At HIMSS13, providers such as Pediatric Associates showcase promise of Windows 8 to meet the productivity, collaboration and security needs of the healthcare industry.

NEW ORLEANS (March 04, 2013) – At the HIMSS13 Annual Conference and Exhibition, Microsoft Corp. today announced new healthcare customers and partners that showcased Windows 8 solutions as part of a comprehensive approach to meeting mobility, productivity and collaboration goals within hospital and practice settings. With more than 850 health apps currently in the Windows Store available to healthcare providers, Windows 8 offers a platform for the next generation of apps poised to change the way the healthcare organizations connect with each other and patients, enabling a more integrated and patient-centric health system.

(Logo: )

“Healthcare organizations are under increasing pressure to deliver improved quality of care, provide better access for more patients and lower costs, while tackling productivity and workforce shortage challenges,” said Michael Robinson , general manager, U.S. Health and Life Sciences, Microsoft. “Microsoft offers the necessary secure communication, collaboration and workflow technologies that complement existing EHR solutions, transforming the practice of medicine from provider-centered piecework to patient-centered teamwork.”

Microsoft is collaborating with Intel and Cleveland Clinic to explore proof-of-concept deployments of Windows 8 line-of-business apps in a clinical setting. Cleveland Clinic is exploring the capabilities of Windows 8 and new Intel-powered mobile devices that enable clinicians to view a risk-stratified list of patients and call up their latest medical information.

“For constantly multitasking clinicians, the Windows 8 interface offers flexibility to use both the touch screen and keyboard on a range of fast, powerful new Intel-based mobile devices,” said Mark Blatt , M.D., medical director for Intel’s worldwide health IT group. “Healthcare organizations no longer need to compromise when it comes to mobile health workflows because today’s innovative designs enable clinicians to instantly convert from tablet to laptop mode.” 

Pediatric Associates recognizes the continuing need to provide innovative ways in delivering key medical information to our providers while caring for patients. This pilot enables them to meet this need by seamlessly delivering protected health information in the Greenway PrimeMOBILE app via Windows 8 devices wherever the clinician or patient may be.

“As a physician-owned practice with seven clinical locations and over 80 providers seeing 250,000 patient visits per year, we are focused on leveraging technology as a tool in providing quality patient care. Through our partnership with Microsoft, Intel and Greenway, we engaged in a pilot project to assess the potential of Windows 8, in combination with Greenway’s PrimeMOBILE EHR app, in supplying a mobile solution to an ever-growing mobile patient demographic,” said Brock Morris , chief information officer, Pediatric Associates Inc., PS. “Through the intuitive nature and enhanced security of Windows 8 and the PrimeMOBILE app, our providers can gain ready access to the patient’s full medical chart, providing a tremendous help to our patients by taking the burden off the family and by allowing our physicians to efficiently and accurately access the necessary medical information regardless of the point of care.”

Windows 8 and its broad network of apps, which are inherently secure, are bringing value to healthcare providers by connecting enterprise apps and consumer experiences together in a way that is unique to the industry. Microsoft and its partner ecosystem unveiled a range of new enterprise apps that connect to Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), apps for mobile physicians and nurses to access Clinical Reference information and Business to Consumer apps aimed at empowering consumers to better manage their health.

Electronic Medical Record Apps

Clinicians and nurses are leveraging Electronic Medical Record (EMR) apps to access patient information securely in a healthcare setting, allowing them to make more informed decisions about patient health, collaborate more effectively across teams and improve the overall health outcomes of patients.

• Greenway developed the PrimeMOBILE app for Windows 8, which provides complete remote access to patient data housed in Greenway’s EHR solution, allowing providers to view patient history and problem lists, progress notes, and appointment schedules encompassing a healthcare provider’s entire patient population in a secure manner. PrimeMOBILE, a business-to-business app, gives physicians and other clinicians access to the most-common functionality of the Greenway PrimeSUITE EHR.

“To truly deliver the most effective care possible, providers need anywhere, anytime access to comprehensive information,” said Johnathan Samples , executive vice president, research & development, Greenway Medical. “PrimeMOBILE allows physicians and other caregivers to easily and securely leverage the rich patient data within our PrimeSUITE EHR solution as they direct care from virtually any location. With the growing popularity of Windows 8, we’re pleased to deliver this access on the Windows 8 platform so our providers have another user-friendly tool, working together to improve population health.”

• Pariscribe’s Windows 8 EMR business-to-business app, the EMR Surface, transforms the clinical documentation process. “The tile-based UX design and incorporation of core contracts native to Windows 8 have enabled our development of a feature-rich application that transcends the typical user experience in the medical applications,” said Manny Abraham , president and CEO of Pariscribe. “Pariscribe clinical documentation leverages all the advantages that Windows 8 and touch-enabled mobile devices can offer customers who want a more user-friendly system.” 
• MazikCARE, a business-to-business app for Windows 8, is the fully integrated EMR solution for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. Available as a hosted or cloud solution, the MazikCARE Windows 8 app delivers full healthcare IT functionality, including ambulatory and inpatient processing, revenue cycles, medical billing, scheduling, and more. MazikCARE is an intuitive Windows 8 app that cuts down on employee training time, lowers costs, increases return on investment and is the only EMR/ERP solution offering full Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 capability on Windows 8.

Further, EMR providers from Epic to AllScripts are showcasing their integration with Windows 8 at HIMSS.

Clinical Reference Apps

Physicians are constantly on the go, moving between patients and from the hospital to the physicians’ offices. Clinical reference apps enable physicians to access information and make evidence-based recommendations about patient care.

• UpToDate allows providers to find clinical answers at the point of care or anywhere they need them by allowing them to access current, synthesized clinical information from UpToDate, including evidence-based recommendations, quickly and easily on a Windows 8 phone or Windows 8 tablet.
• The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality developed a Windows 8 version of its Electronic Preventive Services Selector (ePSS) app, which is designed to help primary care clinicians identify the screening, counseling and preventive medication services that are appropriate for their patients. ePSS brings information on clinical preventive services that clinicians need, recommendations, clinical considerations, and selected practice tools, to the point of care.

Consumer Health Apps

Windows 8 applications are also empowering patients to be more engaged as active participants in their own health.

• Johnson & Johnson Services Inc. has partnered with Microsoft on the launch of the Digital Health Scorecard app for Windows 8. The Scorecard aims to address the growing prevalence of chronic diseases around the world by introducing the concept of a personal health score. The health score is a new, consumer-friendly metric that can be quickly calculated by answering just seven questions about essential health behaviors and measures. It’s like a “credit score” for your health. “The app helps people recognize where they currently stand with their health,” said Michael Weinberger , director of Marketplace Innovation at Johnson & Johnson. “But just as important, it gives them the critical insight they need to have conversations with their doctor and begin making the changes that can lead to longer, healthier, happier lives.”
• The CDC application is a way for consumers to access health information at their fingertips, featuring important health articles, popular journals, timely updates and access to social media to coincide with important health concerns and events that consumers can use to protect their lives and loved ones.
• Mayo Clinic offers a free app called Mayo Clinic on Pregnancy, which is available in the Windows Store. Available for desktop, laptop and tablet users on the Windows 8 platform, Mayo Clinic on Pregnancy is a trustworthy guide to pregnancy, childbirth and baby’s first three months. It was developed by Mayo Clinic to leverage the medical and lifestyle expertise of a team of Mayo’s pregnancy experts in obstetrics and gynecology, genetics, nutrition, midwifery, and lactation.

“Getting pregnant and becoming a parent are among the most significant experiences in a person’s life and can be overwhelming,” said Roger Harms , M.D., a Mayo Clinic specialist in obstetrics and gynecology, and senior medical director for operations in Mayo Clinic’s Global Business Solutions division. “Windows 8 provided an easy-to-use platform for Mayo Clinic to develop an app to guide consumers from conception to delivery, and see them through the first three months with their newborn to give them peace of mind and enhance their sense of wonder throughout the experience.”

• A Microsoft HealthVault app for Windows 8 will soon be available to consumers in the Windows Store. HealthVault enables consumers to collect, store and securely share their personal health information, and connects to hundreds of third-party services and devices that make it easy to keep that information up to date. The new app brings this critical family information to life with a modern, touch-first user experience on Surface and other Windows 8 devices.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Source: Microsoft Corp.