More than a dozen Alaska hospitals implemented a digital platform from software company Collective Medical that allows them to view and share a patient's medical history upon their arrival at an emergency department, Alaska Journal of Commerce reports.
The platform integrates directly with hospitals' EHR systems so providers and staff can track which hospitals a patient has previously visited and the controlled substance prescriptions the individual may have received. Providers who use Collective Medical's software are alerted in real time of a patient's record of visits to other hospitals.
Collective Medical's network comprises an estimated 1,000 hospitals across the U.S. The company began working with the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association four years ago to get all the state's hospitals to transition to its platform, according to the report.
ASHNHA opted to join Collective Medical's network to improve care coordination and ED use, said Becky Hultberg, CEO of ASHNHA, according to the publication. Other hospitals in Collective Medical's network have reported 15 percent decreases in ED use and 10 percent use decreases among frequent ED patients.
"Along with improving patient care, reducing avoidable hospital admission and readmissions and [streamlining] transition to post-acute care providers are often cited by hospitals as the biggest benefits of using the Collective platform," Ms. Hultberg wrote in an email to the publication.