Health IT, Health Tech, Payers

California insurer rolls out Covid-19 triage tool

Blue Shield of California is partnering with digital health startup GYANT to roll out Covid-19 screening tools to hospitals in its network for free. Hospitals can deploy the tool on their websites, without having to integrate it with their health record systems.

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Blue Shield of California is rolling out a Covid-19 screening tool for hospitals in its network to handle the influx of patients with questions related to Covid-19. The tool, developed by digital health startup GYANT, can screen patients for Covid-19 symptoms and refer them to the appropriate medical setting.

Hospitals can implement the tool on their websites within two days, and Blue Shield will cover the costs for them to implement and license the system for the next three months. The tool does not have to be integrated with health record systems.

San Francisco-based GYANT has made other patient navigation tools in the past, including a tool to help the Cleveland Clinic communicate with patients after they’re discharged from the hospital, and a consumer-facing symptom checker.

Patients would access the triage tool via chat, where they would have the option to learn more about Covid-19 or conduct a virtual screening. The latter involves 10 to 15 questions following CDC guidelines. Patients are then routed to a telehealth appointment, a nurseline, or physical facilities for testing and treatment.

“The tool provides relief to hospitals’ overburdened call centers and front-desk resources. It can direct low-acuity cases to the appropriate medical settings and provide relevant information to patients affected by COVID-19 so that they can quickly receive medical care and help curb community transmission,” Dr. Terry Gilliland, executive vice president of healthcare quality and affordability at Blue Shield, said in a news release.

Blue Shield of California has more than 4 million members across the state.

 

Photo credit: diego_cervo, Getty Images

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