Lincor Upgrades Patient Engagement Technology, Launches New Product Portfolio
Lincor Solutions Inc. today announced the launch of a new portfolio of products for delivering its industry-leading patient engagement technology to hospitals and health systems. Powered by next-generation technology that provides access to clinical, administrative and entertainment systems within a single platform, Lincor's LINC product portfolio offers a range of easy-to-implement solutions for increasing patient satisfaction scores, improving clinical outcomes, reducing unnecessary readmissions and facilitating electronic health record (EHR) adoption.
New links between hospitals' Medicare reimbursement and their performance on patient satisfaction surveys, readmission rates and the Meaningful Use of EHRs have made patient engagement a financial imperative. In the first year of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, for example, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services charged 2,213 hospitals about $280 million for excess readmissions.
"Lincor is dedicated to empowering patients by giving them the tools and technology to become engaged in and informed about their care. Given the new reimbursement environment, we understand there's a lot at stake for hospitals," said Lincor CEO Richard Cooke. "Our new products provide a range of user-friendly solutions that can be adopted individually, or combined, to meet hospitals' unique goals around HCAHPS scores, readmission reduction, and technology adoption."
The LINC product portfolio includes four distinct products:
-- PatientLINC provides access to a suite of tools including interactive
clinical information, communication services and entertainment content
via a touch-screen monitor at the patient bedside. Clinicians can share
charts, scans and test results with patients, and "prescribe"
educational materials to help patients better understand their care
prior to discharge and reduce the likelihood of unnecessary
readmissions. Patient survey tools allow hospitals to gauge patient
satisfaction scores in real time. PatientLINC also provides access to
the hospital's patient portal, allowing clinicians to assist patients
with signing-up, logging-in, and understanding how to use the tool's
features so they are more likely to engage with the portal following
discharge, a key component for meeting Stage 2 Meaningful Use. Patients
also enjoy a menu of entertainment options through PatientLINC --
including television, video-on-demand, games, and audiobooks, as well as
Internet, email and voice- and video-call capabilities.
-- ClinicalLINC provides secure access to clinical information systems
through a wall-mounted terminal adjacent to the bedside. An extension of
PatientLINC, ClinicalLINC creates an additional EMR access point to
increase efficiency for clinicians without affecting patient
applications. ClinicalLINC allows clinicians review patient charts,
scans and test results --and share their screen on the PatientLINC
monitor to engage the patient in their care. Through Radio-Frequency
Identification (RFID) technology, ClinicalLINC provides instant access
to clinical systems with touch of an identification card, saving time
and effort, and supporting EHR adoption.
-- MediaLINC turns the in-room television into a "smart device" capable of
delivering interactive patient education, hospital information and
entertainment content. The technology allows hospitals to leverage
existing investments in flat-screen TVs to keep patients engaged with
their care and life outside the hospital. When patients aren't accessing
entertainment content, they can review "prescribed" educational videos,
audio files and documents to become better informed about their care.
-- MobileLINC provides access to medical information, educational
materials, and entertainment content through a patient's personal mobile
device. Once connected to the hospital network, MobileLINC automatically
directs patients to a homepage that provides secure access to a suite of
interactive services without the need to download any software or
applications. Patients use their own smartphone or tablet to enjoy
entertainment content, review health education materials and complete
patient surveys, and familiarize themselves with the hospital's patient
portal.
LINC Technology Upgrades
The LINC product portfolio is powered by the company's industry leading LINC Technology, which has already been adopted by more than 120 hospitals around the world. With the launch of the LINC product portfolio, Lincor has introduced a redesigned "look and feel" for its patient engagement software.
Developed by Lincor's team of experts -- which includes former Apple executives, designers and engineers -- the software upgrade incorporates user-interface functionality that consumers have come to expect when using touch-screen technology, including multi-touch ability, gestural scrolling and pinch zoom. A new "tiled" home screen guides patients to the activity they wish to use, including patient education and medical information, entertainment, communications, personalization settings, tools and hospital information. And a significant upgrade to the browser technology allows the LINC product portfolio to accommodate web applications that rely on the latest programming languages, including HTML5 and Javascript.
"Today's consumers are accustomed to sleek, highly responsive touch-screen technology," said Lincor Founder and Executive Vice President of Products Enda Murphy. "Particularly in our PatientLINC and MobileLINC products, we want to make sure patients experience the same level of responsiveness they are used to getting from their personal mobile devices."
For more information about Lincor and the LINC portfolio of products, visit www.lincor.com.