An online platform is offering real-time access to coronavirus test results the moment they are reported in an effort to reduce infection in the United States.
The mobile and desktop platform PatientLynk 2.0, which launched on Tuesday, comes as the U.S. ranks as the country with the largest number of coronavirus cases in the world at more than 150,000. More than 60,000 of these cases have been reported in the state of New York.
The platform from Puerto Rican health tech startup Abartys Health is able to exchange healthcare information electronically thanks to its compliance with the latest in universal patient identification tech.
PatientLynk 2.0 follows standards set down by FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) to allow for patient data to be securely exchanged between healthcare applications.
“In this unprecedented moment, immediate access to lab tests for both patients and their loved ones has suddenly taken on an even greater importance.” explained Abartys Health Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Francisco Davila. “PatientLynk fills a previously pressing – and now essential – need. And tech of this sort will help see us through these tough times.”
The platform follows on from new policy by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The CMS officially renewed its calls in March for driving interoperability and patient access to health information through liberating patient data.
The ruling puts patients first, giving them access to their health information when they need it most, and in a way they can best use it.
Currently, U.S. healthcare is unable to provide the quick lab results required to make decisions about the critical care of COVID-19 patients.
Even as rapid-results tests begin to work their way into clinics and labs, obtaining the results is a 24 hour or longer process.
Many states are turning to call centers as a method for distributing results in the face of long wait times. However, this is a labor intensive and costly solution that also places at risk those working in call centers in the midst of a health pandemic.
Founded in 2015, Abartys Health is working to solve the global healthcare crisis with smarter, faster care achieved by use of a unique, centralized data hub that allows for medical record portability.
Disclosure: This article includes a client of an Espacio portfolio company.