MERCYONE
“ AS PROVIDERS , WE ' VE PRETTY MUCH DEDICATED OURSELVES TO TAKING CARE OF OUR PATIENTS . AND OUR PATIENTS TOLD US THAT WHAT THEY NEEDED AT THE TIME WAS A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ” DR JOEL WARD CHIEF MEDICAL INFORMATICS OFFICER , MERCYONE
COVID-19 has also pushed the healthcare industry into developing virtual systems of care faster than ever , as a direct consequence of restricted movement , compromised immunity and legislation .
Strategic partnerships that fuel efficiency At a time when hospitals are treating more patients than ever , it has become increasingly imminent that remote monitoring is the way forward . Speaking of steps taken by MercyOne to make this as seamless as possible , the subject of strategic partnerships cannot be ignored .
Dr . Ward and Dietz mention two such partnerships that have helped the health system meet patient expectations as well as increase their provider output . “ Phreesia is one of our most dynamic partners in creating the digital front door of our clinics .” They have helped develop a patient intake platform that saved MercyOne the pain of manually onboarding details of every patient , and prevented patients from endless paperwork . The health system did see a surge in in-patient numbers , but this has been managed effectively and in record time due to this alliance .
EXECUTIVE BIO
DR JOEL WARD TITLE : CHIEF MEDICAL INFORMATICS OFFICER INDUSTRY : HEALTHCARE LOCATION : UNITED STATES
Joel Ward is the Chief Medical
Informatics Officer for MercyOne Central Iowa Medical Group . He is trained in Internal Medicine . He received his doctorate of osteopathic medicine and received a concurrent masters in bioethics from the Kansas City University . He also has experience in utilization management and software engineering . Dr Ward works to achieve improved clinical outcomes through technology where informatics and utilization create workflow efficiency .