Summary
AASM SleepTM Pro is a full featured, HIPAA compliant telemedicine platform developed specifically for sleep doctors. AASM SleepTM Pro includes many of the features found in a full EHR and was developed for physicians that want an all-in-one telemedicine platform. Ideal for moonlighting physicians, this platform is capable of not only providing telemedicine services, but can also serve as an EHR replacement at a fraction of the cost.
Architecture
Hosted in an Azure App Service, this project was built in ASP.NET 4.5 using VB.NET and Web Forms. ADO.NET connects the data access layer to a MS SQL database also hosted on Azure. SignalR was used for real-time communications, and OpenTok’s WebRTC platform formed the basis of the live video interaction. MembershipReboot was used for identity management and authentication.
Features
Secure, Web Based Video Portal
AASM SleepTM Pro provides a web-based, HIPAA compliant telemedicine platform. Anyone with a web cam, microphone, and access to a supported web browser can take part in an interactive live video one on one encounter. Browser support includes Chrome, Firefox, and IE11. Safari and Edge are not officially supported, but these browsers will work. By building this platform for the devices and software most people are already using, we greatly reduced the costs involved in implementing telemedicine.
During the encounter, patients and physicians can easily access information on past appointments and view all of the patient’s vital health information. Both the physician and the patient can take private notes during the live video interaction that are not accessible by the other party, and the physician is given an opportunity to share an appointment summary at the conclusion of the encounter. With a screen share feature, physicians have the option to share one of their monitors or a specific application window with the patient. A camera feature allows the physician to take a screen shot of the patient’s video feed, adding the image to the physician’s secure document store. In addition, the physician is able to grant the patient access to any documents that the physician has previously uploaded to the system.
The encounter screen also includes a text chat feature that is typically used before the live interactive video portion of the encounter. This gives the physician the chance to let the patient know that they’re reviewing the patient’s information before they start the encounter. Typically, the physician will warn the patient that the encounter is about to begin through this chat feature before they officially start the interactive video stream. This also provides a mode of communication should there be a hardware failure for either user.
Branded Webpage and Marketing Materials
Each facility that registers with AASM SleepTM Pro is given a branded webpage and access to printable marketing materials that they can give to their patients. Facility administrators have complete control over the content, staff, and logo that are displayed on the facility’s webpage. Patients can be directed to this page to request appointments.
Queued Patient Waiting Room
Facilities are also given a virtual waiting room with their account. Patients log in to this waiting room and wait for their physician to invite them to join an encounter. The physician can see a list of all patients logged in to this waiting room at any given moment, and can select any one of them to join an encounter when they’re ready.
Accept Payments Electronically
Physicians can link a Stripe account to accept credit card payments from patients prior to an encounter. With this “self-pay” feature, physicians can define a price associated with several appointment types. When they schedule a self-paid appointment, physicians can assign a cost for that appointment. The patient will be required to pay the fee with a credit card before the encounter can begin.
Advanced Scheduling
A full-featured, calendar-based scheduling system is included with AASM SleepTM Pro subscriptions. Physicians can schedule appointments and view past and future encounters at a glance within their dashboard. Patients can access details for past and future appointments on their own calendar. Growler notifications are displayed within physicians and patient accounts detailing upcoming appointments, and both user types can elect to receive email and text message notifications for all appointment reminders.
Integrated Sleep Diaries
Patients are able to track their sleep patterns using an integrated sleep diary. They can set reminders to manually fill out their diary each day or connect a Fitbit to automatically import their sleep data. Physicians are able to access the sleep diary of each of their patients.
Patient Tasks
Physicians can assign various tasks that they wish their patients to complete prior to any telemedicine encounter. Through these tasks physicians can assign reading material, questionnaires, etc., and patients are requested to acknowledge that they have completed the task.
Access Patient Health information
Physicians can require patients to fill out a patient health history. When enabled, patients are given the opportunity to update this history and attest to it prior to joining the physician’s virtual waiting room. The patient and the physician can later download this health history in a CDA R2 formatted document that can be imported in to many popular EHR systems.
Secure File Sharing
Physicians can upload documents and securely share them with specific patients. Only the patients that have been granted access to the document by their physician will be able to view the document. Physicians can grant and remove access to these documents at any time.
Secure Messaging
Physicians and patients can send messages to each other securely within the platform. Physicians can indicate whether or not their patients can initiate messages to them through the platform and can assign this permission to specific patients.
Conclusion
With AASM SleepTM Pro, physicians have all of the tools they need to effectively see and treat patients using telemedicine. In addition to providing a secure video portal, this tool can be used as an EHR replacement giving physicians a single platform for all of their telehealth needs. AASM SleepTM Pro is the perfect solution for retired and moonlighting sleep specific physicians.