What if…
your child needs his shot records so he can play in his team’s first game of the season … which is scheduled for this afternoon … and today is Saturday?
What if…
your 87 year old mother is whisked off to the hospital in an ambulance, and you don’t know where she keeps her living will?
What if…
you trip over a fallen rock in Ephesus and break your ankle? How will the Turkish hospital know about your unusual allergies to certain pain medicine?
Before it is desperately needed, most would agree we all should take control of our health records and manage our personal and family medical information so that we would be able to access it any place, any time. The good news is there’s now an app for that.
Healthspek, a local company based in Brentwood, has created a nationally recognized tool that allows anyone to manage their own personal healthcare information and legal documents, such as living wills and powers of attorney, in a secure format that can be accessed anytime, day or night, wherever they are.
The tool streamlines all of the information anyone might need in a medical emergency into a personal profile. Managed with an iPad app and mobile website, an individual’s data is duplicated and stored on Healthspek’s secure cloud server and can be accessed from a desktop or smart device from anywhere in the world.
Healthspek was founded by industry veterans Bruce LeFew, company COO, and Randy Farr, who serves as president and CEO, to fill a need to be able to track, collect, and manage patients’ healthcare information, especially in response to a growing national demand for the meaningful use of electronic health records.
Through thousands of “speks,” or bits of information, consumers can manage and access everything from their vital stats, prescription reminders and lab records to a knowledge library on medical conditions, family medical history, and appointment reminders. The app also has allergy and drug interaction information on a platform designed to suit individual needs. In addition, users can store insurance information, emergency contacts and can even include a personal photograph and signature. Users can upload existing electronic documents or simply upload a picture of the document to be stored.
Since its introduction in 2013, Healthspek has received numerous accolades including being listed under the Apple App Store’s permanent list of best “Personal Care Apps” in the medical category. Healthspek has also been named a “Top-Five Best Medical and Health Care” app by TabTimes and won MediaPost’s Apply Award in the medical category. LeFew and Farr also were selected to pitch their product to thousands of consumers and prospective investors at AARP’s national expo in May 2014, becoming one of 10 finalists out of nearly 200 companies to win a coveted spot at the health innovation event.
The developers said they believe Healthspek will become the “go-to-place” for consumers and patients to seek and use healthcare information. The free app is equipped with an easy-to-understand dashboard that not only allows users to consolidate all their important medical information in one place but also to utilize that info in a meaningful way to manage conditions and improve health. They added that because of this access to information, patients will be able to “ride the wave and understand the system” in a way that is not possible now but will be demanded by users as healthcare consumerism continues to grow.
“Today’s healthcare environment is putting the power back in the hands of the people, and we see that as very positive,” Farr said.
The patient controls his record and has the ability to give information when he or she chooses to family members, caregivers, and providers. With permission from the user, physicians can access medical records through Healthspek’s chartnow.com. Other commercial partners might make suggestions for appropriate product pop-ups based on a consumer’s personal health record, data, locations or insurance.
Additionally, LeFew and Farr said Healthspek could add value to a medical practice by helping meet Meaningful Use requirements for patient access, as well as by sending appointment reminders, online appointment scheduling, and health reminders to increase patient compliance.
“These documents – such as a living will – can be linked and displayed on Healthspek’s ChartNow webpage, allowing doctors or other eligible individuals to view important documents,” Farr said.
He continued, “If you are the head of a household, this can give you the peace of mind that your loved ones can quickly access important legal documents should they need to; and if you are a caregiver, you can keep track of your patient’s daily medications, power of attorney, living will, doctor’s appointments, therapy visits and more … all of this in one place.”
Chris Moore, MD, former chief medical officer of Hutchison Medical Center in North Georgia and a founder of the recreational organization Outdoor Chattanooga, said the legal document repository is a potentially lifesaving feature and a groundbreaking tool for both doctors and patients.
“From the perspective of a trauma physician, I can readily imagine a situation in which access to Healthspek’s records could affect a life-or-death decision for the patient and his or her family,”
Moore said. “It is as simple as uploading and storing this information, and it guarantees that the patient’s wishes are recorded and respected.”