Miami, FL, April 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The nation’s leading hospice provider has developed the first mobile scanning referral app for practitioners. As easy as aim-snap-send, referrals to VITAS Healthcare are quick, secure and simple, eliminating the need for outdated, time-consuming faxing.
The latest version of VITAS Healthcare’s app for healthcare professionals referring to a hospice specialist replaces the decades old fax referral process with a photo of the medical face sheet from a smartphone or tablet.
“The medical community has relied too long on faxing critical HIPAA information,” says Joseph Shega, MD, VITAS national medical director and senior vice president. “Snapping a picture of a face page is quick and secure. The VITAS app already makes it easier for clinicians to know when hospice is appropriate; this update ensures a seamless transition to the next phase of care.”
In most hospital systems and healthcare settings, a medical face sheet provides all relevant information about a patient at a glance. Instead of conveying that information with a phone call or a cumbersome fax, the mobile scanning referral feature allows instant, secure transmission of all necessary data, allowing physicians and case managers to focus on patient care.
Upon receiving a face sheet and referral request via the app, VITAS admission coordinators initiate the hospice referral process. Available 24/7, including holidays, the VITAS admissions team responds rapidly to visit the family, evaluates the patient and transitions the patient to home hospice care, usually in the patient’s private home, assisted living community or nursing home.
VITAS Healthcare designed its proprietary application specifically for those who care for seriously ill patients: physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, case managers, social workers and directors of nursing.
The unique referral-by-face-sheet-photo is the latest in a series of updates to the app, which debuted in 2013. Available for Android and iOS devices, the VITAS app features:
- Secure, instant referrals by face sheet photo
- Call-Me button: 1-click access to a VITAS admissions coordinator
- The most up-to-date hospice eligibility guidelines for major disease types
- A VITAS location finder, accessing programs and virtual tours of inpatient units in 14 states and the District of Columbia
- Hospice news and studies from current medical literature
- A BMI calculator
Download the app today at VITASapp.com.
About VITAS Healthcare
VITAS® Healthcare, a pioneer and leader in the hospice movement since 1978, is the nation’s leading provider of end-of-life care. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, VITAS (pronounced VEE-tahs) operates 45 hospice programs in 14 states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin) and the District of Columbia. VITAS employs 11,621 professionals who care for terminally ill patients daily, primarily in the patients’ homes but also in the company’s 29 inpatient hospice units as well as in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living communities/residential care facilities for the elderly. At the conclusion of the third quarter of 2017, VITAS reported an average daily census of 16,726. Visit VITAS.com.
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