Indiana University School of Medicine startup launches EHR-embedded pediatric software

Digital Health Solutions, a startup initiated by 2 Indiana University School of Medicine professionals, is commercializing software it said will assist pediatricians better target care for their sufferers. The Indiana University School of Medicine startup launches EHR-embedded pediatric software.

The tool, known as Child Health Improvement through Computer Automation, or CHICA, augments electronic health records (EHRs) to assist physicians better assess sufferer risks, identify issues earlier and better document care quality. It was established by DHS President Stephen Downs, MD, section director of Children's Health Service Research at IU, and Tammy Dugan, senior software developer at IU and chief technology officer of Digital Health Solutions. The Indiana University School of Medicine startup launches EHR-embedded pediatric software.

The pediatric population "does not get as much attention due to the reimbursement structures in hospitals," Dugan claimed in a statement.

By licensing CHICA via the Indiana University Research and Technology Corp., the target is to give pediatricians tools that can assist improve care for children.

The technology works by first screening families in office waiting rooms through an electronic tablet that inquires twenty queries.

"Deployed on the responses of family, the software uses its prioritization procedure to opt the most significant issues for the physician to address during the visit," Downs added. "The family can give information on a broad range of topics, involving general preventive counseling, asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, domestic violence, iron deficiency, lead exposure, maternal depression, tuberculosis and more. It also permits physicians to alert sufferers to problems that might otherwise be overlooked."

When physicians access a sufferer’s EHR, the embedded link connects them with CHICA. The Indiana University School of Medicine startup launches EHR-embedded pediatric software.

"Once the doctors have checked all the boxes, demonstrating how they responded to the alerts, the data is submitted as a block of text to EHR software that can then be incorporated into the note of provider, thereby streamlining clinical documentation," stated Dugan.

"Payers of health care are searching for ways for providers to indicate superior-quality care," Downs said. "The system captures data that improves and indicates the quality of care, which could be used to make better reimbursement. It also gathers patient-reported information that cannot be captured any other way."