Medfusion Launches Consumer Mobile App to Simplify Health Care Records

To provide patients with a one-stop destination for all of their medical records, Medfusion—a patient engagement platform dedicated to facilitating the relationship between doctors and patients—has developed a consumer mobile application—Medfusion Plus.

For decades, if patients wanted access to their medical records, they had to request and pay for a paper copy, which could take several days if not weeks. With the advent of portals, patients gained electronic access to certain portions of their medical records as created at the individual provider level, but this information was never available all in one place.

Via a download on the App Store and Google Play, iOS and Android device users can now aggregate and access their health care records onto their mobile devices. The information is pulled via continuity of care (CCD) documents from the patient portals and includes laboratory results, immunizations, medication lists, allergies, as well as appointments.

"Providing patients with access to their health care data and putting them at the center of data exchange is key to solving interoperability," says Chris Fierer, director of innovation and Medfusion Plus solution manager. "Patients should have a complete view of the care provided to them across multiple provider settings—hospitals, physician practices, and from their wearables. We believe patients should play a more significant role in their care, and the only way they can optimize the quality and efficiency of that care is to have a total, accurate view of their medical records right in the palms of their hands."

While the mobile app was designed for caregivers—a busy mom or adult involved in the care of his or her older relative—it's also beneficial to physicians.

"I regularly see patients who have recently been hospitalized who have seen multiple specialists who ran diagnostic tests on them and may have changed their medications without sending me notification or medical records pertaining to these encounters," says John Meier, MD, MBA, local internist and pediatrician. "As their primary care physician, I am void of critical information that would allow me to better manage and optimize their care, which is frustrating to both me and my patients.

"Until we get to full interoperability within and among EHR's," Meier adds, "we need a solution like Medfusion Plus that allows my patients to show me their latest lab tests and current medications on their smartphones. This will enable me to create a much better care management plan based on higher quality, lower cost, and most importantly better outcomes."

Medfusion Plus, which also provides an application programming interface and is available on the Apple Watch, will continue to evolve with a significant roadmap ahead for the developers.

"The age of consumerism is upon us in health care, and mobile technology is central to facilitating that shift in our industry," says Vern Davenport, Medfusion CEO. "At Medfusion we have a history of providing innovative technology to the industry and look forward to building on the strong foundation of this app, which is transforming health care at the patient, physician, health system, and accountable care levels." Davenport adds that the app is available at no cost to consumers, and a branded version will be made available to provider organizations.

Medfusion Plus will be featured at the Ninth Annual Health 2.0 Conference in Santa Clara, California, October 4-7, 2015, and at the Oliver Wyman Healthcare Innovation Summit in Chicago, October 12-14, 2015.

Source: Medfusion, Inc