Online Therapy Services Ecosystem
The fully automated telehealth system provides 24/7 access to mental healthcare services offered by US healthcare providers.
Industry
Healthcare
Team
22 members
Project state:
Started in 2022
Country
USA
About a Project
Our customer is a US-based provider of mental healthcare services focused on giving them online. The services are psychiatric care and therapy, which implies one-time appointments with unlimited access to dedicated practitioners by chat. The customer came to us with the SaaS solution in use (Kareo EHR system) and required a bespoke platform for online consultation and services. The system also had to be integrated with the existing solution and support referral management according to the client’s business model. The client chose Cleveroad as a trusted vendor with solid expertise in healthcare software development.
Goals set to Cleveroad
Develop a custom solution for providing and receiving mental healthcare services and collaborating with Partner
Create a telehealth platform for better appointment management for all parties: Patients, Physicians, and system’s Admins. Eliminate the issues of multi-channel communication
Synchronize appointments data between the existing (Kareo) and the emerging software solutions
Solutions we've delivered
Creation of the solution ready to use by the Provider and their Patients, as well as by the Partners. Implementing of web-based Admin panel to address users’ management
Development of the solution for making and scheduling appointments online. Integration of the communication tool to schedule meetings and solve organizational questions in time
Creation of the flexible system’s architecture to integrate with the Kareo system
Results for the Customer
A ready-to-use system that matches the client’s business model and considers all the pains, gains, and goals of all parties involved acting within the same system
The company received a robust and fault-tolerant platform that optimizes the booking and managing of online appointments. Direct chat helped merge disjointed communication touch points into a streamlined channel, increasing workflow efficiency
Our team successfully integrated the new system with the Kareo; the appointments’ data is synchronized and stored for further usage. Data synchronization ensured successful team and customer experiences
Business Challenges
Our customer, a US mental healthcare provider, strives to make it easier for individuals to get therapy assistance online. Initially, the client provided telemedicine service remotely using a third-party solution. However, the company faced functional restrictions that didn't meet growing business needs. So, the client wanted to develop a bespoke solution that would cover all their unique requirements. So, our customer needed a reliable technical partner who could:
Build a telemedicine platform from scratch for offering mental health services for patients (via online appointments and a direct chat between patients and providers).
Deliver a flexible software solution integrated with the Kareo EHR system (which was in long-term use) to synchronize appointments in the existing and the new solutions.
Design an intuitive system that would automate the collaboration with the partners. It was necessary to implement a partnership module for referral program management.
Project in Details
Business Architecture
- We had to build and implement a system from scratch to automate the existing business processes and create a more convenient digital environment for both patients and providers to book virtual appointments. The solution’s business architecture contains the functionality and users’ activities related to the administration of the whole ecosystem, therapists’ activities for online consultations, patients’ activities for receiving online mental healthcare services, and partners’ activities for tracking the progress of their clients.
- A web app dashboard for the provider’s partners was included in the solution. The company’s associates can use their Partner portal to refer their patients to the system, control and monitor their progress and treatment plans as well as directly communicate with their patients via live chat. Automation of patient referrals by the provider’s Partners is also included. It was required to prevent manual checking of faxes or emails and physical entering of this data into a healthcare system to be processed.
- Ensuring proper data synchronization and system HIPAA compliance was another task. The system’s architecture was designed to integrate a new solution with Kareo EHR software. It allowed for combining the old system of keeping patients' records with a brand new platform for booking appointments. At the same time, it was required to ensure that our solution does not violate the US laws and regulations on personal data protection, so it had to be built as HIPAA compliant.
Product Essentials
The New Patient Registration and KYC procedure are the critical modules of the solution. During the registration, the client uploads identification documents and takes a selfie. The Admin verifies this data by comparing selfies and photos in documents. Patients who had successfully passed the confirmation procedure and were approved by Admin get access to the provider's base and make full use of system functionality. Users complete their profiles with the required information to complete the registration process.
The payment feature is vital for any telemedicine development process. Users can manage their own payment information by adding it to their profile. Once the provider confirms that the consultation is completed, a sum per visit will be deducted from the user account.
An appointment booking is a core of the solution business model and the primary activity of patients and physicians. So that’s why we have paid particular attention to designing an intuitive and easy-to-use booking system. The appointment booking process begins with searching for a therapist. Provider Calendar is available for viewing and selecting available time slots for booking a meeting. If necessary, the patient can fill out the pre-screening form to provide the details of why they need a consultation so that the provider already knows the issue when starting a virtual appointment.
The patient scheduling module allows users to manage and schedule their appointments with ease. They can open a Calendar and see the info about upcoming, past, or future meetings. It is possible to see appointment details in a short preview so that a user can always have a quick check of what is planned or when a particular consultation took place.
The appointment management feature for the healthcare provider app is also required. The specialist gets a consultation scheduled after it’s booked or confirmed by the medical staff. Past appointments and upcoming confirmed appointments are displayed on the provider's schedule. The therapists can also view appointment details and patient info. After the consultation is completed, the provider confirms that the meeting took place in the system. Only after that, the patient will be charged.
The patient dashboard is created to allow physicians to access patient treatment information. It shows percentage visualization (based on the start/discharge date of the treatment), treatment start date, treatment program type (PHP/IOP Program), current medications list, and anticipated discharge date.
The patient program management module is designed to unify all the patients’ program activities and contributes to efficient management and patient follow-up. Healthcare providers can edit patients' programs to reach better results in treatment.
The company’s partners can refer their patients to the system to benefit from the healthcare services. That's why we developed a separate solution web portal for the clinic’s partners where they can sign in and add their clients to receive the assistance of healthcare providers. Additionally, they can track the progress of their patients via special functionality developed for this purpose and check the treatment programs.
The patient management module allows partners to access all the patients of their organization, see details, and access general patient treatment information and questionnaires. This way, partners not only refer patients but continue their cooperation and keep track of their treatment.
Our team integrated chat functionality to enable secured peer-2-peer connection between Patient and Patient Liaison and Provider, and Patient Liaison, Partner and Patient (partner's Patients only).
Secured real-time chat was implemented via PubNub. This solution offers HIPAA-compliant real-time messaging infrastructure to make it easier to deliver and maintain a high-quality chat experience for the system's users.
The provider management module gives access to the provider administration functionality. For example, the Patient Liaisons can add new therapists to the system and take care of the existing providers' accounts, ensuring all information is updated, and all specialists have an actual meeting schedule available.
The patient management module is responsible for patient account management, including KYC verification. The Patient Liaisons can access, view, and manage all patients' accounts. In the KYC process, they approve or reject patient registration and guide the patients through the registration journey by leaving comments for them if any additional information is required.
The appointment booking module refers to the Patient Liaison’s confirmation that an appointment booked by a patient can take place. They have access to all meetings in the system and can review the requests booked by patients. The Patient Liaison verifies that the requested appointment can take place (according to the different parameters) and then approves it. They can also reschedule consultations on the patient's behalf and edit appointment information.
The payment management module allows for managing the payment/transactions reports and verifying that the payment took place. The Patient Liaison can also correct the sum which should be paid per visit by a patient. There can be two reasons for that:
- Some part of the sum is covered with insurance and only some % should be paid by a patient.
- There are additional medical services that can be provided. These services are not included in the initial price for the visit.
In these cases, the Patient Liaison manually updates a sum that should be deducted from the patient's card.
Development in Detail
- We’ve conducted two phases within the project: Discovery and Development. In the Discovery phase, Cleveroad's team studied the market and competitors, interviewed stakeholders, and analyzed the customer's existing processes and business needs. Based on the research, we defined the requirements, decomposed and detailed the features, as well as created a roadmap for project implementation. Then, our software engineers designed a HIPAA-complaint architecture of the platform.
- In the Development phase, we converted the Discovery results into the final product, meeting the industry regulations and quality standards. A Development team consisted of a project manager, business analyst, UI/UX designer, developers, QA and DevOps engineers, tech leads, and solutions architect. The team delivered a responsive web platform for providers, Flutter mobile app for patients, and a web-based back office solution. During the development process, it turned out that the provider’s partners needed some convenient tool to control and track the success of their patients. Working with Scrum allowed us to approach the change quickly and create and implement a Partner portal in the ecosystem (initially, this was not planned).
- Integration with the SaaS solution (Kareo) was required to synchronize all patient and appointment data via 2-way sync (inside Kareo and outside). By default, Kareo doesn't have any mechanism to push new/updated data to the external system, so we implemented synchronization based on some period to keep all information up to date on our side. The patient data is also synced with the medical providers’ software right before the consultation starts so that the therapists can have the necessary information at their fingertips. We also have created a Quality Assurance (QA) strategy that includes integration testing to ensure smooth interaction between integrated modules of the software.
- To meet HIPAA compliance requirements, we’ve deployed the platform to AWS, the HIPAA-compliant provider. Committed to ensuring the security of a healthcare platform, Cleveroad implemented encryption for sensitive data, particularly PHI and ePHI, and established data transfer through Secure Socket Layer (SSL). We applied the AES-256 encryption algorithm and other healthcare security and data privacy tools around accessing, using and disclosing confidential medical info.
- The Appointment system is the core of the solution. Our team has built a system from scratch and ensured its scalability so that it would be able to handle multiple appointment sessions (shifts) effectively. At the same time, it should be intuitively understandable for the new personnel without additional onboarding. That's why we paid particular attention to its design and development. Our specialists decided to have several Design concepts tested internally via client team support and approvals. A thoughtful approach to the Appointment system design allowed us to start the implementation phase with a complete understanding of what exactly is needed for the client team.
The system provides administrators with a rich and flexible interface where they can manage all the necessary algorithm parameters
Technology stack
The tech stack was selected and used, considering the customer’s needs and the solution’s business logic
Web Architecture
Backend
Frontend
Mobile Architecture
Cross–platform (iOS and Android)
External integrations
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Results Obtained
A bespoke system for mastering telemedicine
The customer received a single solution covering all the functionality necessary to implement the solution's business logic. The newly built platform allowed the client to automate existing business processes and master the healthcare niche by providing a continuum of remote care by joining patients with their therapists and partners in one digital environment.
Excellent feedback and quick adoption by users
The system's functionality covering a mobile application, web apps, and the Admin panel made it possible to provide a unified platform for delivering an ideal digital experience for all parties involved. The accessibility of mental healthcare services with convenient appointments booking and management allowed the company to increase the client satisfaction rate.
The HIPAA-compliant service with database in sync
The patient and appointment data was successfully synchronized with the client’s solution in use. It allowed the clinic to ensure the continuity of the care environment and improved administrative processes. Due to our solution, the customer doesn't face the risk of HIPAA violations and provides patients with data privacy guarantees and therapeutic assistance.
