Nebraska Medicine is the latest health system to join the Apple Watch craze. Comprised of The Nebraska Medical Center, Bellevue Medical Center and UNMC Physicians, Nebraska Medicine is working with EHR provider Epic to improve patient engagement.

“We recognize that as more of our patients use devices like the Apple Watch, we not only have to be able to use that technology to initially provide convenience for them, but we also have to envision how we can also improve patient outcomes via use of the device in the future,” Michael Ash, MD, chief transformation officer at Nebraska Medicine, recently told WOWT NBC Omaha.

The health system will release several apps available to patients, as well as one targeted at physicians.

Patients on their end will benefit from medication and appointment reminders, notices like billing details and test results, as well as other short notes from a doctor. Furthermore, they will be able to quickly reschedule upcoming appointments if an earlier time slot opened up.

As for physicians, they will get an app that builds off Epic’s Haiku mobile application for the iPhone, giving them access to patient records and schedules, as well as enabling them to dictate a note or message into the patient’s record or to the patient.

“It’s great to see Nebraska Medicine help lead the way on patient engagement with the Apple Watch,” Sumit Rana, Epic’s senior vice president for R&D, told the news station. “Wearables such as the Apple Watch have great potential to empower patients as active participants in their own healthcare and wellness while improving the overall care experience.”

[Via: mHealthNews]