On Tuesday, Vermont Blueprint for Health 2016 in Burlington, VT, announced that it will become the first state in the nation to implement a real-time data sharing network across in-state healthcare providers. The state will deploy Patient Ping, a Boston-based digital health company designed to enhance medical information transparency between once disconnected health care providers.
How It Works
PatientPing, providers receive “Pings,” real-time notifications whenever their patients receive care at any facility that is a part of the national PatientPing community. At the facility where patients are getting care, providers receive care instructions that include contact information for others on the patient’s care team, as well as patient visit histories. By sharing this information in real time, providers can seamlessly coordinate their patient’s care. The robust program is supported by hospital admission, discharge, and transfer data from Vermont Information Technology Leaders (VITL), which manages the state’s health information exchange.
The changing incentives of the Affordable Care Act and State policy have compelled providers to work with one another when sharing patients. PatientPing is fueling this transition by providing a critical missing link for providers operating in this new environment: the ability to be notified instantly when a patient is receiving care anywhere – inside or outside of their facility or health system – and the ability to collaborate with providers across the full continuum of care to ensure the best health outcomes for patients.
PatientPing’s nationwide community includes more than 12,000 providers and has a presence inMassachusetts, Connecticut, Michigan, Pennsylvania and now Vermont. PatientPing recently received$9.6M in funding from Google Ventures, F-Prime Capital (the VC funds of FMR LLC, the parent company of Fidelity), with participation from First Round Capital and SV Angel. PatientPing is rapidly accelerating its nationwide expansion so that any two or more providers that share patients anywhere in the country can simply coordinate with one another.
The robust program is supported by hospital admission, discharge, and transfer data from Vermont Information Technology Leaders (VITL), which manages the state’s health information exchange. “We are thrilled to partner with PatientPing and the State of Vermont to improve health care for Vermont residents. Building on the capabilities of the statewide Vermont Health Information Exchange, we are making health care encounter information available so that any clinician can be notified when their patient receives care from another provider,” said John K. Evans MHA, FACHE, President and CEO of VITL.
