CarePartners Plus^® Launches Wellby™ -- A New Innovative Patient Engagement and Feedback Technology Tool
 

IBM Kiosks Power Patient Interaction at the Point of Care
 

Philadelphia |PRWeb| February 7, 2012 – CarePartners Plus announces the launch of a new technology that empowers patients to better manage their health and interact more effectively with their physicians. Wellby™ is a new interactive healthcare management solution for use in physician offices, hospitals, work sites and retail pharmacies to collect and exchange feedback from patients at the point of care.

Designed to support healthcare providers in their transition to new models of patient-focused care, Wellby helps document the effectiveness of services delivered to every patient at every visit. The data and analytics collected provide insight into a provider’s communication with the patient, compliance with standards of care, a patient’s understanding of the goals of their care plan, and overall patient satisfaction. Wellby then generates the documentation required to help support reimbursements for patient-centered medical home and accountable care offerings.

Economically, Wellby offers a strong business case to hospitals and health systems that strive to deliver the highest and most efficient quality outcomes. Wellby provides a full range of managed tools that capture, document and integrate information across communities of providers without requiring capital expenditures or creating additional work for caregivers.

Built on intuitive IBM (NYSE: IBM) kiosks, the same familiar technology found in airports, hotels and self-service kiosks in retail environments, the friendly, easy-to-use system helps patients enhance their communication with their physician and provides direct feedback on the care they received. For healthcare providers, it provides an effective tool to reduce workload by collecting relevant data and to help close gaps in care.

"Wellby instantaneously engages my patients immediately following their treatment," says Dr. Kim Kuhar, Internal Medicine Independent Practice, Patient Centered Medical Home Certified, Silverdale, PA. “This allows me to look at health, health goals and health outcomes from my patient’s perspective. I like that I don’t wait longer than a minute to learn what I need to know to be more proficient. Wellby does the leg work and my patients and I reap the benefits. I highly recommend Wellby.” Dr. Kuhar is affiliated with Grand View Hospital.

For the first time, Wellby provides an automated way to capture real-time, in-depth data about the provider-patient interaction from the patient’s point of view. This data can serve as a rich foundation for health analytics to improve care, provide immediate feedback based on important information such as whether the patient understands how to take their medication, and make it possible to intercede in real time and provide more patient education in the event a patient doesn’t have all the information they need to achieve smarter health.

"Primary care physicians are increasingly focused on providing more patient-centered care and ensuring patients with chronic illness such as asthma or diabetes are getting the care they need and taking a role in managing their own care," says Dr. Paul Grundy, director of healthcare transformation, IBM. “By creating meaningful interactions with patients, and through the continuous reporting and analysis of data on the effectiveness of care, Wellby provides an effective tool to teach patients important skills and support physicians in their mission to keep patients well."

In October of 2011, Wellby was awarded URAC’s Gold Award for Best Practices in Consumer Empowerment and Protection and Health Information Decision Support.

CarePartners Plus will showcase Wellby at the upcoming HIMSS Conference February 20-24, 2012, in Las Vegas – IBM Booth #1634.

About CarePartners Plus, LLC (www.carepartnersplus.com). CarePartners Plus is an independent third-party data and information company founded five years ago by healthcare professionals with the goal of improving healthcare quality while reducing costs. The founders’ objective was to facilitate a healthcare system that engages patients and their families in new ways to strengthen their partnerships with their physicians and healthcare providers.

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CarePartners Plus Wins Prestigious URAC Gold Award 
 

Recognized for Best Practices in Consumer Protection and Health Information Decision Support
 

Horsham, PA, | PR Web | October 19, 2011 — CarePartners Plus, LLC was recently awarded the esteemed Gold Award for Best Practices in Consumer Protection and Health Information Decision Support from URAC during the organization’s 12th annual Quality Summit and Awards Program in Chicago.  Chosen by an independent panel from over 200 nominations, the Gold Award is the second highest of five awards given by URAC, the nation’s leading healthcare accreditation organization.  URAC sponsors the annual Summit to recognize companies with “best practice” programs for the advancement of consumer protection and empowerment.  

 “We were proud to have been included on a distinguished list of finalists last May, but when we were awarded the Gold Award, we were absolutely elated,” says Michael Manning, co-founder and CEO of CarePartners Plus.  “We knew we had an innovative product that enables our customers to more efficiently satisfy many of the new health reform quality expectations, but to be recognized by URAC over many other reputable companies is a profound acknowledgment of the hard work our employees do every day to improve healthcare for everyone.”    

Horsham, PA-based CarePartners Plus, a young healthcare data and information company, is best known for the Wellby™™ Solution, a patented, electronic data access method that uses a consumer-directed process to engage the patient while connecting them with their healthcare professionals.

Co-founder Martha “Marty” Minniti, RN, BS, says, “We were excited that after comparing our innovation to that of other companies, URAC recognized Wellby™ as the most efficacious patient empowerment tool to help improve clinical quality.”  She notes that many CarePartners Plus clients using the Wellby™ Solution appreciate the product’s value in accelerating medical home certification and enhancing patient protection and safety.

Minniti believes the Wellby™ Solution now rivals the services of leading patient satisfaction, wellness, medication safety and clinical quality assessment companies. “Wellby™ is able to collect electronically generated information about healthcare visits directly from patients immediately following their visits, and then translate this information into national compliance and quality improvement outcomes that validate performance while identifying gaps,” she says.   This electronic method of collecting information engages patients in their healthcare in ways that surpass inconsistent, laborious paper-based and telephone collection methods as well as sampling methods that produce incomplete and untimely information. 

Wellby™ gives the treating physicians and other stakeholder’s valuable insights into the care that’s been delivered from the perspective of the patients.  “It is truly a transformative system” says Dr. Kim Kuhar, a practicing physician outside of Philadelphia, PA.  “Using Wellby™ in my practice is a rewarding experience for both me and my patients. My patients enjoy using it to convey their feedback while becoming more involved in improving their personal healthcare outcomes. It makes it easier for me to engage my patients and to continuously learn from them. It’s an easy way to constantly improve the quality of service I provide to my patients.”  

Industry leaders have remarked that the Wellby™™ Solution is a transformative innovation that addresses patient engagement and patient-reported outcomes at a time when market forces expect patients to take more ownership in improving the quality of their personal care. Through Wellby™ and other innovative products and services, CarePartners Plus strives to improve the delivery of patient-centered quality healthcare and reduce costs throughout the entire healthcare system.

According to Gordon Woodrow, senior vice president for CarePartners Plus, “When I was Region III HHS Director, the major stumbling block to a clear and economically viable electronic healthcare process was how to quickly and reliably empower providers to work with their patients and encourage them to become a full and participating partner in their care.  Wellby™™ not only does that, it also gives instantly verifiable, standards-based data to offer a return on investment for everyone, the most important being the patient.“   

CarePartners Plus is preparing to commercialize Wellby™™ by launching a national campaign in 2012.  “Our goal is to empower every patient at every health care visit across the country,” says Manning.  This enterprise solution is available for approximately 30 cents per member per month.  “We are excited about our ability to empower individuals with tools that can help improve their personal outcomes while providing standards based solutions that help the health system more easily comply with Public Reforms and expectations. This independent Patient Reported Outcomes data will redefine success and value in healthcare ” Manning added.

For more information, visit www.carepartnersplus.com and www.Wellby™.com, or send an email to Richard Fiske at rfiske@carepartnersplus.com 

About CarePartners Plus, LLC (www.carepartnersplus.com). CarePartners Plus is an independent third-party data and information company founded five years ago by healthcare professionals with the goal of improving healthcare quality while reducing costs.  The founders’ objective was to facilitate a healthcare system that engages patients and their families in new ways to strengthen their partnerships with their physicians and healthcare providers.