The California Healthcare Foundation (CHCF) www.chcf.org announced a $375,000 investment in Seamless Medical System’s www.seamlessmedical.com software. This was done to provide a low cost digital registration and communication platform to support the tailoring and testing of SNAP® Practice software to use in community health centers.
The funds will help tailor the product to the needs of safety net providers and patients as well as provide for pilot testing and the ability to evaluate the system in community health centers in California and in at least one other state.
The SNAP Practice software enables a standard iPad to collect information from patients and import the information into an EHR or other practice management systems. As patients check in for appointments, they are given a SNAP Practice-enabled iPad to enter demographics, clinical history, provide consent for procedures, and then complete screening questions, risk assessments, and satisfaction surveys. The software also allows practices to provide personalized health education to patients, and deliver information on prevention, treatment adherence, and wellness.
“CHCF invested in Seamless Medical Systems because we believe that the system can help community health centers improve payment experience and meet the increasing patient volume resulting from coverage expansion,” said Margaret Laws, Director of CHCF’s Innovations for the Underserved www.chcf.org/innovation-fund program.
She adds, “We’ve spoken to community health centers across the country and they have all voiced the need for efficiency and are looking to improve technologies that automate intake, risk assessment, and complete surveys.”
To help other companies and community health centers achieve similar goals, the “Partnering for Impact” www.chcf.org/projects/2014/partnering-impact initiative, jointly sponsored by CHCF and the Kresge Foundation http://kresge.org is accelerating collaboration between companies and community health centers. Through this initiative, both foundations will identify and invest in companies that already serve health centers as well as those that are motivated to bring their solutions to underserved markets.
Over the next three years, the foundations will invest at least $5 million in several companies that have technology or service-based solutions to enable community health centers and clinics to increase patient access to care and/or lower the cost of providing care.
To be eligible for investment, entrepreneurs must be based in the U.S and demonstrate how their product or service can maintain or improve patient experience while reaching the following goals:
- Enhance health center efficiency by at least 20 percent
- Increase access to highly needed health services for 100,000 patients annually
- Reduce costs by $24 million annually
In addition to the funding, selected companies will be paired with community health centers and clinics ready to implement new solutions along with mentors experienced in community health center management, technology, and public payment issues.