RALEIGH, NC – Axial Exchange, which develops interoperability technologies based on an open-infrastructure platform, has won the "Ensuring Safe Transitions from Hospital to Home" initiative, sponsored by Health 2.0 and the Department of Health and Human Services' Partnership for Patients Initiative.
The innovation contest invited developers nationwide to devise an intuitive application that addressed the challenges of moving a patient into and out of a hospital safely and efficiently. The 40 submissions were evaluated on the application's ability to handle complex inpatient data as well as the application's design and ease of use, officials said.
[See also: Hospitals turn to IT to help with patient handoffs.]
Axial's Care Transition Suite deploys tablet, laptop and smartphone technology to better ensure that patient information flows automatically between care settings. Axial also creates an interactive care plan that enables patients of all ages to take control of their aftercare. Its solution reduces readmissions, increases patient satisfaction, and saves time and money across the healthcare delivery network.
"Two thirds of patients can neither describe their diagnosis or state the purpose of their medications," said Axial Exchange CEO Joanne Rohde. "Our application not only engages patients, but also ensures that information flows to all caregivers in a way that benefits health systems, payers, and patients."
[See also: Open source: 'One of the last great challenges'.]
Vital patient information is often lost in care provider hand-offs, compromising quality of care and increasing costs. This is particularly true for the 5 percent of patients whose chronic illnesses account for 50 percent of claims.
Using simple interfaces, the Care Transition Suite connects the members of the care delivery network – EMS first-responders, hospitals, physicians and health plans. The technology incorporates three of Axial's modules, Axial EMS, Axial Alerts, and Axial Patient, to provide an unprecedented view of the entire patient's care experience. It automatically updates and shares details about EMS transports, ER and inpatient encounters, and specialist test results, helping enable a safe patient transfer and allowing for better-managed treatment with easy-to-use devices.
"Research shows that empowering patients and caregivers with information and tools to manage their care is a very effective way to reduce errors, decrease complications, and prevent a return visit to the hospital," said Jean-Luc Neptune, MD, senior vice president of Health 2.0, which managed the competition under the auspices of the Office of the National Coordinator's Investing in Innovation (i2) initiative. "Axial's Care Transition solution is a simple, elegant and creative use of technologies that typifies the innovation that's possible through the healthcare chain."
