MORTSEL, Belgium, 7 Feb. 2018 -- Mobile-friendly platform allows patients and physicians to access and share information, and to communicate and collaborate in meaningful ways.
New features include the support of multi-disciplinary team meetings, video conferencing and care plans.
Self-completion patient questionnaires enable patient engagement and a better patient experience.

/PRNewswire/ -- At HIMSS18, Agfa HealthCare will showcase its newest version of its Engage Suite for Integrated Care. New features for multi-disciplinary meetings, video conferencing, care plans and self-completion questionnaires are further enhancing communication and collaboration, to support the move from volume- to value-based and person centred care.

Care plans for a streamlined patient journey

The care plan feature promotes the optimization of care coordination between care providers, patients and caregivers beyond the hospital walls. Orchestrating and streamlining the patient's journey along the complete care path supports true integrated care, and engages the patients in their own care. Clear care plans are especially important for patients with multi-morbidity or complex needs, whose care paths require a high degree of personalization.

Multi-disciplinary team meetings that facilitate quality care

Multi-disciplinary team meetings offer an ideal platform for stakeholders to inform each other and to discuss test results, diagnoses, patient feedback and treatment With the Engage Suite, physicians and clinical users have a single platform for interacting with one another, recording notes and getting expert opinions, without travelling or compromising quality of care. Starting the right treatment quickly accelerates the delivery of care and may reduce unnecessary readmissions.

The new version of the Engage Suite for Integrated Care includes video conferencing, which enhances the interaction between physicians in multi-disciplinary team meetings. It also supports better patient-physician interaction, including as part of a telemedicine program. Patients are no longer dependent on the physician's scheduling availability, or their own ability to travel to the physician's location.

The patient's voice: self-completion questionnaires

Engage Suite features include the administration and organization of patient questionnaires, in which the patients can enter their own information. The completed questionnaire can then be integrated with existing hospital IT systems. Attractive and easy-to-use formats encourage participation and engagement. The information collected can include Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs), such as patient feedback on their own health, symptoms, quality of life, treatment experience and more. PROMs are increasingly recognized as an important tool for evaluating clinical care in order to improve the patient experience.

Enhanced patient care, 'anywhere, anytime'

The EngageSuite for Integrated Care is an open system that can collect clinical information from different sources, including different healthcare providers in acute care, GPs and social care institutions. Patient data can be uploaded from devices such as tablets, smartphones, etc., enhancing patient engagement and capture of patient data. Results, reports, images, appointments and all other information on the patient are easily accessible to the stakeholders who need it, including on mobile devices.

"Our Engage Suite, which allows patients and their health teams to communicate with each other conveniently and quickly, is already being used in hospitals around the world," comments Joost Felix, Business Unit Manager Integrated Care Solution of Agfa HealthCare. "With the extended features of the Suite, we want to further improve patient engagement and care coordination, and at the same time respond to policy changes in healthcare organizations as they move from volume- to value-based care."

For more information or to see a demo, visit our booth #4043 at HIMSS18, March 6-8, 2018.

For an image, courtesy of Agfa HealthCare, click here

About Agfa HealthCare

Agfa HealthCare, present in one hospital out of two, is a leading provider of eHealth & Digital Imaging solutions. Care organizations in over 100 countries rely on Agfa HealthCare to optimize their efficiency and improve patient care.

SOURCE Agfa HealthCare