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A Roadmap to Digital Health Interoperability With Epic App Orchard Integration
The Customer Without EHR Integration
Remote monitoring is a critical component of care for the cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) patient. Yet, many commercially available remote monitoring platforms have not progressed technologically to meet the day-to-day demands of a busy device clinic, and they continue to drain the resources of IT departments.
Server-based remote monitoring applications house device data, serve as reporting tools, and can send PDF reports to the electronic health record (EHR), but they do not have the capability of automatic exchange of clinical datapoints via application programming interfaces (APIs). They are not capable of full automation for claims processing, they lack the flexibility to quickly respond to changes in the market, and they continue to be plagued by limited user access due to hefty license fees or subscription model user restrictions.
The exponential costs required to maintain servers and connectivity as well as manage vendor and EHR upgrades drain IT resources. These applications only support CIED-related data and essentially have become obsolete.
Typically, a cardiac device clinic operating without EHR integration includes licensed clinicians struggling to manage large numbers of unread device reports. They face endless data generated from multiple sources and presented in varying formats and platforms. The time and effort spent sending relevant device information to the patient’s EHR result in overworked staff, delayed patient care, compliance concerns, and gaps in revenue capture.
The Solution: Epic App Orchard Membership
PaceMate™’s software+service solution—fully EHR-integrated with Epic—has provided answers to these common remote monitoring data challenges. As the first cardiac rhythm management company to be listed in Epic’s App Orchard, PaceMate™ spearheaded integration with this leading EHR company. By prioritizing development around health data interoperability, PaceMate™’s membership in the App Orchard allows for a robust integration solution to positively impact the cardiac workflow and provide an ideal image of the cardiac device clinic with EHR integration.
PaceMate™ goals for Epic App Orchard integration focus on providing up-to-date datapoints that originate from the EHR, the source of truth, including patient demographics, care team information, and diagnosis codes. These integration points facilitate the clinician’s comprehensive view of the patient, with real-time EHR data to inform clinical decision-making and the patient’s plan of care.
Another integration goal is to support timely clinical documentation, billing claim preparation, and order and encounter creation. PaceMate™LIVE automation allows clinicians to focus on clinical care through workflow efficiency improvements, reducing unproductive time spent on creating appointments for remote visit types and determining billing cycles.
At PaceMate™, EHR integration is disrupting the market of cardiac device management. It supports a shift in the healthcare technology space by prioritizing health data interoperability and streamlining workflows across teams, practice locations, and health systems. Clinical efficiencies and revenue cycle management are supplemented with automation to give back time for clinicians to care for patients while positively impacting patient outcomes and business operations.
A Roadmap to Epic App Orchard Membership
In 2018, PaceMate™ became the first in the cardiac device space to begin the integration project for an end-to-end solution for implantable cardiac devices—creating an exchange not just for a single datapoint or a one-way interface, but a bidirectional, robust solution.
After beginning the app development process and implementing subsequent App Orchard program enhancements, PaceMate™’s membership was activated in August 2019. PaceMate™ spent the next year designing the integration, testing within Epic’s Sandbox, and developing a project implementation plan alongside experts. The PaceMate™ development team went through Epic’s in-depth security review process, meeting the standards required to be an approved vendor in the gallery in March 2021.
PaceMate™’s Value Within Epic App Orchard
PaceMate™’s experience joining Epic’s App Orchard has not only resulted in a robust integration solution but also provides unique continuing membership value. The following elements have each contributed to making the PaceMate™ EHR integration experience exceptional both during development and in the future.
- Collaboration with Epic experts in FHIR®API, HL7® Webservices, and Interconnect
- Dedicated design sessions
- Guidance for troubleshooting
- Epic-specific message structures and flexibility for customization
- Detailed understanding of the Epic client
- Support for first and subsequent successful installs
Continued Innovations and Upgrades
With the Epic App Orchard membership, PaceMate™ can also continue to lead in innovating with healthcare teams through app enhancements and version upgrades. For example, within the first 6 months of membership, a version 2 upgrade is available to Epic clients, offering new FHIR® API resources, such as full medication lists with dosages and dates as well as hospitalization encounter data.
Additionally, PaceMate™ has a dedicated team for integration and successful installs with Epic clients. In working towards a successful implementation, PaceMate™ prioritizes project planning, providing experts, and publishing a detailed implementation guide through the Epic App Orchard listing—all key elements to a health system’s adoption of the disruptive software and a positive user experience.
Membership has its privileges. PaceMate™’s unique HL7® FHIR® API integrations support the robust, bidirectional exchange of health information between the EHR and PaceMate™LIVE. Our membership in EHR marketplaces indicates that all certification requirements for security have been met and capabilities validated. Membership in these networks gives PaceMate™ unprecedented firsthand access to product developers for platform growth and enhancements, making PaceMate™LIVE the most scalable software solution for current and future customers.
PaceMate™. The best available cardiac remote monitoring software with unprecedented research-grade data capabilities.
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This article is published with support from PaceMate™.
