CALGARY, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--When doctors and patients can securely share health information, outcomes improve; yet many efforts to enhance communication in healthcare exclude patients. Brightsquid’s new Medical-grade Messaging service, Secure Health Exchange, uniquely enables secure doctor-to-patient as well as physician-to-physician communications by emulating familiar email programs.
Better outcomes, better access
Research shows patient health improves with two or more patient-physician secure email threads in a two-month period. The Conference Board of Canada reports that services like Brightsquid Secure Health Exchange have the potential to save Canadians 47 million in-person doctor visits each year without reducing quality of care.
Caleo Health uses Brightsquid Secure Health Exchange technology to slash referral wait times. Referred patients now hear from the clinic 90% more quickly, and the wait for an appointment has been reduced by 60%.
Clinics using Secure Health Exchange to address non-acute patient concerns remotely free up in-clinic appointments for patients with acute needs. “Brightsquid has increased our capacity to care for our patients,” reports Shauna Wilkinson, Executive Director of Crowfoot Village Family Practice. “We’re able to replace non-urgent patient visits with secure emails, so patients that require in-person assessment can be seen sooner. Patients that receive email are thrilled to get the advice they need without ever having to come to our clinic.”
“Secure Health Exchange builds a bridge over the continuity of care gaps plaguing our healthcare system,” explains former Alberta Medical Association (AMA) president and Director on the Brightsquid Board, Dr. Michael Giuffre. “Secure communication outside of the exam room is the next evolution of the doctor patient relationship.”
Industry and Government support
Incidences of privacy breaches reached epidemic proportions in 2015, reported Scott Sibbald of Alberta's Privacy Commission. Dr. Brendan Bunting of the AMA told CBC that secure messaging services are needed in medicine because, “there's a lot of two-way communication just using iPhones and Blackberries, and all of this is not secure."
Recognizing the patient and system wide benefits of secure messaging, the Province of Alberta has launched new billing codes for using approved secure communication channels (such as Secure Health Exchange) to deliver medical advice to patients and for E-Consultations between physicians.
About Brightsquid
Brightsquid Secure Health Exchange expedites more accurate treatment by enabling seamless and secure healthcare communication between everyone involved. The service meets the highest patient privacy requirements in the world.
Visit securehealthexchange.ca
