When technology meets empathy and simplicity, it's much more than a standard tech solution.
Medplace helps improve risk management and patient safety by connecting top practicing medical specialists to the organizations that need their insights. Hospitals, MPLs, TPAs, and Defense Law Firms leverage Medplace for claim reviews, peer reviews, expert witness testimony, and more.
While technology is a friend in the healthcare industry, most software designs are complicated, making them a headache for target users. Many target users are too busy to complicate their existing processes further, while some are technologically averse.
Medplace identified common adoption problems, which created a user-friendly app similar to Uber's straightforward approach. Moreover, the target users want simple risk management or patient safety programs.
How Do You Improve Risk Management and Patient Safety Using Technology?
A well-designed, simple interface can solve the target user's problem with minimum clicks. As Jerrod Bailey, CEO of Medplace, aptly puts it, "Technology should disappear." In other words, technology should be so efficient that users can focus on initiatives and details that matter.
Medplace uses a human-centered design. A design that organically emulates human flaws and limited thinking makes its use organically seamless. For example, can you imagine a physician who's running on a tight schedule and needs to access valuable information within the shortest time possible?
In such a case, he must perform the tasks with limited technological knowledge, just as he would use his smartphone without overthinking the underlying framework, AI, or algorithmic architecture.
Medplace improves risk management and patient safety by accelerating the critical response time. In a hospital setup, response time in the emergency room or when something terrible happens is critical level activity.
When an insurance company or law firm investigates medical claims, getting a response (access to top practicing physicians and their actionable insights) may take weeks or months.
Medplace shortens the time from months to a few days. Take peer review, for example. Some Hospitals handle peer reviews internally. But what happens when you ask more from your overworked staff? It likely makes sense to delegate initiatives like peer review to an external partner that can help without adding overhead costs.
Now hospital staff can focus on providing the best patient care, and the risk management team can continue their process without consuming internal resources.
Using a partner like Medplace also helps improve the flow of critical information that might break down in a traditional risk management process.
Is your go-to cardiologist on vacation? Need an orthopod, but your trusted doctor won't return an email? With Medplace, you get access to multiple options, and the Clinical Operations team can even recruit someone for your case.
Improving Patient Safety
Patient safety programs can differ depending on facility size. Private practices may rely on an army-of-one nurse, whereas a Health System can have an entire team.
Regardless of size, patient safety leaders are stretched thin.
Technology like Medplace alleviates workloads by streamlining claims and peer reviews.
You improve patient safety by getting early reviews from top practicing doctors and nurses.
Importance Of Simplicity in Technological Solutions
Techies build most technology solutions - this includes technology for the healthcare industry. Out of the desire to create feature-rich applications, they make tech-heavy solutions.
Building a solution that requires a manual is a burden on the user. First, they must peruse the manual then rely on ongoing training. How practical is that solution?
Imagine an overwhelmed physician. The physician needs to perform all his scheduled tasks, and now he must click 50 times on software to solve one of the problems.
That's not a practical solution.
Medplace built a simple platform that requires no training to use successfully.
Uber is the epitome of an excellent solution that automates most tasks and adds extra reliable features. The taxi-hailing app created a space where anyone with a car can get in the transport business as a side hustle.
There's no need for the overhead cost of hiring new cab drivers as cab companies do. Uber democratizes access, making drivers feel like their own boss because they can work on their schedule.
Medplace follows a somewhat similar concept allowing doctors to extend their reach. For instance, a surgeon in a Mayo clinic in Scottsdale is location-bound. However, with Medplace, they can work together with their peers or influence other systems across the country.
How Does Medplace Work?
Medplace is working with claims, risk management, and patient safety teams that need external claims and peer reviews. When a hospital does a claim or peer review, finding a qualified, unbiased medical expert that has time is difficult.
Let's take a peer review example. Suppose a large hospital system believes one of their trauma surgeons is unnecessarily deviating from protocols and creating potential liability. A hospital risk leader initiates a peer review because his team needs an unbiased opinion and actionable insights to assess if the surgeon meets the standard of care. The risk leader wants to avoid a biased review, so he needs a qualified, practicing medical expert with similar experience.
The risk leader reaches out to Medplace, receives a login, and submits the peer review request in minutes. Within 24 hours, Medplace matches the risk leader to 2-3 highly qualified medical experts.
Next, they can select the one they like, and from there, the process is automated.
They can now chat and do video calls with the specialist. The risk leader can also receive a written report depending on the request. He is automatically invoiced a flat fee and can leverage the insights immediately. Medplace reduces a typical peer review process time of several months to about nine days. Like Uber, Medplace allows users to rate specialists to maintain and improve the quality of the network.
Final Thoughts
Technology plays a massive role in the healthcare industry, especially in improving risk management and patient safety. Medplace has created a simple yet powerful solution that connects risk management and patient safety teams to top practicing medical specialists. To try out Medplace for yourself, schedule some time here.
