By building all the tools that physicians need in a single application, PocketMD has improved workflows significantly. For example, when a patient creates an appointment, PocketMD validates their health card. When a patient goes to a physician's office, the clinic staff doesn't have to scan or validate their Health cards. PocketMD is filled with many small workflow improvements that save a physician up to 50 minutes a day just on clicks alone and up to 3 hours on redundant tasks. The clinic staff is also freed up from routine deskwork. They can be reassigned to more productive patient-facing tasks increasing a clinic appointment capacity by up to 100%. PocketMD product philosophy is technology to work around providers and not providers working around the product.

PocketMD yields the best results when all its features are used together. However, you can use PocketMD for one or many of its powerful features.

Yes, once you are fully satisfied with our services. Let us know and we can transfer all your patient data into PocketMD

PocketMD is Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) compliant. We securely share relevant health information with the patient and providers in the circle of care.

There are various benefits to a physician including better patient engagement and outcomes, better satisfaction with providers, and less litigation with the added benefit of no additional strain on workflow, and improved workflow!

Better Patient Outcomes and Satisfaction with Providers:

In a study of over 21,000 patients, over 95% of patients from various educational and socioeconomic backgrounds reported understanding their notes well. In another study, those from underserved communities (eg older, non-white, less educated, unable to speak English) reported most likely to benefit from reading their notes including feeling in control of their care once they are able to read their notes.

Less Litigation:

Access to notes can help reduce litigation by reducing medical errors and building trust. Studies have shown that 21% of patients have pointed out medical errors in their profiles when given access to their notes. Of that, approximately 42% said the error was very serious or somewhat serious. In another study that looked at those who used open notes for at least a year, 24% of doctors reported a “serious” error was identified by patients.

Based on extrapolating from data on liability in other areas of medical communication (medical error, etc), access to notes may decrease litigation in this manner as well while eliminating the third leading cause of death: medical error.

No strain on workflow:

Of the more than 250 organizations that implemented a similar open notes platform in the US, none of them reported a significant increase in time spent with patients directly or via email. In fact, most of these organizations reported a decrease in email communication. This was attributed to patients resolving their confusion by reading their notes.

We encourage you to learn more here. “Effects of Open Notes: FAQs for clinicians” https://www.opennotes.org/effects-of-opennotes-faqs/

Furthermore, patients with access to their notes can deal with their personal information requests on their own. PocketMD allows patients to share in their administrative burden translating into fewer insurance forms for physicians to fill.

Although bringing transparency into mental health can spur clinicians' fears around sharing the notes with their patients, the literature suggests that transparency might yield fruitful opportunities. We encourage the physicians at PocketMD to become accustomed to sharing the notes with all their patients. We encourage them to describe the clinical findings in ways that exemplify collaborative, and judgmental assessment. This will in turn may help patients address their mental health issues more actively and reduce the stigma they experience. This also applies to patients who have substance abuse disorders or addictions of any kind.

We would love to hear from you! You can reach us at team@pocketmd.ca or for a more live setting email us for a link to the physician discord channel!