News Feature | August 3, 2015

Virtual Clipboard Automates Check In

Katie Wike

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

Enhancing The Patient ICU Experience Through Tablets

Using mobile technology to check patients in to see their doctors could ease the process and help improve patient satisfaction.

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

The check in process at physicians’ offices is often long and arduous; but new technology might ease the pain of seeing the doctor. According to a recent document, virtually aiding the patient intake process could be a solution that would help both doctor and patients.

The Sullivan Institute for Healthcare Innovation, the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI), the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) say a pilot program featuring virtual clipboards is set to make the process more efficient and improve patient satisfaction.

According to Fierce Mobile Healthcare, the Virtual Clipboard Initiative as it’s called was created to define a set of industry standards for exchanging and securing healthcare information within mobile applications used by patients and their advocates.

“The project seeks to leverage smart technologies to dramatically enhance the patient experience while improving patient safety,” explained an announcement. “The Institute and its partners are working to create a solution blueprint for a “smart” mobile solution that will allow the provider’s “clipboard” of demographic, insurance and critical clinical information (e.g. allergies, medications and lab results) to be efficiency and accurately disseminated electronically to the provider.”

“We are encouraged by the resounding industry response during last month’s launch of this initiative, which included active counsel from more than 40 representatives from major health plans, providers, health IT vendors and government entities,” said Devin Jopp, Ed.D, president and CEO of WEDI. “Now we’re opening the call to action even further, welcoming more industry volunteers to serve as thought leaders and help guide efforts to drive this important initiative.”