BayCare Launches New Mobile Application for Patient Discharge Instructions

CLEARWATER, Fla., Sept. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --To make it easier for hospital patients to transition back to their home environment, BayCare Health System is launching an application that allows people to receive discharge instructions on their mobile devices.

Utilizing the cell phone number provided during patient registration, this new application securely delivers and confirms receipt of electronic discharge instructions so patients can see things like prescribed medications, diet, activity and recommended follow-up appointments. Meanwhile, BayCare providers can rest assured that this information can go anywhere their patients do.

The innovative application, powered by CareNotify™, has been available for several weeks at St. Joseph's Hospital, St. Joseph's Children's Hospital, and St. Joseph's Women's Hospital in Tampa. Early indications show that more than 25% of patients are taking advantage of the new mobile technology.

Today, the application was introduced to five additional BayCare hospitals: St. Joseph's Hospital-South in Riverview, St. Joseph's Hospital-North in , South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City, Winter Haven Hospital and Winter Haven Women's Hospital. On October 6, the health system plans to go-live with the five remaining BayCare hospitals: Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, Mease Dunedin Hospital, Mease Countryside Hospital, Morton Plant North Bay Hospital and St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Petersburg.

"This is just one of the many ways BayCare is trying to engage patients and provide them with useful tools to help them participate in their own health care," said Dr. Greg Hindahl, vice president and chief medical information officer of BayCare Health System. "Seeing a physician or other medical provider is much more valuable if the patient has reminders about what medicines they should take, activities to avoid or who they should be following up with for further care if necessary."

BayCare also connects patients to their clinical information through a patient portal, which re-launched last year as myBayCare.org. The portal lets patients throughout the health system see lab results immediately, find a doctor, ask questions, learn about upcoming health events and pay bills online.

"Patients want more access, transparency and control over their healthcare and decisions. And, consumers' increased connectedness has changed the patient journey as well as their expectations and behaviors. For us, it's about improving the patients' and their families' healthcare experience," explained Raj Toleti, co-founder and CEO of HealthGrid, which developed CareNotify™.  "HealthGrid and BayCare understand this and have taken steps to transform patients from passive bystanders to active participants in their health care plans from admission to the moment they are discharged from the hospital and beyond."

About BayCare

BayCare is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 13 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. Inpatient and outpatient services include acute care, primary care, imaging, laboratory, behavioral health, home care, and wellness. Our mission is to improve the health of all we serve through community-owned, health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care.  For more information visit www.baycare.org

About HealthGrid

HealthGrid is changing the way patients and providers connect and collaborate: Meeting patients where they are™. At every touch point, without disrupting clinical workflows, HealthGrid gives hospital systems and providers a powerful enterprise solution to connect patients and providers via their smart devices. Through CareNotify™, the only mobile solution that tightly integrates with HIS systems, consumers automatically receive discharge instructions, medication lists, nutritional updates, and relevant educational content via secure messaging. With HealthGrid, healthcare providers turn patients into active, satisfied consumers, and MU2 requirements into dollars. Learn more at www.healthgrid.com.