images 
- manage your health records
- track your health bills
- and more

Find the full list, here, and let us know your experience with any of these in the comments below, as well as any additional apps we may be missing! We look forward to hearing your responses.

Finally, if you are in the Los Angeles area, look forward to future workshop panels on how to use health technology to better manage your and your loved ones' health. 

Thank you!

Patient Tools for Care Management

Empower Yourself,

Engage With Your Health

The following tools were curated and shared with patients at the Benjamin Center. Read more about our session on tech tools for patient care, here!

Patient Care Management Technologies

Adhere Tech's smart pill bottles attempt to increase medication adherence by wirelessly sending medication amount and reminding patients to take their prescribed dosage via phone call or text

Adhere Tech – smart pill bottle

Adhere Tech bottles measure the exact amount of pills or liquid in the bottle in real-time, and wirelessly sends this HIPAA-compliant data into the cloud, and remind patients to take their medication via automated phone call or text message.  Adhere Tech’s smart pill bottle will be available in 2014. 

Link: http://www.adheretech.com/

Mango Health – prescription drugs and supplements management

Mango Health is an app that allows patients to manage their medications and supplements in an incentivized, gamified environment.  Patients can schedule set alerts as reminders for pill consumption and learn about dangerous drug interactions. 

Link:  http://www.mangohealth.com/

Jack Imaging - store, view and share your medical images 

Jack Imaging (beta) enables patients to store, view and share medical images in any WiFi-enabled setting. Upload images directly from your imaging CDs without any software installation required and share with providers, friends or family with the click of a button. 

Link:  http://jackimaging.com/ 

Simplee – medical bills management

Simplee is an alternative to Cake Health.  Just like with Mint and your financial accounts, you give Simplee access to your medical insurance accounts. It then brings in all of your medical, dental, and pharmacy bills and presents them in an easy-to-understand dashboard. Simplee tells your total medical costs, how much you’ve paid out-of-pocket, your deductible, and how many doctor’s visits you and your family have had.

Link: https://simplee.com/

Healthy Out – nutritional guidance for dining out

Healthy Out finds you dishes at local restaurants that match your diet and nutrition preferences.

Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/restaurant-nutrition-healthy/id566409966

Community Building Technologies

Cure Together connects patients with treatment ratings across ~637 health conditions

Cure Together – communities around conditions

Imagine patients around the world coming together to anonymously share qualitative information on over 600 medical conditions and their treatments. Patients rate symptoms and compare treatment outcomes. 

Link: http://curetogether.com

Smart Patients – online community for cancer patients

Smart Patients is an online community where cancer patients and caregivers learn from each other about treatments, clinical trials, the latest science, and how it all fits into the context of their experience.




Link:  https://www.smartpatients.com/

CrowdMed – wisdom of crowds for solving medical problems

CrowdMed is revolutionizing healthcare by harnessing 'the wisdom of crowds' to help solve even the world's most difficult medical cases quickly and accurately online.  Crowd Med believes in the power of groups to gather information, make smart decisions, and ultimately help save lives.

Link: https://www.crowdmed.com/

Healthy Labs

Healthy Labs builds networks to connect patients so they can learn from one another. 

Link:  http://www.healthylabs.com

Quantified Self

Fitbit dashboard allows you to track daily activity, calories burned, sleep and weight

Fitbit

Track daily activity, calories burned, sleep and weight. Upload wirelessly and see progress on mobile and online dashboard.   

Link: http://www.fitbit.com/

Senti

A record of how you are doing based on your answers to simple questions every day.   

Link: https://www.senti.us/

MoodPanda

MoodPanda is an interactive mood diary/journal that measures and keeps track of your happiness, creating neat pie charts and graphs to show you how you've been feeling over time.

Link:  http://moodpanda.com/

Cancer Oriented Technologies

Avva Advocate is the first and only free breast health iPhone app

Avva – free, comprehensive breast health iPhone app

For all women regardless of whether they have been diagnosed with breast cancer or not, this app helps patients keep track of their mammogram appointments.  If newly diagnosed, this app can also help breast cancer patients prepare for important upcoming visits with physicians. The app helps patients create a list of questions for your doctor by providing patients with highly personalized suggestions. Then, during your visit, save typed notes to your questions or record audio of your conversation. You'll get the most out of every visit and make sure you never forget any of the important information from your doctors.

Link: http://www.avvahealth.com/

Cancer.net Mobile – developed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)

Accurate oncologist-approved cancer information from Cancer.Net, with tools to help plan and manage your cancer treatment and care. 

Cancer.Net Mobile includes up-to-date guides on 120 types of cancer, with information about treating cancer, managing side effects, managing the cost of care, and living with cancer. Use interactive tools to keep track of questions to ask doctors and record voice answers. Save information about prescribed medications, including photos of labels and bottles (on camera-enabled devices). Track the time and severity of symptoms and side effects.

All information on Cancer.Net was developed and approved by cancer doctors who are members of ASCO.

Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cancer.net-mobile/id433501257?mt=8