Client
A healthcare company
Industry
Healthcare
Services
Software Development
Tech
NDA

Challenge

Navigating the post-discharge process after a hospital stay can be challenging as patients become responsible for their ongoing care. They have to deal with a barrage of new information, complicated medication plans, and additional tasks like scheduling appointments with their primary care physicians. In addition, hospital discharges lack a standardized approach. Each year, about 14% of patients in the US — that's 4.5 million people — end up back in the hospital within 30 days of being discharged. The first 48 hours after any medical intervention are particularly important. This is when patients need the most help. Our client recognized the need for radical improvements in post-discharge care. They wanted to create a telemedicine app with AI-powered recommendations that would make it easy for patients to coordinate care. To build this healthcare companion app, the client needed top expertise in HIPAA compliance, EMR integration, and AI technologies. That's when they called us, ITRex.

Our task was to:
Conduct a thorough business analysis to understand project objectives, gather requirements, design intuitive mockups, and crystallize a tech-forward vision
Plan scenarios for healthcare companion app integration with EMRs (Athenahealth, Epic, Cerner, etc.)
Design and implement healthcare companion app architecture
Assess popular open-source and private large language models (LLMs) for app integration to generate post-discharge recommendations, select the best-fitting one, and fine-tune it using healthcare datasets
Develop a strategy for the app’s compliance with HIPAA regulations

Solution

ITRex designed and developed a user-friendly web application. This application serves as a reliable healthcare companion, providing continuous support to patients from the moment they leave the hospital. A critical aspect of our mission was guiding our client through the HIPAA compliance process. We assisted in obtaining the HIPAA Seal of Good Faith, a testament to their commitment to health data protection. This process involved creating various compliance documents, including a business associate contract, terms and conditions, privacy policies, and multiple checklists. Integrated with EMRs, call center software, and billing systems, the app had custom functionality for creating post-discharge care pathways, managing appointments, and more. Specifically, its core functionality included:
Wizard-guided questionnaires for new patients to direct them to the appropriate specialist
Built-in calendar to appoint a phone or video consultation and get appointment reminders
Entry of personal information and phone verification to see if the patient’s record exists in an EMR system
Transfer of the patient’s health information into an EMR system upon submission, with the app automatically updating or creating patient profiles in this system, and sending EMR credentials to the patient via email for management of appointments and records
AI-generated and clinician-approved care pathways to guide patients. These pathways are initially produced by an integrated LLM that is fine-tuned using proprietary healthcare datasets and hosted on a private cloud
Auto-generation of invoices for insurance companies sent to the patient via the EMR in compliance with the HL7 FHIR standard
Simplified integration for healthcare providers with a one-click setup
Feature-rich admin panel to manage patients, content, integrations, and payment systems
Various mechanisms to ensure HIPAA compliance

Impact

Our healthcare companion app aims to revolutionize post-discharge care by achieving several key objectives:
Improve patient outcomes through continuous, post-discharge support
Cut hospital readmissions thanks to personalized recovery plans and remote monitoring
Boost patient satisfaction with an intuitive interface and 24/7 support
Save on healthcare costs by reducing unnecessary hospital visits
Builds trust by adhering to HIPAA regulations and securing health data

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