Electronic Health Reporter

KIRKLAND, Wash. — Oct. 18, 2016 — According to a recent Nielsen survey, most Americans use digital and electronic tools to manage everyday activities except when it comes to healthcare. In fact, only one in five have access to online appointment scheduling. To create a more connected patient experience and improve patient outcomes, WESTMED Medical Group today announced its partnership with Bridge Patient Portal and adoption of the new mHealth App Platform developed by Medical Web Experts (MWE) that offers easy access to all information on the Bridge Patient Portal from an iOS or Android device. WESTMED is a large multi-specialty group medical practice, Level 3 Medical Home and AMGA Acclaim Award honoree headquartered in Purchase, NY.

“WESTMED’s adoption of Bridge Patient Portal and the mHealth App Platform was in direct response to our patients’ request to communicate from a mobile device with their care providers,” said WESTMED Medical Group CIO Merin Joseph. “We know engaging patients is always challenging, so we sought to cater to how our patients want to communicate and to make that communication convenient. The physician provides the advice, but the patient has to put the care plan into place and seek to actively manage his or her health. This solution will enrich the patient experience, increase patient involvement in their healthcare, improve care coordination, enhance patient-physician communication and?most importantly?improve patient outcomes. In short, this tool will provide patients with a way to actively participate in their own health and wellness.”

Bridge Patient Portal and the mHealth App Platform from MWE met WESTMED’s requirements for a portal that was modern, patient-centric, secure and had bi-directional interface abilities with their existing GE Centricity Business and EMR products. In addition, Bridge Patient Portal will help increase the volume of patients directly connecting with their physicians and empower patients to be more involved in their care through its easy-to-use, graphical interface that enables patients to find their medical records, view lab results, schedule appointments, access urgent care wait times, message with providers, access patient education, pay bills and more from their desktop or mobile device.

WESTMED Medical Group is nationally known as a thought leader for its leading-edge approach to healthcare delivery. Over the last 10 years, WESTMED, a Medicare ACO, has received national recognition for its highly-integrated information systems that have improved patient care and from the NCQA for Level 3 Medical Home, Diabetes Recognition Program and Physician Organization in Credentialing and Recredentialing. According to Joseph, implementing innovative technologies in healthcare requires significant effort by both the technology vendor and the healthcare organization.

“WESTMED’s implementation, once released, will be among the most innovative patient portal and mobile app solutions in the market, and is only made possible through this newly formed partnership,” said Bridge Patient Portal and Medical Web Experts CEO John Deutsch. “WESTMED continues to make market leadership choices that address current and future healthcare challenges. This solution will allow patients to access important information and communicate with their care team anywhere and anytime from their device of choice.”

Bridge Patient Portal
Bridge Patient Portal provides patients with the ability to securely access their medical records, view lab results, make appointments and pay their bills – 24/7. Patients enjoy the simplicity of a singular, secure login to access medical information from a continuum of care across multiple healthcare systems.

To ensure health information is safe from unauthorized access, Bridge Patient Portal uses encrypted connections and data storage, employs strict authentication and access controls, and can provide HIPAA compliant hosting. Bridge Patient Portal is also 2014 ONC EHR-Modular Meaningful Use certified. For a demo or to learn more information about Bridge Patient Portal’s features and pricing, visit www.bridgepatientportal.com/ or call (866) 838-9455.

mHealth App Platform
Medical Web Experts’ mHealth App Platform for iOS and Android offers healthcare organizations a secure and scalable platform to publish their own, branded mobile app with extensive functionality that can be customized for all their online patient services. To learn more about MWE’s mHealth App Platform, visit www.medicalwebexperts.com/ or call 866-932-9944.

###
About Bridge Patient Portal
Bridge Patient Portal is an enterprise portal platform that provides a superior experience for healthcare organizations and its patients. The Bridge Patient Portal platform is ideal for organizations seeking to replace their existing EHR portals or connect to disparate EHR environments with a single, EHR-agnostic patient portal platform. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, Bridge Patient Portal has installations in more than 50 physician practices, hospitals and health systems nationwide.

About Medical Web Experts
Medical Web Experts is a leading provider of IT and web development solutions for the healthcare industry. MWE helps practices, hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, medical device manufacturers, labs and software vendors meet their online presence objectives. Medical Web Experts’ broad, HIPAA-compliant product and service offering includes a patient portal solution, a mobile app platform, custom software/app development, interface development, web design and internet marketing.

About WESTMED Medical Group
WESTMED Medical Group is a large multi-specialty group medical practice, with headquarters in Purchase, NY. It is staffed by a team of over 350 physicians dedicated to providing coordinated, efficient and the highest quality of patient care at its 14 locations in Westchester County, NY and Fairfield County, CT. The practice, known for its one-stop-shopping medical experience for patients, uses state-of-the-art systems and electronic medical records. WESTMED has New York medical offices in White Plains, Rye, Yonkers, Purchase, Scarsdale and New Rochelle, with Connecticut offices in Greenwich, Darien and Stamford.