Patient Engagement

Taunton and Somerset and Yeovil District Hospital are two of the 16 NHS trusts that have already achieved the e-Referral system paper switch off target.

There's no shortage of patient portals, mobile apps and chatbots out there, but too often, health systems haven't deployed them in any meaningful way, expert says.

Health systems and technology developers need to design better, more humane experiences for patients and clinicians alike, said Adrienne Boissy at the HIMSS18 Patient Engagement & Experience Summit.

You can also add cybersecurity, innovation, machine learning, agile and more to that list, CIOs say at HIMSS18 forum.

With predictive and cognitive technologies advancing, reaching patients outside of care settings is only going to get more important.

A research-like approach is key in finding new ways to solve problems.

Actionable insights and intelligent health care experiences lead to personalized care and improved operations for providers.

Uber ups its competition with Lyft in gaining provider partnerships in the medical transport business.

Helix has closed a $200 million financing round and said it plans to expand its personal genomics marketplace to accelerate consumer adoption of genomics. The San Carlos, California-based startup launched the Helix marketplace in July 2017 to collects and sequence a DNA sample once, and then store and protects a customer’s data so they can access additional DNA-powered products and services from the Helix store without providing another saliva sample. [Also: 23andMe lands $250 million to expand do-it-yourself genetics testing] Helix CEO Robin Thurston said the financing will enable it to expand its health-related product offerings as it competes with other genetics companies, such as 23andMe and AncestryDNA. Thurston added that Helix also works with research partners such as the Healthy Nevada Project on community health projects built on Helix Exome platform. The Helix store includes 35 products from 20 partners and that number is expected to grow to more 50 products in 2018 with major launches including new products from partners such as Mayo Clinic. [Also: Microsoft, Google invest in precision medicine startup DNAnexus] Helix has sealed deals with 47 companies to run tests on the Helix platform. Tests are available for $20 and others cost hundreds of dollars. DFJ Growth, with participation from all its founding investors, which include Illumina, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, Mayo Clinic, Sutter Hill Ventures, and Warburg Pincus, led the funding round. Barry Schuler, Partner at DFJ Growth and former chairman and CEO of America Online, will join the Helix Board of Directors. Twitter: @Bernie_HITN Email the writer: bernie.monegain@himssmedia.com

It's all part of providing the best experience possible while improving care and gaining efficiencies, officials from the patient engagement company say.