ppx-tec: Seamless, Non-Threatening Data Management Exchange
The promulgation of the Affordable Care Act and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), coupled with other reforms to lower healthcare costs, ignited the spirits of Debra Griffin. Having served as a healthcare consultant and an administrator for rural hospitals, Griffin saw healthcare as a fundamental human right. With an unwavering focus on empowering patients with their personal health information, Griffin sought to synergistically unleash the potential of healthcare and insurance through a platform that would serve as a bridge between two mammoth domains and patients. Her vision to create a solution for interoperability of data pertaining to patients, healthcare service providers, and insurance companies marked the conception of ppx-tec—a healthcare technology company.
ppx-tec’s solution portfolio comprises a medical information management platform to support seamless data exchange. Encompassing an application and APIs for iOS and Android environments, the ppx is a “non-threatening” healthcare information management platform that supports a high degree of data interoperability. “ppx is non-threatening as companies can integrate platforms of their choice with ppx and yet have complete control over the information shared,” says Griffin, founder, ppx-tec. Another flagship feature of the platform is share screen, through which doctors can view information that patients exchange with them using Bluetooth. The platform also features a Host application that serves as a one-stop shop for the exchange of information between patients, doctors, and insurance companies. These clinical monitoring apps currently used by the doctors to archive patient data or the insurance companies to process the payments, can be embedded in the Host application. The Host App feature currently hosts a website and is being developed further.
ppx involves two components: an app installed on an iOS or Android device and another app integrated with the vendor’s platform to exchange data using an eight-digit code called the token, generated by the doctor’s app. The patient’s physical presence at a hospital allows the sharing of healthcare information using Bluetooth technology, which addresses the problems arising from inadequate internet connectivity in rural areas. Furthermore, “More often than not, patients have problems articulating the medical history to doctors, which makes diagnosis difficult. Relaying the information through reports eliminates the problem completely,” says Griffin. The availability of comprehensive medical history drives better decision-making, allowing doctors to propose the best treatment plans as opposed to relying on “guesstimation,” thereby enhancing accountability on their part. The elimination of duplicity in tests, calls, and procedures, reduces treatment costs apart from accelerating the treatment manifold.
Patients can also utilize the platform to store information of their spouses, children, parents, and even pets.
The liberty given to patients to decide upon sharing information as they deem necessary with insurance companies, in a secure and compliant manner, fosters mutual trust between the two entities. The information when pulled out of the insurance company platform can be emailed, printed, or imported and exported back, which insurance companies can utilize to assist patients. Furthermore, by ensuring transparency of patient information, the ppx platform helps insurance companies detect and combat fraud. Griffin describes ppx as a peer medical management app since the personal healthcare records in it can be “collapsed” to suit the electronic health record applications used by a healthcare service provider.
Not surprisingly, healthcare stakeholders have begun to take cognizance of the value proposition of ppx-tec. Numerous clients in the health sector have engaged ppx-tec to improve the Bluetooth piconet network within its premises to allow greater scalability between the mobile devices of patients and doctors. The seamless nature of sharing information to ensure maximum value to all has struck achord with the stakeholders. Clearly, ppx-tec is making rapid strides along the path of success to redefine healthcare information management.
