McKesson Corporation and Augmedix announced the expansion of an innovative pilot between the Augmedix electronic health record (EHR) documentation platform and the McKesson oncology EHR iKnowMed.
Augmedix outfits physicians with Glass eyewear from Alphabet’s moonshot factory. This wearable technology is then used during patient exams to stream audio/visual information from the clinic visit to an off-site team of tech-enabled scribes in a HIPAA-secure location. The trained scribes assist the doctor and perform EHR documentation in real time. The physician then reviews and approves notes for the EHR. Augmedix also provides a smartphone-based solution for doctors who prefer not to use the Glass device.
McKesson, a global leader in healthcare supply chain management solutions, retail pharmacy, community oncology and specialty care, and healthcare information technology, has been investing in technologies and services that create more efficiencies for healthcare providers.
The new McKesson-Augmedix pilot programs are beginning with Virginia Cancer Specialists and Virginia Oncology Associates, both practices in The US Oncology Network. The goal of the pilot is to provide more time for physicians to meet and communicate with their cancer patients.
Virginia Cancer Specialists has used iKnowMed for more than six years because of the EHR system’s fast, easy sharing across the spectrum of care. The platform is in use by about 2,200 providers in 175 practices across approximately 650 sites of care. It contains more than 6.5 million patient records documenting more than 115 million patient visits.
“We’ve enjoyed the ease of use and rich information available in the iKnowMed EHR, and augmenting iKnowMed with Augmedix’s technology makes it even more powerful,” said Alexander Spira, M.D., a medical oncologist with Virginia Cancer Specialists. “I love that I can give more focus to observing and truly caring for my cancer patients. Not having to input all my notes myself saves me time, making me more accessible and allowing me to treat a few more patients each day.”
Augmedix’s first deployment with The US Oncology Network was in Willamette Valley Cancer Institute and Research Center, based in Eugene, Oregon. Further use and adoption are anticipated at more oncology practices in the US Oncology Network next year.
Read the full press release here.