Patagonia Health Piloting New Contactless Patient Experience App

Patagonia Health is helping to pave the way into the future of healthcare with their new Contactless Patient Experience App. This app will be fully embedded and merged seamlessly with the Patagonia Health Electronic Health Record (EHR) solution, which includes a federally certified Patient Portal in its base product. As part of Patagonia Health Certified EHR, their Patient Portal meets strict security guidelines and is HIPAA compliant. Patagonia Health’s Contactless Patient Experience App is now being piloted with existing customers as it continues to be developed. Patagonia Health will be rolling out contactless patient experience features and functionalities in 5 areas: self-scheduling appointments, forms, check-ins, scanning and payments.

The Contactless Patient Experience App is a part of Patagonia Health’s rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Another part of their response has their Mass Vaccination App, which is now being used by customers all over the country. It has been a company priority to help protect healthcare workers and patients with these tools and further support the Public Health market that Patagonia Health serves during this pandemic. Beyond an immediate response to COVID, however, the Contactless Patient Experience app is also being designed to serve patients and Public Health post-pandemic. We are now living in the changing environment of individuals wanting more self-service options where they shop and visit. This app will bring that experience to healthcare. 

Because the Contactless Patient Experience App is designed to be embedded within the Patagonia Health EHR, it creates a streamlined workflow. This will prevent healthcare staff from having to make duplicate entries and juggle between applications. That will reduce errors, save time and reduce the risk of clinician burnout. The Patagonia Health Patient Portal is also easy to use by patients.

Right now the Contactless Patient Experience App is being released to pilot customers to test appointment self-scheduling and bulk patient sign-up. The other features are set to be released over time with full functionality slated for Sept 2022. 

App Functionalities Slated for Release

• Self-service scheduling of appointments: Patients will be able to log-in to the Patient Portal to select, cancel and reschedule appointments with the Date, Time, Location and Provider they would like.
• Forms: As part of the Self-Service Check-In process, patients will be able to complete and sign any necessary forms (Demographics, Consents, HIPAA, Declaration of Income and Assessments/ Pre-Screenings) on their personal devices. All forms will be linked to the Patagonia Health EHR and are automatically placed with patient data.
• Check-in: Patients will be able to use any device – desktop, mobile or tablet – to check-in prior to arriving at the clinic or on a designated Kiosk at the time of arrival. The Self-Service Scheduling feature will remind Patients before their scheduled appointment to start the self-service check-in process and prompt patients to complete any necessary forms. 
• Scan Documents: Patients will be able to use the app to scan documents such as insurance cards, driver’s license and medical history documents to populate the patient demographics and medical records.
• Payments: Patients will be able to view outstanding balances and pay for any deductibles or copays via credit card securely through the Patient Portal online payment system.