Virtual Clipboard Initiative wants to make patient check-in easier

Virtual Clipboard

A pilot project is under way to automate the patient check-in process and make it more efficient, while improving patient satisfaction.

Dubbed Virtual Clipboard Initiative, it is a collaboration among 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).

The Initiative kicked off with the initial design document, describing a set of industry standards for exchanging and securing healthcare information within mobile apps used by patients and their advocates.

The first phase is to develop a blueprint for a smart mobile solution that will allow the provider’s “clipboard” of patient information to be effectively disseminated electronically. This phase will cover demographic information and benefit coverage. A second phase will focus on medications and allergies.

The project has already gathered more than 40 representatives from major health plans, providers, health IT vendors and government entities, but we’ll have to wait for at least a year to see any real product coming out of the Initiative.

So far, we have workgroups that are focused on pilot design and adoption, the technical solution, privacy and security, and measuring success. A standards roadmap is expected to be published by the end of the year, when we’ll hopefully hear where Virtual Clipboard is going next…

[Via: FierceMobileHealthcare]