Background
McLaren Health Care, headquartered in Grand Blanc, Michigan, is a $6.6 billion, fully integrated health care delivery system which includes 13 Michigan hospitals, commercial and Medicaid HMOs covering more than 732,838 lives in Michigan and Indiana, and 113,000 network providers throughout Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.
McLaren Now+Clinic at Walgreens is its ambulatory program focused on patient convenience. It includes nine retail clinics operating inside Walgreens stores. Each participating Walgreens has a kiosk setup with remote medical exam devices – including a general exam camera, weighing scale, stethoscope, and otoscope – for conducting virtual exams. This allows McLaren to efficiently cover all nine locations virtually. Patients are able to walk-in or book a visit from the website. At the time of the visit an onsite nurse helps take vitals, connect to the remote physician, and stream medical devices. At the clinic, patients are also able to get bloodwork and labs done onsite and automatically get their prescriptions filled at Walgreens.
Challenge
McLaren had been struggling to modify its existing telemedicine platform for the McLaren Now+Clinic program for about two years. It wanted to deliver a smoother and more convenient patient self-scheduling experience while streamlining its backend processes via integration with its EHR system. McLaren had been using a cumbersome workaround for rescheduling that made for a poor patient experience (patients had to cancel and completely rebook their appointments, sometimes losing their initial booking without finding a suitable alternative time). However the rigidity of the existing platform made it difficult and often impossible to make the desired changes.
Results
No-login self-scheduling
Improved patient satisfaction
Native device integration
Remote control and streaming
2-way scheduling data integration with EHR
Increased provider efficiency
Solution
McLaren replaced their existing telehealth system with the dynamic VSee platform which uses a flexible, modular building block approach. This approach makes it possible to quickly configure and adapt only the selected platform modules. This allowed McLaren to keep the parts of its setup that were working while allowing it to layer on its desired patient engagement modifications and functionalities:
- Appointment Scheduling
VSee implemented patient self-scheduling that could be embedded publicly on the website and used without patient portal login. Patients can conveniently book an appointment right from the website at any time, day or night. It also lets patients easily edit, reschedule, and cancel booked appointments on their own.
The VSee system was also configured to match McLaren’s existing processes. It supports the scheduler workflow so patients who prefer to call to book an appointment may still do so. In addition, VSee’s rich scheduling module offers various other healthcare-specific features such as specifying visit types (video, audio-only, in-person); inviting interpreters, family members, and other non-patients (this automatically sends invites and reminders with a separate secure link); e-consent form signature, etc. These may be turned on/off and modified for specific clinics as desired. - Data Integration
With EHR integration code ready on stand-by, VSee was able to provide 2-way data integration with McLaren’s current EHR in 3 weeks. VSee is capable of integrating with other EHRs and third party applications such as Health Information Exchange systems, revenue cycle management systems, H.323/SIP devices, and digital health devices via various protocols - HL7 v2.x, FHIR, sFTP, APIs & SDKs, etc. - Remote Exam
VSee implemented Remote Exam Device Control functionality for providers. This allows offsite physicians to remotely select the desired device (stethoscope, exam camera, otoscope, etc.) and to control its settings. This reduces training needed for onsite nurses and allows physicians to conduct remote exams more efficiently. As a device agnostic platform VSee supports integration of McLaren’s existing devices so there was no need to switch devices or purchase new equipment. In addition, VSee natively supports simultaneous streaming of up to 4 devices, allowing physicians to see patient faces and streamed device images without toggling or using third party software.
“We chose VSee for its flexibility and modular design approach, which allowed us to quickly customize it to our needs, especially with our EMR. We have many platforms, but they are either too rigid or otherwise unable to meet our needs. Working with the VSee team, we were able to adapt the VSee platform to meet our specific program requirements. The VSee team was warm, knowledgeable and responsive to our needs and we’ve been very satisfied with their quick turnarounds. Even when unforeseen issues do arise, the dev team is quick to resolve them.”
Irfan Kausmovic
Director of Virtual Care
Outcomes
- EHR integration for in-clinic appointments at Walgreens – completed in 3 weeks
- Project initiation to go-live across 9 clinics – 8 weeks
- Improved patient engagement and convenience – No-login patient self-scheduling and rescheduling
- Improved provider efficiency - 2-way scheduling data integration with EHR for reduced manual work duplication
- Native medical device integration – Remote control settings and up to 4-device streaming with existing equipment
VSee Differentiators
- Comprehensive, configurable telehealth building block modules
- 50% shorter development cycles for fastest go-to market
- Ability to make platform changes at anytime for optimal lifecycle value
- Experienced strategic partner for healthcare-focused design, patient privacy, and innovation
