GoBetween

GoBetween

Secure portal communications

GoBetween

What is GoBetween?

GoBetween is Mikkom’s new secure messaging portal.

It is the safest, most convenient and cost-effective way to exchange sensitive data between clinicians and patients or directly between clinical staff.

The GoBetween system resides entirely within the hospital or clinic network environment, ensuring complete data integrity and patient confidentiality.

GoBetween

What does GoBetween Provide?

GoBetween • Provides a secure, encrypted path for 2-way

exchange of sensitive, patient-related information between patient and clinic or doctor and doctor

• Has the ability to attach and share embedded data within the secure message

• Conforms to (UK, US and Canadian) data protection and clinical and information governance rules for patient confidentiality

• Guarantees that no data ends up stored outside the clinical network – e.g. on the mobile or fixed line devices or within the mobile or hosted networks

GoBetween

What are the benefits of GoBetween?

GoBetween benefits include:• The ability to securely contact and share data with

patients and co-workers without using “open channels”, such as email or text messaging (SMS).

• Immediate notification of new message arrival (via SMS or email)

• Allows all traffic passing through GoBetween to be mirrored in the patient record, providing a full audit trail of events.

• Access from any fixed or mobile PC or any “smart” mobile device, irrespective of operating system or mobile network.

GoBetween

Patient comms without GoBetween

Clinic

Patient Database

EmailInsecure: email address may be wrongUnreliable: email may be blocked, automatically go to Spam, or not read for days

LettersSlow: 2-3 days to arrive with a patientInsecure: could be lost, delayed, intercepted or opened by partners or parentsCostly: (in the UK) approx. £1.50 total cost per letter

TextInsecure: (better than email but) still may be delivered to the wrong person (or not delivered at all if number is wrong or incomplete)Limited in scope: can only deliver short messages

Outbound communications – from clinic to patient

Telephone callsInefficient: generally limited to the hours that the staff in clinic or hospital call centre workCumbersome: (in the UK) cannot leave message on answerphones or voicemail – multiple calls needed to reach the patient“Patient unfriendly”: Potentially annoying for patients being disturbed at work or in the evenings, or to receive calls from “unknown” numbers

GoBetween

Patient comms without GoBetween

Clinic

Patient Database

Email (usually via specific Webforms)Cumbersome / expensive: (good) web forms take time and effort to design, need to fit in with internal processes and systems and are expensive to maintain, as internal systems change or are removed and/or replaced

LettersSlow / ineffective: may take days to be handled and all incoming letters need to be processed and matched against patients, handled, stored etc.Costly: 10-15 minutes handling time per letter, for processing,

TextLimited in scope: Few systems handle inbound texting (Mikkom’s Messenger system does!)

Inbound communications – from patient to clinic

Telephone callsInefficient: generally limited to the hours that the staff in clinic or hospital call centre work.Cumbersome: Takes up staff time to (a) find the correct person / department and then takes up departmental staff time dealing with the call.Costly: Needs “real people” to do this taskPatient dis-satisfaction: often “on hold” or being passed from person to person to have issue resolved – frustrating for patients

GoBetween

Patient comms with GoBetween

Clinic (secure IT environment)

Patient database

Information can be copied into the secure “vault” from the patient database

Patient logs into their secure portal and can exchange messages with their healthcare provider.

GoBetween “Vault”

The patient is notified of new messages by

text or email via “normal channels”.

Healthcare professionals can send secure, encrypted messages using the GoBetween message portal. If desired, they can also attach diagrams, charts or other useful information for the patient.

GoBetween message “traffic”

may be logged back into the

patient record

Encrypted traffic

GoBetween

Patient comms with GoBetween

2-way communications via a single pathway,”24/7/365”, via fixed or mobile networks• Patients

– Patients can access GoBetween from their PC or their mobile device (smartphone or tablet)

• Clinicians– Can seek help or share patient data, without the

information ever leaving the hospital environment.

• Recipients do not need to be logged into the clinic network to receive message alerts; they can even be on-call at home or at a conference.

GoBetween

There is a message from the clinic for you in your portal

GoBetween “Vault”

How does GoBetween work?Example 1. Using GoBetween for doctor –

doctor communicationsSecure clinic Network

Dr A: Please contact me as soon as possible. I need a second opinion on this X-Ray .

A text or email is sent to notify the

doctor that a message is waiting

The doctor logs into their portal and examines the attachment, possibly

using their mobile device

Clinic wants to send a message

to another doctor for a

second opinion.

The doctor uploads an

attachment into the “Vault”.

Dr A: Please contact me as soon as possible. I need a second opinion on this X-Ray .

Dr B: Yes, could be serious, bring them

in for further checks.

The clinic is notified that a new message from the doctor has

arrived.

Key features: • The receiving doctor can use his own device (e.g. smartphone,

tablet device, etc.) to read the message or see attachments• No data is left on the receiving device.

GoBetween

You have a new message waiting

in your secure mailbox

GoBetween “Vault”

How does GoBetween work?Example 2. Using GoBetween for patient

– clinic communicationsSecure clinic NetworkClinic wants to

send a message to the patient

CLINIC: Dear patient, your results from your recent check-up are back. Please contact the clinic, as soon as possible.

A text or email is sent to notify the

patient that a message is waiting

The patient logs into GoBetween and responds

to the clinic, leaving a message in the Clinic’s GoBetween mailbox

CLINIC: Dear patient, your results from your recent check-up are back. Please contact the clinic, as soon as possible.

PATIENT: Do I need to come back into

the clinic?The clinic is notified that a new message from the patient has

arrived.

CLINIC: Dear patient, your results from your recent check-up are back. Please contact the clinic, as soon as possible.

PATIENT: Do I need to come back into

the clinic?

CLINIC: Yes. You are booked in clinic on 21-Mar-14 at 14:00. Please click Rebook to choose a different time or date.

The clinic and patient can have an “IM” conversation. The patient can even book or

rebook their appointments through the portal, helping to

minimise missed appointments.

The patient follows the link to the Mikkom “Choose and

Book” (mCB) system and can rebook for a more

convenient time and / or date.

Key features: • Patient is notified as quickly as possible• NO information is left on the patient’s PC or phone.• Patient sends their reply from “INSIDE” GoBetween

– they do NOT message from their own device

GoBetween

GoBetween Summary

GoBetween is • Highly secure, using encryption at several levels• Channel / device independent – but NOT an “App”• 2-way communications – allows patients to

communicate back to the clinic, at a time and in a manner best for them

• Fast to implement – needs no additional special hardware

• Cost-effective - scalable to fit a clinic or hospital’s needs• Compatible with most EMR/PAS systems – without

needing to swap out the whole EMR system• Tried and tested in existing international healthcare

environments