In an effort to increase the efficiency of COVID-19 testing—a problem medical facilities across the country are currently facing—Dallas-based Blockit has released its online patient scheduling solution to any licensed healthcare provider at no cost.
Blockit, a healthcare tech startup that provides leading digital care coordination solutions, hopes the move will give personnel, call center agents, and screening center employees an easier way to schedule and route patients to test sites. The award-winning solution, which can be live in minutes, is intended to increase the efficiency of COVID-19 testing, while minimizing stress on all parties involved.
Scalable patient scheduling tool
Blockit wants to make the booking process more efficient for healthcare systems all over the country. Its flexible API allows it to scale the tech to any care coordination platform across all networks. CEO Jake McCarley strongly encourages healthcare providers to enroll and take advantage of the platform, which is both easily deployable and accessible for patients who need access to testing.
“Our goal has always been to use innovative technology to simplify patient access while improving outcomes and reducing excess work for healthcare professionals,” he said. “With the rapid spread of COVID-19, we want to do our part to effectively route patients to test sites and support organizations struggling to handle the influx of patients on the front lines by offering free access to our scheduling platform.”
The startup’s mission is to make the patient journey as simple as possible for everyone: patients, patient advocates, community members, and medical providers. It has previously worked with entire health systems like Beaumont Health, and is both HIPAA-compliant and a HITRUST-certified environment.
Innovation in healthcare
Earlier this year, Blockit won Innovation in Healthcare in our first-ever Innovation Awards presented with sister publication D CEO. It was chosen as a recipient of the newly launched McKinney Economic Development Corporation’s (MEDC) Innovation Fund. The money went toward a major headquarters expansion at the Cotton Mill near downtown McKinney.
Jake McCarley, Blockit [Photo: Bret Redman]
Formed in 2016 to provide pro bono care to community clinics, Blockit has since grown into a digital care coordination application that includes 5,000 physicians, 1.2 million patients, and 150,000 monthly appointments. The technology has been used to improve referral follow-through rates at a children’s emergency department and to book appointments for athletes with preferred providers following injuries.
Solving for the root problem
The root problem Blockit is solving is that half of all patients don’t follow through with referrals, McCarley explains. Patients must show up for their referral or self-scheduled appointment for any other innovations to matter. So he and his team work to deliver outsized results that can push the bigger movement forward.
“At Blockit, innovation is solving for technical limitations in healthcare that no one has even attempted to solve due to the complexity of these industry challenges,” he said. “We have a passion to solve them in order to seamlessly get patients where they need to go quickly and efficiently.”
R E A D N E X T
-
JUNO, which has key executives in Dallas and other cities across the country, wants to get ahead of the hybrid event trend by offering event planners "Intersections of Connectivity," a free ebook on how to organize something that connects virtual participants and an in-person audience.
-
UNT hopes its cloud-based computer program called RE-PLAN will be able to solve equitable distribution issues that often accompany a speedy rollout. The technology, which uses sourced data to allow public health agencies to craft response plans, will be dispensed with an urgency to target special demographics communities, like people who have disabilities, don't speak English, and don't have cars.
-
Five local winners received up to $200,000 in funding to activate their solutions throughout North Texas.
-
PCCI President and CEO Steve Miff says his team used machine learning and geomapping to visualize the progression of COVID-19 and to develop a Vulnerability Index to better target resources. In recent weeks, PCCI published a report saying their data shows the region should reach herd immunity sometime in June.
-
The U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, which passed in May, has the power to develop 20 tech hubs throughout the United States. According to Tech Titans' CEO Bill Sproull, Dallas-Fort Worth could be a strong contender for one of those spots.
