Offering its patients ready access to primary, specialty and urgent care in the palm of their hands, Summit Health announced today the launch of its first mobile app, known as My Summit Health. Currently available to Summit Health patients through the Apple App Store® (iOS), and the Google Play Store (Android), the new app is essential to an enhanced digital experience for patients and a convenient means for patients to easily connect with Summit Health and CityMD providers and manage their health care needs whenever and wherever they are.

“For Summit Health, it’s all about the patient – improving access to care and providing better care for the patient,” said Jeffrey Le Benger, MD, CEO, Summit Health. “The My Summit Health app is at the heart of our patient-centered focus and in delivering on Summit Health’s uniquely connected kind of care.”

In describing the significance of the app, Regional Chief Medical Officer Daniel Frogel, MD, the lead clinical advisor for the app’s development, said, “We are more closely connecting our patients to their care, ultimately allowing us to help them along their journey to better health. And we’re accomplishing this by placing technology directly in their hands, empowering them to carry their health system around with them everywhere they go.”

The My Summit Health app is centered on a digital-first user interface and experience, while incorporating features that will allow patients and their families the flexibility and convenience to manage their health care needs using technology that is most accessible and familiar to them.

With the initial version of the free My Summit Health app, users can:

• Find Summit Health providers in Primary Care, OB/GYN, and Behavioral Health
• Schedule and manage appointments
• Access on-demand virtual urgent care 24/7
• View clinical results
• Find the nearest walk-in urgent care location
• Complete intake forms ahead of time
• Choose a preferred pharmacy
• View bills and make payments
• Manage contact and notification settings

Over the course of the next year, expanded features to come soon will include the ability to:

• View visit summaries
• Access scheduled virtual visits with Summit Health primary or specialty care providers
• Use an integrated payment experience
• Send and receive messages with providers
• View referrals
• View prescriptions
• Get care management reminders

Summit Health patients ages 18 and older are invited to download the My Summit Health app now through the Apple App Store® (iOS), and the Google Play Store (Android).

A Patient-Centered Digital Care Model

Summit Health’s Digital Care Model recognizes the importance of adopting new technologies that provide user-friendly options for managing health care, including scheduling appointments. A web-based appointment scheduling tool for Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Behavioral Health and OB/GYN practices to schedule in-person and telehealth appointments online is also currently available. Online scheduling offers patients an enhanced customer experience and expanded flexibility in how and when they schedule appointments, using the technology that is most convenient to them—office phone, portal, and now web. The interface prompts patients to select the proper appointment type based on the specific care they need, displays provider availability, and allows them to select and confirm the most convenient appointment date and time.

The Digital Care Model team is taking a patient-centered approach to enhancing all administrative and clinical touchpoints before, during, and after a patient’s visit. The overarching goal is to provide convenient and intuitive self-service tools that integrate with the patient digital app.

About Summit Health

Summit Health is a physician-led, patient-centric network committed to simplifying the complexities of health care and bringing a more connected kind of care. Formed by the 2019 merger between Summit Medical Group, one of the nation’s premier independent physician-governed multispecialty medical groups, and CityMD, the leading urgent care provider in the New York metro area, Summit Health delivers a more intuitive, comprehensive, and responsive care experience for every stage of life and health condition through high-quality primary, specialty, and urgent care.

Orb Health, the enterprise patient access and virtual care management company that unlocks care capacity for health systems, has announced a partnership with Redox, the industry-leading electronic health record (EHR) integration solution. Through this partnership, Orb Health has enabled an EMR-connected, AI-based intelligence layer that dramatically improves its inbound and proactive outbound service scalability and capabilities as they act in the name of their provider customers.

“The key to effective care management is the ability to understand the unique nature of each patient’s care situation and manage it in an intelligent and proactive way,” said Chad Jones, Chief Strategy Officer, Orb Health. “Redox enables our intelligence layer to quickly access the EMR of our providers and organize patient information for our clinical agents.”

Orb Health’s virtual contact center enables patients to quickly speak with clinicians and administrators who coordinate all aspects of their care enabling a “one-touch resolution.” This gives brick-and-mortar-based physicians the scheduling space to attend to patients whose needs require the full breadth in-person care. Further, Orb Health’s analytics layer delves into a patient’s health history and provides individualized insights for how to best serve that patient’s needs. As a result, Orb Health’s customers have seen a 54% reduction in chronic patient utilization of the emergency department.

“As our network expands, companies like Orb Health experience first-hand how a repeatable, scalable integration solution supports their core value proposition,” explains Niko Skievaski, co-founder and President of Redox. “Orb Health promises their customers effective patient engagement with a rapid time to value, and we, at Redox, are glad to support those foundational pipes.”

About Redox

Redox accelerates the development and distribution of healthcare software solutions with a full-service integration platform to securely and efficiently exchange healthcare data. With just one connection, data can be transmitted across a growing network of 1,700+ healthcare delivery organizations and 300 independent software vendors. Members of the Redox Network exchange more than 20 million patient records per day, leveraging a single data standard compatible with more than 80 electronic health record systems. Redox exists to make healthcare data useful and every patient’s experience a little bit better.

About Orb Health

Orb Health is based in Richardson, Texas, and partners with leading Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), healthcare systems, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Community Health Centers (RHCs), and Payer firms to improve patient outcomes and accelerate provider profitability. Our industry-leading Enterprise Virtual Care™ solution enables providers to seamlessly increase care capacity for patient support, chronic care, and outbound clinical campaigns that deliver reimbursable, collaborative, patient-centric care coordination as an extension of the practice without requiring additional staff, applications, or office space. All stakeholders in the patient’s outcome work as a cohesive unit through a holistic approach that drives significantly improved patient outcomes and satisfaction while increasing reimbursements and lowering the cost curve of healthcare.

Tendo Systems announced $50 million in new funding to accelerate its plans to transform healthcare through software, seamlessly connecting patients, clinicians, and caregivers throughout the care journey. The Series B round was led by existing investor Lux Capital, with additional participation from General Catalyst (who led Tendo’s Series A round). Tendo has raised $69 million to date, and the new round brings Tendo’s valuation to $550 million, less than a year after the company was founded.

Tendo was started by siblings Dan and Jen Goldsmith, who helped build Veeva Systems into a multi-billion dollar cloud software company for the life sciences industry—and then helped grow Instructure into a critical cloud software provider for education. Tendo is taking a similar approach with healthcare by creating a digital engagement platform and suite of applications that connect patients, clinicians, and caregivers throughout the care cycle.

Tendo’s software will deliver important capabilities to support a new era of consumer-centric healthcare, where better patient and caregiver experiences are an imperative for healthcare providers. As new care paradigms and delivery systems emerge, consumers will have greater choice and demand more streamlined experiences. As a result, quality of care and quality of experience will be vital for improving both clinical outcomes and customer retention—especially as care shifts from episodic interactions to continuous engagement, and from treating illness to enabling wellness.

“It’s time to put patients and clinicians back at the center of the healthcare experience, and move away from endless paperwork and outdated systems,” said Dan Goldsmith, chief executive officer, Tendo. “Over the past two decades, we’ve seen technology power the digital transformation of industries delivering massive advances in how we work and live. As consumers, we’ve become accustomed to accessing services, products, and media at the tap of a key or the touch of a screen—connected, coordinated, and available. These realities exist just about everywhere today, except in healthcare. We can do better.”

“Lux Capital has thematically invested in digital transformation across industries, from healthcare and life sciences, to manufacturing, and several other sectors. Tendo has emerged as the clear partner of choice for major healthcare systems to build infrastructure, interfaces, and software for healthcare providers and patients to seamlessly and efficiently interact with each other across digital and physical platforms,” said Lux Capital Partner Bilal Zuberi. “We are excited to partner with them to build the future of healthcare experience in America.”

“Tendo is aligned with our Health Assurance vision, a new era where technology and healthcare will simplify access, streamline engagement and improve patient outcomes,” said Hemant Taneja, managing partner of General Catalyst. “Healthcare systems are facing a growing demand for more consumer-centric experiences between providers and patients. However, digital transformation can only happen through concerted effort, which is why we’re excited to work with Tendo to change the experience of care over the next decade.”

Tendo is collaborating with innovators like Jefferson Health (Tendo’s first foundational customer) to transform its relationship with patients. “Tendo is Jefferson’s strategic partner in ensuring that all people can thrive and be happy, with technology removing barriers and making healthcare accessible to everyone,” said Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, president of Thomas Jefferson University and CEO of Jefferson Health. “Jefferson’s goal is healthcare at any address, so that people are given the tools to manage their own health, with intuitive systems that work for them regardless of which ZIP code they live in.”

“We are fortunate to work with partners like General Catalyst and Lux, and a select group of foundational customers like Jefferson, to help transform the care journey,” said Jen Goldsmith, president, Tendo. “By focusing on the creation of a robust software platform and configurable applications, we will provide seamless, connected, and consumer-driven experiences where common activities—such as scheduling an appointment—are as easy and intuitive as making a dinner reservation on your phone.”

About Lux Capital

Lux Capital invests in emerging science and technology ventures at the outermost edges of what is possible. We partner with iconoclastic inventors challenging the status quo and the laws of nature to bring their futuristic ideas to life. Over the past two decades, Lux has expanded from its New York City roots to Silicon Valley, and built a $4 billion AUM firm of more than 30 full-time professionals, with the versatility to invest at any stage.

About General Catalyst

General Catalyst is a venture capital firm that invests in powerful, positive change that endures — for our entrepreneurs, our investors, our people, and society. We support founders with a long-term view who challenge the status quo, partnering with them from seed to growth stage and beyond to build companies that withstand the test of time. With offices in San Francisco, Palo Alto, New York City, and Boston, the firm has helped support the growth of businesses such as: Airbnb, Deliveroo, Guild, Gusto, Hubspot, Illumio, Lemonade, Livongo, Oscar, Snap, Stripe, and Warby Parker.

About Tendo

Tendo Systems is on a mission to transform healthcare through software, enabling digital engagement between patients, clinicians, and caregivers throughout the care cycle. We envision a healthier, more connected world where seeking, delivering, and managing care is frictionless. Our proven leadership, diverse team, and collaboration with forward-thinking healthcare organizations uniquely position us to drive digital transformation in healthcare

KIMSHEALTH has launched three digital initiatives loaded with a host of facilities ranging from checking medical records to online appointment with doctors and use of artificial intelligence for radiology studies. These were launched as part of its sustained digitisation process and comprise KIMSHEALTH Mobile Application, Tele ICU and an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool, all of which are aimed at ensuring maximum efficiency, cost saving, patient safety and quality care, the hospital said in a statement.

Education Minister V Sivankutty, who launched the Patient Mobile App and Tele ICU, said that KIMSHEALTH had succeeded in bringing the latest technologies for the benefit of the common people and making healthcare accessible from home. “The government has high regard for the services of private hospitals in the state. During the pandemic, private hospitals along with government hospitals played a major role in containing it,” said the minister.

Tele ICU, which provides remote ICU services, has its central monitoring station located at KIMSHEALTH Thiruvananthapuram and links smaller hospitals to it. Patient monitoring medical equipment with audio-visual supported high-resolution cameras are set up at the peripheral units so that the doctor seated at the main centre can see even the pupil dilation of the patients through the live feed over the Tele ICU system. Their vital parameters are streamed round- the-clock on cloud.

The AI tool can perform thorough image analysis for specific clinical findings, such as analysing CT head exams for anomalies related to intracranial haemorrhages.

“When radiologists are alerted about an AI-detected severe abnormality, they can respond more rapidly to potentially life-threatening cases. It will help reduce the load on radiologists, besides giving a correct clinical assessment,” the release said.M I Sahadulla, group chairman and managing director, KIMSHEALTH, who presided, said that with the launch of these new facilities, KIMSHEALTH has taken a major step towards ensuring affordable healthcare to all. Sheriff Sahadulla, group CEO, also spoke.

SINOMED, a leading international medical device company, announced that they have teamed up with the National University of Ireland Galway (NUI Galway) to conduct a clinical trial for a new assessment method for stenting. The trial will employ the newly patented, HT Supreme® Healing-Targeted Drug-Eluting Stent (DES), which has the potential to break new ground in the treatment of patients with heart disease.

The PIONEER IV trial is a prospective, random trial that will take place in 30 hospitals across Europe, enrolling 2,540 patients and involve patients suffering any type of coronary heart disease, including acute heart attack, chronic complaints or vessel narrowing. Patients eligible will undergo a non-invasive physiological vessel selection process to determine which vessel requires stenting. All patients enrolled into the trial will use the HT Supreme DES and be required to take one month dual-antiplatelet therapy after stenting.

Dr Jianhua Sun, PhD., chairman and chief executive officer of SINOMED, said: “We are honored to be working with the prestigious thought leaders at NUI Galway in searching for a better and safer strategy for treating patients. We believe that our HT Supreme, coupled with an optimal treatment strategy can make a big impact in bringing benefit to patients.”

Professor Timothy O’Brien, Dean of NUI Galway’s College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, welcomed the trial. He said: “Leading this research from Galway is consistent with the University strategy to be a global leader in cardiovascular research and innovation and compliments the presence in the University of CURAM, the SFI Research Centre for Medical Devices. We are particularly happy to partner with SINOMED on this project which aligns with the University’s Global Galway Project.”

The trial is sponsored by NUI Galway and it will be centrally coordinated by the University’s CORRIB Research Centre for Advanced Imaging and Core Laboratory, led by Professor Patrick W. Serruys, Established Professor of Interventional Medicine and Innovation, and Professor William Wijns, Science Foundation Ireland Professor of Interventional Cardiology.

About the HT Supreme Drug-Eluting Stent:

The HT Supreme represents a novel class of stents that highlights the importance of early, timely healing. Through patented designs and proprietary processes, the HT Supreme is tailored to help patients accelerate their wound-healing process and restore their naturally protective vessel function.

About SINOMED

SINOMED is a global medical device company engaged in research, development, production, and commercial distribution of interventional devices. We are focused on developing breakthrough technologies to target unmet clinical needs in the interventional treatment of coronary, neurovascular and structural heart disease. Our mission is to expose more patients to the benefits of our medical innovations, increasing patient longevity and quality of life.

About NUI Galway

Established in 1845, NUI Galway is a bilingual university comprised of four colleges, 19 schools, five research institutes, 19,070 students, 3,308 international students, 2,200 staff, research collaborations with 3,267 international institutions in 114 countries, 110,000 alumni, while 98% of graduates are in employment or further study within six months.

Medication errors refer to mistakes in the prescription, dispensation, and administration of medication. Although most medication errors can be prevented, they injure millions of people each year across the globe. What steps can you take to protect yourself and your loved ones? Taking an active role in your health care is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of medication error. Try to learn as much as possible about the medications you take, including potential side effects. Never shy away from asking questions or sharing any concerns with your physician, pharmacist, or other health care providers. Preventable adverse drug events are medication errors that cause harm. If a medication error occurred, but no one was hurt, it is known as a potential adverse drug event.

How do medication errors happen?

Medication errors can happen anywhere, including in your own home, at the doctor’s office, hospital, or a senior living facility. Because children need different doses than adults, they are at exceptionally high risk for medication errors. Understanding what you are up against can help you stay safe. The most common causes of medication include the following.

• Poor communication between you and your doctors
• Misunderstanding between your doctors due to poor communication
• Similar drug names and medications that resemble each other because of branding
• Medical abbreviations

You must ask your doctor for clarification if you do not understand what they have prescribed for you.

How do you prevent medical errors?

If something is unclear, ask for an explanation. Do not forget that knowledge is your best defense. Before you begin a new medication, ensure that you know the generic or brand name of the medicine. Find out what the drug is supposed to do and how long you will have to wait until you see results. Understand the dose, how long you are supposed to take it and what you should do if you miss a dose. Ask the health care expert what you should do if you accidentally take more than the recommended dose.

Additionally, determine any food, drinks, activities, or other medications you are obliged to avoid while taking medicine. Many people have complained of side effects after taking Zantac; research about the possible side effects and what you should do if they occur. If a manufacturer is responsible for harmful substances in medications, they should be held accountable for their actions. Find out from your doctor if the new drug will interfere with your other medications, if any, and how. Also, by using a computer to enter and print or send any prescription details instead of a handwritten one, your doctor can help prevent medication errors.

Ensure that you participate in medication reconciliation

To significantly reduce your risk of medication errors, your doctor can follow a process known as medication reconciliation. It involves comparing the list of medications your health care provider currently has with the medications you are presently taking. The process is vital in avoiding duplicate medications, dosing errors, missing pills, and drug interactions. It should be done at every change in care where new medications are ordered or existing orders are rewritten. The transitions in care include being discharged or admitted into the hospital and changing doctors or levels of care. To give the most precise picture of your condition, avoid medication mistakes, and share your updated information with medical experts. Some of the essential information includes the name and strength of all medications you are taking, including prescription medications, nutritional supplements, and vaccines. Let the medical practitioner know about any drugs you are allergic to and whether you have any severe or chronic health complications. It is also crucial that the physician knows if you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant.

Mistakes to avoid

The following are some of the most common medication errors that affect many people.

●     Chewing a non-chewable

Do not assume that chewing a tablet is the same as swallowing it. Some medications are not meant to be chewed, crushed, or cut, as doing so may change how your body absorbs them.

●     Confusing eardrops with eye drops and vice-versa

If a medication label says “otic,” it is meant for the ears while “ophthalmic” is intended for the eyes.

●     Using the wrong spoon

Avoid using the utensils in your kitchen drawer to measure medicine. Use an oral syringe or the dose cup that comes with the medication to get an accurate dose.

●     Splitting pills

Some medications are not meant to be cut since they have a unique coat to protect the stomach or long-acting.

Ensure that you make a safety habit of storing your medications in their original label containers and save the information sheets that usually come with your medications. If possible, use the same pharmacy for all your prescriptions and never give your prescribed medication to someone else or take someone else’s. If, despite all your efforts, you still have problems with a particular medicine, consult with your doctor whether to report it to relevant authorities.

GE Digital announced that it joined the aviation Digital Alliance – an expanding partnership initiated by Airbus and Delta TechOps in 2019. Together these aviation leaders combine their respective industry expertise in digital analytics, aircraft systems, and airline and maintenance operations to provide cost savings, network efficiencies and increased fleet availability to 140 commercial aviation operators worldwide already engaged with Skywise Core.

GE Digital brings its best-in-class predictive analytics software and extensive aerospace systems engineering expertise to Airbus’ Skywise cloud-based open data platform and Delta’s operational and maintenance excellence and related predictive models. With GE Digital’s added analytics capabilities and systems portfolio covering Airbus as well as non-Airbus OEM aircraft, airlines will further benefit from cross-fleet health monitoring and diagnostics, reliability analysis, and predictive maintenance analytics. This will enable airlines to avoid operational disruptions and accelerate maintenance decisions by quickly predicting potential in-service issues across their entire aircraft fleets.

The integrated capabilities will digitally transform airline operations by bringing stronger collaboration between operators’ maintenance control centers (MCC) and engineering and reliability teams, while breaking down existing information silos.

Andrew Coleman, Senior Vice President & General Manager Aviation Software at GE Digital commented: “We look forward to bringing our analytics capabilities and significant coverage of aircraft parts to the aviation Digital Alliance, together with Airbus and Delta TechOps. Integrated, analytics-based solutions are guiding the industry in its move to a safer, more efficient, sustainable, and digitally-connected era.”

Don Mitacek, Senior Vice President, Delta TechOps & President, Delta TechOps Services Group (DTSG) said: “Delta TechOps teams have unparalleled expertise in their roles to safely and strategically support Delta’s vast, global aircraft fleet maintenance operations in addition to the comprehensive portfolio of services for our more than 150 maintenance, repair, and overhaul customers worldwide. Together in the aviation Digital Alliance with Airbus and now welcoming GE Digital, our teams in Delta are looking forward to combining our complementary strengths on the Skywise platform, for the mutual benefit of all.”

Lionel Rouby, Senior Vice President, Customer Services Innovation & Digital Solutions at Airbus said: “We are delighted to welcome GE Digital into the aviation Digital Alliance. The resulting combination of Delta’s know-how in both airline operations and maintenance, Airbus’ aircraft design expertise, Skywise’ operational fleet ‘big-data,’ and now GE’s industry leading predictive analytics, will provide even greater value for the 140 airlines worldwide already engaged with the Skywise Core platform. These airlines will therefore soon benefit from even more powerful ‘nose to tail’ and cross-fleet digital solutions.”