Photo Caption: ConnextCare staff receives training for new telehealth platform (left to right: Dr. Joseph Nimeh; Patsy Spears, Administrative Assistant; Ken Martin, Director of Information Services).
Throughout the month of March ConnextCare will be implementing a new telehealth platform across all of their locations in Oswego County. ConnextCare will now be using their Greenway Electronic Medical Record (EMR) to ensure a more efficient telehealth experience for patients.
Moving forward, patients will be receiving a text message or an email on the day of their scheduled telehealth visit. The text or email will include a link to a video chat that patients will be able to click on and be automatically connected to the telehealth virtual waiting room for admittance to their visit by the ConnextCare team.
Telehealth is a critical resource for patients. It enables a patient to be seen by a provider regardless of their ability to physically come in to the office, therefore breaking down a huge barrier to care. ConnextCare became acutely aware of the need for telemedicine at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Within days of the Pandemic, the ConnextCare IT team was able to secure the resources and training to be able to offer this service to patients. “As we begin to transition back to a level of normalcy in healthcare, the benefit of a telehealth connection has proven to be both effective and convenient for our patients,” stated Ken Martin, Director of Information Services at ConnextCare. “With now over one quarter of all healthcare visits being of a virtual nature, ConnextCare looked to stream line the process for both our staff and patients by adopting a single platform. The Greenway telehealth package works seamlessly with our EMR, this eliminates the need for a third party application which increases the time to create and distribute the virtual appointment.” Since the beginning of 2020, ConnextCare has used telehealth for more than 58,000 appointments and continues to use telehealth for 85% of their scheduled weekly mental health appointments.
The investment in this new service will greatly improve not just the patient experience when it comes to telehealth visits, it will also be a much more structured experience for ConnextCare staff. The Pulaski office is the first location to pilot this new platform beginning on March 2nd. Every other main site and the School Based Health Centers are scheduled to transition throughout the coming month.